A Path to Stronger Relationships: Showing Appreciation

It’s Week 17 of building Annual Giving in One Hour a Week, and this week continues to be a time to use your One Hour for making calls. As you work your way through calling your top donors, both those who give a lot of money and those who give a lot of gifts, this week I encourage you to reach out to those who give a lot of time, especially the staff and volunteers whose work is critical for your organization’s success, yet often unseen.

As we respond to the developing impact of COVID-19, we find ourselves being thankful for people doing work that we may have taken for granted before. Journalists are doing a good job lifting up health care workers and everyone in the food chain, from farm workers to grocery store staff. The stories connect us to a deeper appreciation for people whose work keeps us healthy and safe. Truck drivers, cleaning staff, mechanics, public transit workers, the folks who keep our Internet connection up and running – who plays a role like that in your organization but doesn’t always get the appreciation they deserve?

That’s the list of people for you to contact this week. If they are working, it may be a quick call, and if they are not, it’s even more important that you reach out with an authentic message of appreciation plus an opportunity to listen to what’s going on with them. As someone who always likes to work from a plan, I have to push myself to contact people when I don’t have all the answers about what’s happening; if that’s tough for you too, acknowledge that uncertainty is pushing all of us out of the space where we feel competent and in control. The important thing is connecting honestly. Let your key staff and volunteers hear that you appreciate their work, and the personal values that inspire them to do it. Take a moment to sit together in the uncertainty. We don’t have all the answers but we do have one another.

Phone it in! Tips and Tricks for Successful Connections​

Welcome to Week 16. This is still the time of year to use your One Hour to talk with key stakeholders: put the time on your calendar, all at once or in segments, to have four check-in conversations about 10 minutes long. Leave yourself a couple of minutes before and after to prepare and make notes. You can use the same talking points for any updates, but keep in mind that is secondary to actively listening to what’s going on with your VIP. If we weren’t going through this unusual time with so many people staying safe at home, this would still be my recommended activity, and now it is even more important because your stakeholders, if they are not on the front line delivering essential services, may be feeling out of touch and missing spontaneous conversations. All of our In Boxes are overflowing with every non-essential business saying what they are doing “in these uncertain times” so standing out from the torrent of email makes even more sense now.

When you created your first list of VIPs to call at the beginning of the month, you’re probably down to the people who don’t seem to answer telephone calls. Don’t take them off your list just yet. Here’s how I approach the harder-to-reach person:

Start early in the week with email. Plan on making calls later in the week and into the next week if needed. Spanning two work weeks is key. In the course of normal work life, this time of year is popular for conference travel, grant deadlines, and special event execution, so lack of response can mean that your stakeholder is on the road or on deadline.

Begin with a personal email message:

Use a warm, personal subject line that makes your intention clear. Make it a greeting, like “Hi, Bill – time for a quick call Wednesday or Thursday?”

Keep your body copy short. Resist including a big update paragraph about your organization. The purpose of your message is engagement, so clear a path to your conversation. You are also giving an alternative to people who don’t want to talk on the telephone – when you learn that about one of your stakeholders, make a note that they strongly prefer email or another method over talking on the phone.

Sample email body copy: “Bill, do you have a few minutes Wednesday or Thursday when we could have a brief conversation? I’d like to check in with you and see how you’re doing. I’ll give you a call on (choose a half-day window on a certain day) Wednesday afternoon unless you let me know there is a better time for you.”

Use an appropriately informal closing phrase, whatever feels natural to you. I use “Warmly,” or “Warm regards” for people like leadership volunteers I know pretty well.

People who want to connect with you but don’t enjoy the phone may send you a message that they aren’t available, and they won’t offer another time. They might ask if this is something you could do by email. Make a note of their preference on their record, and send a personal email or a handwritten note. Leave a warm impression that doesn’t add to their task list.

The recipient may send you their preferred time in your window, or offer another time. That’s a great opening, and you can be confident that they welcome your call.

The recipient who doesn’t respond may not have read your message; may plan to pick up your call if it’s convenient at the moment; may be happily anticipating your call; or they may plan to put you through to voice mail. You won’t know until you call, so stay positive.

Make that call:

When you connect, great! Have your conversation, add new information to the person’s record as appropriate, and aim to close the conversation in a way that opens a path to a next step for engagement.

You wrote, you called, it went to voice mail, you left a message, now what?

