Want to Raise More Money when Fundraising? Go on a Listening Tour

Recently I was on a coaching call with a new client who doesn’t have experience raising major gifts. We discussed his plans for raising money from individual donors before year end.

His idea was to call as many businesses as possible to “get meetings,” then tell them about all the amazing work his organization was doing, and then ask for a gift. Only, he had already discovered that people weren’t returning his calls. Getting people to meet with him was turning out to be more challenging than he thought.

3 Reasons Rushed Fundraising Rarely Works

My new client’s enthusiasm was great, but the best fundraisers understand that it takes time to raise money. Fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. With that in mind, here are three reasons why it’s hard to rush fundraising — especially in today’s world.

1. You can’t build relationships when you do all the talking.

When I was a new development director, I thought my job was to tell prospective donors everything about the organization. I would share facts, figures, recite stories, and more. But by the time I got finished talking, the person across from me had essentially zoned out.

The critical mistake I made was that I wasn’t learning anything about the person sitting across from me. There’s no relationship when the conversation is one way.

2. It’s hard to get meetings.

I don’t need to tell you because you already know… getting meetings seems harder and harder these days. Most people screen their calls with caller ID and voice mail. And people are busier than ever and guard their free time carefully.

3. Asking for a gift at a first meeting is almost always a mistake.

If you do ask for a gift at a first meeting, before a relationship is established, the gift is likely to be a token or “go away” size gift. It will be small in comparison to what the person might be able to give if they were passionate about and committed to the organization.

How to Conduct a Listening Tour to Listen Your Way to a Gift

Instead of running around trying to meet with people to ask for donations, we decided my coaching client would go on a 6-week listening tour.

The goal of the listening tour would be to meet and get to know as many of his current donors as possible. This way, he wouldn’t feel any pressure to raise money, but simply to get to know the donors he already had.

Here are 3 Hallmarks of a Good Listening Tour:

As you embark on your listening tour, there are three important things to keep at the front of your mind. Notice how all three hark back to the reasons given above for why rushed fundraising so often fails.

1. Fundraising is about relationships and strong relationships are multidirectional.

Real relationships go two ways. The donor needs to know about your organization, programs and services, but you also need to get to know them. Do this by asking open-ended questions.

Some great questions to get to know your donors are:

• Why did you start giving to our organization in the first place?
• Why do you care about our organization/mission?
• What motivates you to continue giving year after year? And, what might motivate you to be even more supportive?
• What types of volunteer work might be of interest?
• What are the issues you care most about?

When speaking with donors, be sure you are doing less than 50% of the talking. That will prevent you from lecturing at them and keep them engaged in the conversation.

2. People will meet when it’s worth their while.

There’s no doubt, it’s hard to get meetings. If you offer to meet with someone to thank them or update them about your programs, it isn’t a good use of their time. After all, you can thank them over the phone or through the mail. They can learn about your organization on your website or via your newsletter.

So in order to secure a face-to-face meeting with your donors, you’ll need to make it worth their while. The primary way to do that is to ask for their advice — something most people are happy to give. That’s why a listening tour works so well. Tell donors you’re looking for feedback from community members and donors, and they’ll be hard-pressed to say no.

3. Do not ask for a gift at the first meeting — with a few key exceptions.

In general, it’s not a good idea to ask for a gift at the first meeting. However, if the person asks, “How can I help?” or “What do you need?” you’d better have a good answer. Don’t say, “Nothing” or “I’ll get back to you”. Be ready to discuss your needs and how they can help. Think of it as their “starter” gift.

One other time to ask for a gift at your first meeting is when you’re certain you’ll never get a second meeting. If not, what do you have to lose? But don’t expect a second gift or a relationship to come out of it.

Above All Else, Remember This…

As you race to the year-end finish line, always remember:

Relationships rule in fundraising.

If you don’t have a meaningful relationship with your donors, you’ll simply receive transactional-style, small gifts. So really work on building deep relationships with your donors and it will pay off for years to come.