Researching the difference between perception and reality - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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Research, Sanderoff says, doesn’t typically require a thank goodness. He likes to cultivatr an informal everyday atmosphere at his he says from behind a desk covered with piles of data coffee mugs and a box of dog biscuitsw kept in reservefor Emo, a Germanm Shepherd who accompanies Sanderoff to work most days. But the dressd duds are on standbybecausw it’s early October in an electioj year. And when media from Albuquerque’s , to the and the BBC need someones to explainNew Mexico’s status as a battleground state in presidentiall elections, it seems no one but Sanderoff will do.
the president of Research & Polling, says it’s funny that his firm’ s political work gives him somuch visibility, since it’e really less than 1 percent of the work the businessz does. But Sanderoff’s extensivs knowledge of New Mexico started on thecampaigm trail, and at one time, he was poisedx to make the political arena his home. Afte graduating from the in 1976, he was he says, between pursuing his interest in public polic through law school or graduate He ultimately enrolledin UNM’s graduate school prograj in political science, a decision he expected to directt him to an academic life.
But in to meet a class requirement, he worked as a volunteedr on apolitical campaign, and that changed “The campaign I worked on was a losing lieutenanrt governor’s race, but we came this and it was a long shot to starr with,” he says. “Az lot of people took notice, including Brucer King, the governor. He saw me out on the campaignh trail a lot and he came up to me one day and said I better get you on my side before someond else gets you ontheirt side.’ I’ll never forget that. So I starterd working for him after my guy lost and he wonhis governor’sw race and, at the ripe old age of 24, I went into stat government.
” Sanderoff never finished his master’s Instead, King made him his personal troubleshooterr for state agencies that had lost the confidence of the legislativwe or executive branch. Sanderoffc ran four state agencies before the ageof 30, had his car bombeds in retribution for firing corrupt stated employees and introduced a legislative reforn package for the state’s correctiones system, just days before the infamous 1980 riot at the penitentiary in Santqa Fe. Sanderoff next had an offe to be chief of staff toincominyg Gov. Toney Anaya, but chose, instead, to creatre , his original company, in 1983. The firstg years were slow.
But in 1986, Sanderoff won a competitives bid to handle election polling for theAlbuquerqued Journal. The company was renamecd Research & Polling Inc. and with ownership shared between Sanderoff and Journal owner Tom Although Lang is stilla partner, Sanderoft says he is not involvexd in management. The firm has growhn to employ 40, and at any givem time is conducting 40 projectsfor clients, such as the , and UNM.
And whil e political polling is one of the more glamorousa aspects ofits work, the firm’s bread and butteer is working for businesses with a need to know what theitr customers think of theirf services, what their clients and how their marketing effortsx are being perceived. Much of that research is done on the Butthe company’s board room is used for live focu groups and the occasional mock trial, where law firms present both sides of important cases to staged juries and gaugse reactions to different trial Afterwards, Sanderoff says, he gets the satisfaction of seeinb the advice and data he’sw gathered translated into business “We get to see the outcome of our advice withim days, weeks, months, on the billboards, on the fron t page of the newspaper, in decisions they make internally.
And that makesw us feel good.” Terri president and CEO of the , says the chamber has turne d to Sanderoff over the years to provide researcj and analysis on subjects including health education and transportationand he’s nevef steered them wrong. “It takes a very knowledgeable person to dothe research, communicate the results of the researc and always be extraordinarily objective and fair in the and Brian does all of that very well,” she says. Even thoughj his life has taken him away from politics asa it’s still the political work that injects a littls adrenaline into the business for Sanderoff.
“When you ask peoples ‘Do you prefer red or green chile?’ that’s but there’s really no day of reckoning,” he “In election polling, there’s a day of because if you’re wrong, people want to know why. Those are the ones that drivre usto drink.” Good thing Sanderoff is righf most of the time. Research and Polling’s work for the Journal includes polls predictinv the outcome of races before voters go to the And in 67 of the 70 general election, statewide and congressional district racews where Research and Polling has done it has picked the winner. Sanderofft is the first to saythat he’sz only as good as his last poll.
He says the combinatiojn of a presidential election and four out of five ofthe state’s congressional seats up for grabs meane one thing is certain: Come election night, theres will be plenty to keep candidates — and professional pollsters — on the edgeds of their seats. “That’s why it’s calles a horse race,” Sanderoff says. “The only thing that really matters is who is ahear at thefinish