Work an outreach plan for about a week. You want to connect without looking like a stalker, so it’s a balancing act. Leave one voice mail message. Note the date and time on your call list for reference. Try again the next business day, but at a significantly different time, and don’t leave a message if you don’t connect.

The best times to catch people will vary, so use what you know about them. To catch busy people at their offices, I like 11:55 and 4:50 because often people will be at their desk wrapping up before lunch or going home. Larks who get into the office early tend *not* to appreciate surprise calls before 9:00 because they count on that quiet time to organize their day. You can call them a few minutes after 9:00, though, because they will be into their workday. In my experience, owls who work into the evening are more extroverted than larks and you can try them at 5:30 or 6:00 because they’re still going strong from interacting with people during the day.

My method is to call about every day and a half, varying the times. Once you’ve left a voice mail message asking your person to contact you, and saying “I’ll try to catch you again later this week,” you have about three more calls before you start to look obsessed.

After one voice mail message and three more calls that go nowhere, make a note of your engagement attempts on the person’s record and send a handwritten note, ideally mentioning when you might see one another next, at an event or meeting. You might scan your note copy and attach it to the person’s file. Then move them off your active To Call list.

Since we’re talking about ways to reach people, I’m going to include tactics I use when I really have to get hold of someone, like collecting a pledge, or securing a meeting attendance response or guest names for an event. Here are two ways to use a third party to help you.

If your prospect has an assistant or similar, call that person directly, be warm and gracious, and ask for guidance about how to connect. See if you can gain insight into a better way to connect, including leaving your request for a callback with that live person. Gatekeepers are critical resources – record that person’s name, send a follow-up thank you email or note for any help they provide.

Or, get help from a mutual contact, someone else who is closer to your prospect than you are. That might be your boss, a Board member, or someone else that both you and the prospect know.

You can use their help via email a couple of ways: have the mutual connection send an email, cc you, and say something like “I thought it would be good if you could have a quick chat with Alex at ABC Org. Would you please reach out to them at [email] or [phone]? Thanks!”

You can send your own message and drop that name in your subject line like “Carly Gold asked me reach out to you—could we connect?” and cc your contact. Keep your message copy brief and offer both phone and email for the person to respond.

The telephone variation of that is, about 10 days after your initial voice mail message, call again and drop the name in your opening sentence or in your voice mail message. Keep it light and breezy like “Hi, this is Alex at ABC Org, and Carly Gold encouraged me to give you a call.”

Share your own success tactics in the comments, and keep on connecting live to rise above email In Box clutter.

How Do I Stay Organized When I’m Too Busy to Stay Organized?​

Welcome to Week 15! Use your One Hour this week to continue reaching out to connect with the people who are most important to your cause. With Passover and Easter just finished, you may be able to connect with more people now than last week.

If you’re someone who finds it easy to stay organized when you’re extra busy, please share your methods in the comments below! Since that’s a continuing challenge for me, I am going to share an old-school technique that works for me and may help you too. There are no bells or whistles, nothing new or shiny.

It’s this: Keep a phone log in one single notebook.

The right model notebook for you is one that you use every day, that’s not too pretty to use. Choose what works for you — I like an old-school steno pad, a 6×9 top-bound notebook that costs about a dollar. It lies flat, it’s good if you’re left- or right-handed, and it’s small enough to stay near your writing hand while you’re at your desk. Stick with one book at a time — I’ve made the mistake of writing notes in two or more places, and the key is to keep everything in the same place.

When you make calls, jot the date, time, person you want to reach, and when you connect, note relevant information and any action steps. If you speak with an assistant, write that person’s name so you can greet them personally the next time you talk. Since this part of the year is all about connecting with your important people, make a note even when you call and get no answer, and whether you left a voice mail message. This will help you to time your calls for the best results. Next week’s post will dig into details of successful connection tactics to help you get through your VIP call list.

Keeping all your notes in one book takes a little discipline. Build your habit of using the same book and you’ll reduce your risk of losing track of (and I’ll offer my own examples):

• sticky notes
• things written on the blank backs of pages “to save paper”
• digital comments hanging on calendar appointments or database records
• entries in the app du jour that I thought was going to be better than my steno book (spoiler alert: it wasn’t).

Having a single-stream chronological account of your conversations, including your attempts to connect, will support your work as you build and strengthen relationships.

