Face-to-Face Solicitations April 5, 2016
Jeff Stauch
• Director of Annual Giving at Middlebury College • Active with CASE • MA from University of Chicago • BA from Middlebury College
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Middlebury College
• Founded in 1800 • Located in Middlebury, Vermont • 2,400 students • Approximately 27,800 solicitable UG alumni • Alumni Participation above 50% since mid-2000’s
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Goals for our time together
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Agenda • Guiding principles • Preparation • Meetings • Anatomy of the ask (non-illustrated) • Practicing
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GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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Poll: Approximately what portion of your annual giving team does face-to-face solicitations?
• Nobody • Minority • Majority • Everybody • Not sure
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Taking it to the Streets Typical canvassing shift: – 4 hours – 15-25 stops – 4-5 gifts – Average gift: $25 – Varying amount of sadness and dejection
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What I learned • How to get rejected • How to track performance • Daily feedback • Practice matters • There’s a formula • There’s no such thing as luck • You don’t control the outcome
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Basic Principles • It is just a conversation. • Surprises are bad • Butterflies are good, as long as you don’t show it • You are not friends • Location, location, location… kind of • Make it easy to say yes. Not hard to say no
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Basic Principles (continued) • They will only be as excited as you • The ask is a mid-point in the conversation • “No” is not the end of a conversation • Everyone is possibly a big donor - treat them that way • It is all about belief and confidence
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PREPARATION
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Outreach (…how to be honest yet likeable) • Rule #1: Do not hide • Who are you? • What do you do? • Why are you calling? • How should you reach out? • How often should you reach out?
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Research (…professional creeping) • The harsh reality of priorities • The silver lining • The need to knows • The nice to knows • The limits of research
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Research Resources (DIY) • Google (but be careful!) • DuckDuckGo • Yippy • IXQUICK • LinkedIn (Premium)
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MEETINGS
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…and this is where it gets awkward
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The First Meeting (…how to get a second date) • “Look Good, Don’t Suck” • Goals for the first meeting • Ask the right questions • Setting expectations
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Goals for the first meeting • Establish trust • Gather wealth cues • Determine: – Capacity – Inclination – Timing
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Asking good questions • “No one ever listened themselves out of a gift” – Jerold Panas, “Asking” • People love to talk about themselves • …and their kids • Ask philanthropy-specific questions: – What are their top philanthropic priorities? – How are decisions made? – What would be most compelling for them at your institution? Page 20
Setting expectations • No kissing on the first date • Frontload the endgame • Set a timeline • Establish preferences for going forward – How best to reach out? – How much advance notice? • Don’t forget to say thank you!
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Continued Engagement (…courtship) • Campus opportunities and campus partners • Off campus opportunities • Peer involvement • Electronic engagement
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Poll: Does your office receive press releases and/or are you notified when your school is in the news?
• Yes • No • Not sure
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ANATOMY OF THE ASK
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In case you weren’t listening… • Rejection is inevitable… …but all that rejection has yielded some interesting patterns • The formula does work more often than does recreating the ask every time • Knowing these 2 things should be somewhat liberating.
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Surprises are bad
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The Formula • Introduction • Purpose • Problem • Solution • Urgency • Ask
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We don’t live in a perfect world
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Other Tips and Tricks • It’s a statement, not a question • Visuals can be helpful • (Awkward) silence is (often) golden
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A visual representation Fiscal Year
Financial Aid
Annual Fund
Cumulative Gift
2015
$10,000
$5,000
$15,000
2016
$10,000
$5,000
$30,000
2017
$10,000
$5,000
$45,000
2018
$10,000
$5,000
$60,000
2019
$10,000
$5,000
$75,000
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PRACTICING
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Poll: Do you regularly “practice” solicitations?
• Yes • No • Not sure
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Why Practice, or Seriously, Just Practice
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Practice Makes Perfect (…or measurably better) • Phonathon • It’s campaign season! • Say the numbers! • Be foul-mouthed (but quietly!) • Get the whole team (not just Annual Giving) involved • Video recording exercise • Games (because having fun should be company policy) Page 34
Why I like games
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One more quick preface… • We learn more quickly when we’re having fun • Shows us that the ask is really just a conversation where things get a little uncomfortable • Once you’ve played these a few times, adapt them so that you incorporate language around your institution – turns more into role-playing, but that’s okay
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5 games to make you a better solicitor
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Game 1: Finish the sentence • Desired outcomes – Practice storytelling – Animation – Timing – listening • Partnered activity within group • Finish a chosen sentence (examples) • Listening partner then shares with group Page 38
Examples of sentences to finish • My favorite childhood memory is… • Something interesting about the neighborhood where I grew up is… • One of the most important people in my life is/was… • One of the books that changed my life is… • One of my proudest personal accomplishments in the last two years is…
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Game 2: Common ground • Desire outcomes – relationship and trust building – asking thoughtful questions • Paired exercise • Find as many commonalities as you can in 60 seconds Pair with most in common wins (and shares out) • Off limits – I work in development, – I work at the same institution Page 40
Game 3: Fun with Diseases • Desire outcomes – talk about something uncomfortable – outside your expertise – execute neutral delivery despite discomfort • Choose a disease: http://www.cdc.gov/diseasesconditions/ • Version 1: You have to tell someone that you have a disease • Version 2: You have to tell someone that they have a disease Page 41
Game 4: The Embarrassing Part • Desired outcomes – tell a story in a compelling way - despite discomfort – tease out more information • Choose an activity: multiplication tables or tennis balls • Storytelling partner tells an embarrassing story while doing above activity • Listening partner asks variants of “And then what happened?”
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Game 5: The Awkward Silence • Desired outcomes – build tolerance for silence and discomfort • The hardest game there is • Stare at your partner for 15 seconds without breaking
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Key Takeaways • You’re a cheerleader for your institution • Remember your responsibilities • Rejection and awkwardness are normal • Practice makes perfect • …and remember: this is the fun part!
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