Braving the Call

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• Braving the Call
• Presented by MajorGiving.com

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• Table of Contents
• Overview of Session
• Developing a Call List
• Segmenting your list based on capacity and giving
  history
• What are you Going to Say
• Determine purpose of call
• Know your mission!
• Research your donor
• The Call
• Anatomy of a call
• Sample scripts
• Follow Up
• Resources

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• Welcome to MajorGiving.coms tutorial Braving the
  Call. One of the most daunting aspects of major
  gifts work is personal solicitation by phone.
  But getting in touch with your major contributors
  can be one of the most effective tools in raising
  money and one of the most useful ways to receive
  feedback about your organization.

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• In this presentation, you will learn to
• Determine the best people to call first.
• Prepare yourself by creating a script and
  conducting research.
• Make the ask over the phone.
• Effectively follow up with your donor after the
  call.

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• Develop Your Call List
• It is important to analyze your prospect list to
  determine the best prospects to call first.
• You have only so much time and many things to do!
  Managing your time wisely is critical.
• Randomly calling donors can be frustrating and
  fruitless. You want to make sure you are calling
  your most promising prospects first.

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• Develop Your Call List
• Segment your prospect list using the following
  guidelines/priorities
• 500 donors and who have given for five years
  and with whom you have a relationship. After
  calling these prospects, if time permits, start
  calling
• 500 donors and with whom you have a
  relationship (regardless of longevity of giving).
  After calling these prospects, if time permits,
  start calling
• 500 donors and who have given for five years.
  If time permits from this segment, call the
  following
• 500 from a good zip code.

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• What Are You Going To Say?
• Develop a Script
• What is the purpose of the call? Is it to get an
  appointment? To solicit a gift?
• Create an outline for each scenario.
• Ask questions to keep the conversation flowing
  such as What are your favorite programs?, and
  How long have you been a listener/viewer?
• Small talk is essential but remember the goal of
  the call and stick to it!

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• What Are You Going to Say?
• Develop a script (continued)
• Be up-to-date on whats new at your organization.
  
• Be able to articulate your organizations mission
  and vision for the future.
• The goal is to engage and excite your prospects.
  You want them to feel compelled to meet with you
  or make a contribution.

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• What Are You Going To Say?
• Prospect Research
• In determining what to say, it is important to do
  a little research on your prospect.
• Peruse paper and electronic files.
• Ask your CEO or other staff for information.
• Know what connections the prospect has to the
  organization. Does he or she volunteer? Is he
  or she on the Board? Has he or she ever made
  contact with the organization?

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• The Call
• Anatomy of a call
• Introduce yourself
• Small talk
• Reason for the Call
• Case building
• THE ASK
• Ask for specific amount
• Be quiet. Wait for prospect to respond
• Follow up
• Thank you

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• The Call
• Sample Script Introduction/Small Talk
• Hello, Mr/Ms Smith, this is John Doe, Development
  Officer of your public television/radio station,
  WXYZ. Id like to thank you for generous support.
  
• Were so fortunate to have you as one of our
  devoted viewers/listeners, and I thought it would
  be worthwhile to learn more from you about what
  it is you particularly like about our station and
  if you have any comments about our service.

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• The Call
• Introduction/Small Talk (continued)
• Is this a good time for a brief chat? If not,
  set an appointment to phone again.
• How did you first discover the station?
• Do you have any favorite programs?

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• The Call
• Sample Script Reason for call/Case Building
• Im calling today to follow up on a letter I sent
  you recently about an exciting opportunity.
• WXYZ is creating (or has created) a new giving
  club called the Leadership Circle and judging
  from your past generous support, I think its
  something you would be interested in.

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• The Call
• Reason for call/Case Building (continued)
• The Leadership Circle is comprised of a group of
  people who give annual gifts of 1000 or more.
• Benefits include list benefits. But, of
  course, the most important benefit of membership
  is the knowledge that you are helping the station
  continue to serve the community with outstanding
  programming mention programs and vital outreach
  services mention a few outreach efforts.

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• The Call
• Sample Script The Ask
• As a long-time supporter of the station, I know
  you value our service to the community.
• Can we count on you today to renew your support
  with a gift of 1,000 to join or become a
  charter member if club is new the Leadership
  Circle?
• Be quite and wait for response.

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• The Call
• Sample Script Follow Up
• I can understand that you may need more time to
  talk to your spouse/partner.
• Is there a good time for me to check back with
  you on your decision?
• In the meantime, Id be happy to send you
  information about the Leadership Circle.

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• The Call
• Sample Script Thank You
• Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to
  me today. I really enjoyed our conversation.
• And I greatly appreciate your consideration of
  joining our Leadership Circle or your
  willingness to help us continue our community
  service by joining or renewing your gift to the
  Leadership Circle.

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• Follow Up
• Following up to the call is just as important as
  the call itself.
• What did you learn about the prospect during the
  call? Take careful notes and record information
  in your database and in a call report. For a
  sample call report, see Resources.
• Did the prospect want further information? Be
  sure to send it promptly.
• Send a thank you note. If the prospect needs more
  time to make a decision, note the date and time
  of the agreed upon follow up conversation.

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• Resources
• Major Giving Alliance Talking Points, August
  2007, Making the Most of Your Phone Calls to
  Major Gifts Prospects and Donors.
  (www.majorgiving.com/resources/files/TalkingPoints
  0907.PDF).
• Sample call report (www.majorgivingnow.org/downloa
  ds/pdf/prospect_call_sheet.pdf)