Leave all the pages intact. Resist the urge to tear out and toss pages that seem irrelevant or messy. You never know when data you captured will turn into useful information later. When you reach the end of the book:

• Skim it from the beginning to capture any open tasks or useful information.
• Reflect on the work you’ve done, what you’ve learned in that time, and how you’ve grown in the process.
• Write the start and end dates on the cover for reference, and file it.

Part of your role to make your annual fundraising as strong as possible is that person-to-person outreach, and keeping a tangible record captures evidence of your efforts.

Keeping a paper log can make it quicker to set goals and measure progress. If you want to be sure to talk to two of your VIPs every week, you may set goals of calling four to eight people, knowing that not everyone will be available. Framing your action plan to include outputs as well as outcomes will help to keep you going through times when you’re making the effort but aren’t connecting. Some weeks it will seem like everybody picks up the phone – and other weeks nobody! Keep an even pace and expect results to come in waves. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here on the 20th for some skill-building tips to get the most out of your email and telephone outreach.

Staying Connected Is More Important Than Ever

Welcome to Week 14 – the dawn of the second quarter of the year! We kick off Q2 with a focus on staying connected with your important relationships. In normal times I would encourage you to meet in person whenever possible. We communicate more fully and energetically when we are present. These uncertain times call for flexibility since in-person meetings aren’t an option, but even if they were, you should use technology for some of your connecting conversations when meeting face to face places a burden on your guest. Telephone and video calling can be welcome alternatives for people with limited resources – whether that means time, money, health, or mobility. You want to confidently check in with your key people using the method they prefer.

You can use your One Hour this week all at once or in pieces. Set aside about 15 minutes each to complete these tasks:

• Brainstorming names
• Composing and sending an email message to people on the list
• Having two conversations via video or telephone, 10-15 minutes each

Who’s On the List?

Make a list of six to 10 people who are important to your fundraising. Keep writing if names are flowing to you, but you’re doing fine if you can identify two or three people in each of these groups:

Loyal donors – The golden metric for loyalty is giving seven out of the last 10 years, but if you haven’t been fundraising for long or you don’t have gift history sorted, write down the first names that come to mind as the people who always give, who always say yes, who don’t make you chase them to close a renewal. These are just the kind of donors who can be taken for granted, and you’re not going to let that happen. Put your most faithful on the list.

Newest/largest – Pull first-time donors who made larger gifts in the last six months to a year. It’s critical to get them to renew when it’s time.

Key influencers – who are the people who wave your organization’s flag? Who gets into conversations in their circles and talks about your cause and what a great job you do? This might be alumni, parents, volunteers, even staff with a significant network of communication. It doesn’t matter if they give big, or often – maybe they aren’t giving personally but they are directing resources your way. They are important because they are signal boosting your work.

More names may come to you later as a result of this exercise. As long as you have a couple of each type to call, you’re in a good position to have some conversations. You’re only trying to complete two, and some people will be unresponsive, so it’s good to be pursing three to five times as many as you want to land this week.

What’s In the Email?

A quick, warm greeting with a couple of action steps, in your own language:

“With everything that’s going on, I want to say hello and see how you’re doing. I’ll give you a call on (weekday) (morning or afternoon) – please let me know if there’s a better day or time for you, and if you’d like to chat by video, I’ll send you a meeting invitation.”

What’s In the Call?

Wait, only two calls on the To-Do List but six or more people got the email? You won’t reach everyone. It’s up to you whether you leave voice mail messages or just rotate the people who don’t answer to a different weekday and/or timeslot the following week.

When you do connect: Your job is to deliver a warm greeting and lots of listening. This is not an update call about your organization/mission unless you truly have something exciting to share. A check-in call like this makes even more sense in the current circumstances. You want to show openness and understanding. As you talk with more people, you may discern themes that can guide your broader communication.

While you’re on the call, be ready to take brief notes and store them for reference. (Week 15’s post will include a simple notes management technique that has worked for me.) Send a quick thank-you by email or paper mail, whichever seems right for you. Personally, I have found my desire to send a perfectly-worded thank-you note card has caused me to wait too long to respond and then it’s just awkward. A paper note is charming and much more enduring than an email, but timeliness is the most important element in thanking. If you haven’t written a notecard by the end of the day when you talked to your person, send an email before you shut down work for the day.

Keep It Going!

Throughout the spring, your time will be used best with this kind of outreach, so I’ll be sharing tips and guidance more than entirely new tasks here most Mondays. Keep visiting each week to refine your technique. You will stay on track by using me as your accountability partner for scheduling and completing these important conversations.