Top 3 reasons why major gift or legacy gift officers don’t have enough face-to-face meetings with donors
Gregory Warner
We help your supporters self-qualify their interest in giving so your frontline fundraisers spend their valuable time with the right people — when they’re ready to move forward. imarketsmart.com
I hear a lot of people complaining about gift officers not meeting with enough donors.
Usually, these complaints come from people who don’t really do much face-to-face fundraising on their own. Instead, interestingly, they manage people who do.
But, sadly, they fail to realize that the top reasons why their staff are not meeting with enough donors face-to-face is because either:
- They failed to hire the right people for the job in the first place;
- They failed to provide them with highly qualified leads;
- They failed to train them on how to set appointments.
So, if you’re one of the complainers, ask yourself if you have the right staff or did you hire the first warm body that came through the door and promised to do the job? I know, hiring is a pain in the ass. But if you do it right, most of your other problems go away.
Ask yourself, are you providing them with highly qualified leads or are you telling them to generate their own leads? Most fundraisers are not very good at generating leads. If you mention it to them they look at you funny. They tend to be focused on ‘outbound’ not ‘inbound.’ That’s old-school and it has got to change. You should be generating and providing them with highly qualified leads. If you aren’t, contact me!
And, ask yourself have you trained them properly on how to set appointments? Too many face-to-face fundraisers suck at this but they are great at building relationships and closing gifts. Don’t make them do the stuff they suck at! Hire someone else to do it or train them properly!
By the way, I’ve never met anyone in the sector explain how to do this well. Sad isn’t it? Most leaders and consultants in the sector simply have no idea how to set appointments. If you don’t either, you owe it to your staff to learn how or invest in some training.
Bottom line: If they are failing and you are their boss, it’s actually your fault. Have a nice day!
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Private Banker, Community Leader and Relationship Builder
6 年True
Strategist | Philanthropic Matchmaker | Nonprofit Advocate | Connector | Author
6 年Good article!? Could add to the list of unrealistic/ unprepared expectations
Is it the job of the employer to give them identified prospects? Or, is the job of the officer to steward existing while identifying and cultivating new ones? Tools are available to make that work more cost efficient if agencies would open their minds and invest. With clarity and increased probability of success comes confidence to make that call to connect. Market cultivation is a hard job regardless of industry. It’s disappointing that so many non profits I meet would rather waffle and complain instead of invest.
Post Secondary Ed. Fundraising Leader and Sales Leader. ?? Ten Pin Sales Agency ?? Orly Amor ?? Anthony Biggs ?? Kitchen Party DJ since 2012
6 年So true. Most fundraisers fear the phone, calling to book a meeting. Why is that? Most have never been trained in calling techniques. How to leave a proper voicemail. How to and when to follow up. Such important skills to get a face to face meeting.
I help ministries and other nonprofits accelerate revenue growth
6 年Legit.