TEST

That’s great advice from my friend Bruce Morrow. There is so much information online about pretty much anything you want to learn. Often, people will ask me what works for annual, major, or planned giving outreach. My response is, “This works for other people or organizations, but the only way you are going to know if it works for you is to test it. ”This is a simple point, but a big one as well. We don’t test enough. Or we don’t do it in a systematic way. Test as many things as you can. I think of a scientist going to work each day with their lab coat and clipboard. Scientists don’t assume anything. They determine what works by experimenting, testing, measuring, and then adjusting until the desired result is achieved. We should do the same with our work. I learned from direct mail experts many years ago that you need to test one component at a time.

Let me show you what I mean.

Voicemails

My favorite things to test are my voicemails. What is the right combination of words, inflection, pace, and tone to deliver more compelling voicemails that encourage donors to call me back? Let’s start by breaking down the components of a voicemail:

Length. How long are your voicemails? People have such short attention spans. To measure the length, leave yourself a voicemail. It should ideally be less than sixty seconds. How can you make the message more concise and more compelling?

Content. This contains your call to action. What do you want the donor to do? Call you? E-mail you? Visit? Is that call to action clear? What seems to get the best response?

Tone/Pace. This is how you say it. As important as what you say is, it’s probably more important how you say it. What is your tone? Is it light and comfortable? Is it bubbly? Too bubbly? How about your pace? Is it too slow or too fast? When I started working with older donors on the phone, I had one older donor tell me to slow down because she could not understand what I was saying. That was a big wake-up call for me. I did not even realize that I was speaking so fast. You may consider adjusting your tone and pace for the donor. If you know the donor is older and maybe from a rural area where the pace of life is slower, tone it down and slow it down. If you are speaking with a busy Wall Street executive, you may consider slightly increasing your pace and tone.

What Are You Saying?

You can take the content component and test different messages. When I started making donor calls for one organization a while ago, I quickly found out that I was giving away too much information on the voicemail. My message sounded something like this:

“Hi Mary, this is Joe from ABC Relief Fund. I am calling you to set a time for us to chat on the phone to thank you personally for your generosity over the years, learn about why you give, update you on the impact those gifts are having, and see how we can be better stewards of your donations.”

Well, what started happening was that some donors did call me back, and left me voicemails that sounded like this:

“Hi Joe, this is Mary, returning your call. You don’t need to thank me. Everything is fine, I trust you folks are using the money wisely. No need to call me back.”

Alrighty then. So, it only took two voicemails like that until I realized I had to test a new voicemail message. I was giving them too much information. So, I adjusted the voicemail to sound something like this:

“Hi Mary, this is Joe from ABC Relief Fund. I am calling you to set a time for us to chat on the phone to thank you for your generosity, ask you a few questions, and update you on a new initiative we are rolling out.”

That message worked much better. I did not get anyone leaving me messages saying there was no need to chat. I then went to work on my follow-up. I thought about the most effective way to follow up and started testing different approaches, like sending an e-mail follow-up, sending a handwritten note, and sending a postcard.

As always, your results will vary depending on many variables. The point is to keep testing. Determine what is going to produce the best results in your situation, with your constituency and with your unique style.

Here is a partial list of things you can test:

• Voicemails
• E-mails
• Pre-call letters
• Notecards
• An “I have not been able to reach you” survey. Send these to donors whom you cannot connect with. In the survey, ask them the questions you were going to ask them on the phone, and include a return envelope.
• Meeting with donors at their office (or yours) versus their home or a restaurant.
• Bringing someone with you on a donor visit versus going it alone.
• Doing research on your donor before the first visit versus going into the meeting with only his or her giving history.
• Types of questions you ask your donor.
• Telling your story with a computer presentation versus a paper presentation versus just you telling the stories.
• Telling donor stories versus stories of people who benefit from your mission.

See Chapter 22 for more on creating voicemails that inspire donors to call you back.

I help nonprofits of all sizes build sustainable major and planned giving programs.

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