You Got This

17 Sep You Got This

17 September 2024

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

It’s the middle of September and you have a lot riding on the next few months. Seventy percent of the money given away every year is given between October and January. And half of YOUR money will come from just ten people.

You’re meeting with one of them today – over coffee early this afternoon.

And that’s when the little demon voice inside your head starts attacking your self-confidence.

“You’re not prepared,” it tells you insistently.

“You’re a fraud. You don’t know enough. You will never know enough. You are unworthy. You’re too [young, old, slow, much]. They don’t like you. They never liked you. And asking them for money will make it even worse.”

“What made this seem like a good idea? Who do you think you are? You’re not cut out for this.”

It happens. It’s happened to me. It has and will happen to you. And if you let it, it will shred the chances you had with that particular donor.

That little demon voice – It’s lying!

You got this.

What we know empirically about fundraising is that people give because they believe in the mission and because they believe in staff and volunteer leadership. They agreed to meet with you because they believe in YOU. If you walk in, exuding confidence (not arrogance!), they will enjoy the encounter, feel really good about making a gift, and look forward to your next meeting.

How can you stack the deck in your favor? Try these ideas:

1. Tell the demon voices to shut up. (Use an appropriate expletive if needed.) You ARE prepared. You DO know enough. You ARE worthy. They DO like you and always have. More importantly, they like the Conservancy and are proud to be a part of the Conservancy’s success.
2. Do your homework. How much are you asking for? Why will they say yes to the request? What do you know or remember about the donor from the last time? How much did they give last time? Now sit in a quiet place and close your eyes. Visualize the entire visit from scratch. What will they be curious about? What questions will they ask? What do you expect to happen?
3. Bring a good story. Come prepared to share a good story, and preferably one that is personal. Draw them into the story and use humor to keep the mood light.
4. Take the risk of asking. The more experience you have, the more confident you will feel. You are not going to die during coffee. Sometimes, the risk will work. Sometimes it won’t. Either way, responding to each circumstance – handling each situation – will grow your self-confidence.
5. Own the fact that you will make mistakes. Jeff Schreifels (Passionate Giving Blog, Veritus Group) says that “perfectionism leads to inaction.” The way I put it is “don’t fear being human.” You’re not ever going to get everything right, and that shouldn’t even be the expectation. You will be forgiven being human, and most donors will appreciate the shared experience. It seems counter-intuitive, but it works.
6. Eye-contact. Body language of all kinds is important – sit forward in your seat, listen deeply and actively, and so on – but the most important of all is eye-contact. We know this intuitively, but it bears frequent reminding.

And here’s the most important thing: Donors have their own reasons for giving money. We need to know (or at least guess) what they are before we ask, and we need to return to them after they give. In-person donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship isn’t about selling. It’s about listening. It’s about discovery.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. I’m reminding you of something you may have forgotten.

You got this.

Cheers, and Have a great week!

-da

PS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by Erik Karits courtesy of Pixaby.