Before you go on your next major donor solicitation call, spend a little time practicing. Your roommates may think you’ve gone batty, but get yourself into the bathroom, look in the mirror and say aloud the key elements of your presentation and, most importantly, the ask itself.
Once you feel confident alone, try it with a friend or, even better, the person who’ll be accompanying you on the donor call.
Don’t get caught up in practicing a long, involved speech to the prospect. You shouldn’t be making one of those anyway! Instead, break down the meeting into pieces and then rehearse each part of it. You can use our Flow of a Personal Solicitation to get you started.
Here are the ask elements I always like to run through a few times:
The Small Talk
Be prepared to get a casual and pleasant conversation going. Know a little about your prospect so you can ask pertinent (but not nosy!) questions. For example: I hear you were in Bhutan last month and I’ve been dying to hear about it! or Our Executive Director mentioned to me that you just adopted a dog. I did, too! Tell me about yours. or if you don’t know anything about them, How long have you lived here in Missoula? always works. It sounds trite, but if it doesn’t come naturally to you to initiate a conversation, get yourself ready in advance.
The Transition
This is essential because you may be enjoying your small talk so much that you run out of time! I like to have a question in mind to move easily into the meat of the meeting. It can be as simple as: Jane, what got you involved in our agency? or What do you know about the work we’re doing? or I’ve been so excited about our latest initiative. Do you mind if I tell you about it?
The Case
As mentioned above, don’t prepare a long-winded, involved speech. Have three points you want to make to the prospect and make them succinctly. You can use this Developing Your Fundraising Story tool to help you come up with those three points. Then practice them again and again so you don’t ramble when the time comes to share them!
The Ask
Of all the things to practice, this is the most important one to actually say aloud multiple times. It’s when you’re likely to feel most self-conscious, so advance rehearsal will give you extra confidence. It’s also important to ask for a specific amount. For example: Joe and Sally, we’re hoping you’ll consider joining us with a gift of $1,000. A gift of that magnitude will enable us to… You can find a few other examples of how to frame the ask in this past Front Range Source blog.
The Dreaded Post-Ask Silent Waiting Period
It’s a tenet of fundraising that once you’ve made the ask, you MUST let the prospect speak next. This can be an agonizing minute or two of allowing the prospect to ponder. When you practice with your fundraising partner, make sure you’re both prepared to be patient with the prospect and then sit together in silence for a full two minutes just to get the feel of it. Sounds silly, but I assure you it’s worth it!
The Objection Responses
Anticipate in advance the objections a prospect might have and practice how you’ll respond. It’s generally going to be about the program, the dollar amount or the timing. Be prepared for all of them.
The Next Steps
Don’t forget about this part! Practice how you’re going to either ask the prospect to fill out a pledge form or how you’ll set a specific date to follow up with them in a few days. Don’t ever leave a meeting without everyone involved knowing exactly what’s going to happen next.
Even old hands like myself still practice before going into a solicitation call. I promise it’ll make you more relaxed and confident which in turn will give the donor more confidence in you and your agency.
Good luck!
