It's no secret that there are parallels between wooing a donor and a date. So how well do the rules of dating apply to your donor relationships? Here's a two-part #ThroughNonProfitEyes look at TopDatingTips.com's dating rules. Part I is about the Do's of dating and Part II dives into the Don'ts. Part II will be posted later this week.
Part I: Dating Rules -- Do's
6. Do date only people you're attracted to, no matter what your friends say.
9. Do be proactive about finding people to date.
1. Do try to always look your best and be punctual.
Don't be sloppy with your appeals and engagement efforts. Make sure you are double- and triple-checking your copy. If you are in a decentralized environment, swallow your pride and do everything you can to break down the silos and coordinate the timing of mailings, emails and other communications. Nothing can turn off a prospect like overlapping, clearly poorly coordinated or timed appeals and messages.
2. Do try to enjoy yourself on dates.
For a lot of nonprofit practitioners, the work of soliciting donors and prospects becomes, well... work. This is okay and understandable, but it can often blind us to the positive work our organizations do - and the joy we should feel in helping move our organizations forward.
3. Do compliment your date on how he or she looks.
Yep... complimenting your donors can go a long way to renewing them - tell them how great they are and how much it impacted your organization that they gave their time and resources to your organization, before asking for another gift.
4. Do be interested and interesting.
From the original Dating rules: "Ask questions, share insights and pay attention when your date is telling you what they like to do, read, watch, listen to, etc." This is virtually dead-on for your donor relationships. You need to ask questions (focus groups & surveys), share insights (keep your prospects & donors informed) and pay attention to what you're being told (respond to requests, apply research findings to your messaging, timing and strategies).
5. Do tell someone directly if you're not interested in seeing them again.
5. Do tell someone directly if you're not interested in seeing them again.
Okay... I'm not exactly sure how to parallel this one, to be honest. I would advise you not to tell your non-donors you want nothing to do with them.
6. Do date only people you're attracted to, no matter what your friends say.
Low on resources? Use data-modeling to find the prospects most likely to give, a.k.a. most attractive to you.
7. Do stay positive, even when dates don't end well.
If prospects ask you to be removed from your lists or appeals... or they simply reject your appeals, take the high road. Respect requests to be removed from lists, follow-up to disgruntled prospects with sincerity, and make sure you have data processes in place to ensure donor requests for communication will be honored.
8. Do plan ahead.
Almost any appeal - email, phone, mail, face-to-face, events - will be less successful if you do not plan ahead. And in most cases, your audience will be able to tell your planning was lacking.
9. Do be proactive about finding people to date.
Make sure you are putting aside time to reconsider your approach to acquiring new donors. Ask your non-donors why they don't support you. Better yet, ask your previous donors who didn't renew why they failed to do so. Look at various parts of your program and think about unique sources of prospects you haven't considered before. (Ex: University of Texas soliciting Gone With The Wind fans)
10. Do surround yourself with positive, like-minded people who are dating, too.
One of the best resources you have available to you are peers across the globe who face similar challenges. Benchmarking and peer-networks can be critical to helping you brainstorm new ideas, escape the creative vacuum of your office, and have a resource to call when faced with a challenge. Don't have any current peer connections? Conferences, community meetings and social networking can help you take the first step. If you aren't sure where to start, let me know and I will do my best to introduce you to a handful of resources.
1 comment:
If you are in a decentralized environment, swallow your pride and do everything you can to break down the silos and coordinate the timing of mailings, emails and other communications.
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