phone solicitations: make it brief; make it good

The following is adapted, with permission, from my colleague Avraham Lewis

A school in New York was gearing up for a matching campaign three weeks’ away.

The year before, one of their biggest donors had been very hard to contact. He finally came through with a $25,000 gift - but he was capable of much more. This year, they wanted him to serve as a matcher. They wanted him to commit to a $50,000 matching gift.

But they weren’t going to be able to meet with him. He was just too busy. The best they could hope for was a quick phone call.

Now, as you probably know, phone calls are NOT an ideal way to solicit major gifts.

But the school was stuck. It was either try or give up. So they decided to give it a go - based on a method I call “Bullet Point Fundraising.”

I’ve based this method on the ancient (well, not too ancient) wisdom that advises: when soliciting over the phone - be VERY to-the-point. Best for donors who value business more than relationship, BPF dictates that you need to be fast. And brief - you need to make a limited amount of points.

If you’re fast and brief - you show your donor you value his time. And you get your points heard.

If you aren’t - you lose your donor’s attention (and, probably, his check). A couple points on Bullet Point Fundraising:

• Step 2: Ask how much time your donor is planning to spend on the call. You’re going to be presenting a pitch that’s no longer than two minutes. But still, it’s good to ask.
  

• Step 3: Get to the point right away with a statement like “Joe, your donation made a huge impact on our school last year. Here’s how…” Then share three points elaborating on that, pausing between each one. Remember - no point should be longer than 20 seconds.
  

• Step 4: Move on to your next point: “In the year ahead, your continued support will allow us to accomplish incredibly important things, like…” Once again, elaborate with three up to 20-second points.
  

• Step 5: Check in with the donor to make sure you address any questions or objections he might have.
  

• Step 6: Make the ask. Quickly and confidently.

That’s all, folks. But… I bet you’re wondering where Step 1 went.

Step 1 doesn’t happen on the call. It happens beforehand. It’s preparation. The more time and effort you put into crafting your six points, the more powerful your pitch will be. And when you’ve got five, six, or seven figures at stake - you’ll want to prepare pretty well.

Curious about whether Bullet Point Fundraising works? Well… that school we mentioned earlier? They used BPF - and got their $50,000. (In under 2 minutes! Efficient, no?)

A non-profit fundraising consultant, I have learned there is no such thing as one-size fits all. Each organization has its own dynamic needs and my goal is to help your organization move to the next level and turn your vision into donations. You can contact me at suzanne@suzannelieberman.com; let’s start a conversation.