3 Ways to Get Major Donor Prospects Excited About a Visit With You

The Donor Attraction Letter

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

When cultivating strong, successful relationships with major donors, you know it’s a process that takes time, proper care and consistent donor-centered communications.

Depending on the size of the gift you’re working on, many face-to-face visits will likely be planned before your big ask.

But sometimes setting up those visits is the hardest part!

Why?

For lots of reasons. People are busy. They’re bombarded with emails and they’re screening their calls. And, depending on how you’re framing your invitation to meet, it may not sound all that appealing.

If you’re having trouble getting your major donor visits on the calendar, try these 3 proven strategies to peak your donors’ interest in spending some time with you:

The Advice Visit

In fundraising, there’s an expression: If you ask for money, you’ll get advice. If you ask for advice, you’ll get money.

So, use this adage to your advantage!

The reason an advice visit works so well is simple:

People love, love, love to share their thoughts and opinions.

When you invite a major gift prospect to a one-on-one get together to ask for their advice about something meaningful in your organization, you’re tapping into the donor’s desire to feel important and be involved in something significant. You’re playing up the donor as an influential person whose opinions you value.
 
Here’s some sample phrasing you might use in your conversation:
 
“John, we’ve got an interesting new initiative in the works. I’d love to pick your brain a bit and get your opinion on it. I’ll just need 30 minutes of your time. Can we get together over coffee next week on Tuesday or Wednesday?”
 
With this approach, your donor will get the sense that he’ll be doing most of the talking, which is precisely your goal!

The Discovery Visit

This one works really well for donors who’ve recently donated at a significantly increased level over their last gift.
 
Here, you’re going to take some time to learn about what inspired your donor to make a larger gift.
 
When calling to thank your donor, you’d couch your invitation to visit something like this:
 
“John, I’d love to learn more about your story and why you’ve decided to invest more in our important work. Would lunch or coffee one day next week work for you?”
 
Many people really enjoy sharing their story. Humans are hardwired for connection, and storytelling is a top way that people seek out connection. When you give someone the opportunity to tell their story, you’re helping to validate a person’s life and give it more meaning and purpose.
 
Depending on the situation, your donor may also find that telling his story provides healing and comfort and a greater sense of community with others – all very helpful in creating a closer bond with your donor.
 
So, use discovery visits as a key strategy to get a “YES!” to your visit invitations. Chances are good that your donor will be flattered that you’ve taken special interest in what makes him tick and why he cares about your cause.
 
The Update Visit

Another great way to get a donor interested in a visit with you is by providing an update on outcomes achieved and lives changed because of support from the donor.

Here’s some sample phrasing you might use with this invitation:
 
“John, thanks so much again for the support you provided to our [NAME OF PROGRAM]. You’ve changed so many lives for the better! I’m so grateful to you. Can we get together next week for just 30 minutes so I can share more with you about what your gift has helped accomplish?”
 
This can be such a gratifying and emotionally rewarding meeting for your donor and for you. Done well, you’ll come away from it having made lots of emotional deposits because of all the donor love and gratitude you showed.

As you’re planning for these visits, keep these helpful tips in mind:

  • Never ask for money. These visits are all about cultivation, gratitude and getting your donors more emotionally engaged in your work. But, you just may find that one of these visits inspires an unsolicited gift! I’ve personally experienced this, and it speaks to the power of taking genuine interest in your donor.
  • Prepare with the most important thing: Your mindset. Everything starts here with your “self-talk.” Envision a positive, high-energy, productive, enjoyable meeting and you’ll help bring one to life.
  • Keep these visits short, powerful, and donor-centered.
  • Be an active listener. Aim to have the donor do most of the talking.
  • Be likeable! Show up cheerful, charming and engaging.
  • Don’t use technology, such as bringing along a laptop to show a video, unless the donor has made a special request. This tends to inhibit conversation, so avoid it whenever you can.
  • People tend to feel more relaxed and open to conversation when they feel comfortable, so schedule these visits outside of the office. Coffee shops or restaurants with nice ambiences and cozy booths are preferable.
  • After your visit, immediately follow up with a handwritten personal note sent via postal mail. If questions came up that you need to research, email your donor, thanking him for his time and letting him know you’ll be in touch soon with answers/feedback. Be sure to record notes from the visit and schedule follow up cultivation steps.

The big takeaway is this:

Getting in front of prospective major donors can be difficult, but when you frame personal visits with the focus on the donor, you’ll get more “YES!” responses. And studies show that the amount of face time you have with donors directly correlates to the size of gift you can expect to receive, so these visits must be a big part of your major gifts strategy.

Best wishes for BIG success with your major gift fundraising!

Dedicated to helping you attract and keep your donors,


Jen Viano
Nonprofit Writer/Consultant
Editor, The Donor Attraction Letter

PS: Working on major gifts can be challenging and intimidating. If you’d like some help developing or enhancing your major gifts strategy, or crafting materials that support major gift cultivation/solicitation/stewardship, I’d love to help. Email me at Jen@JenViano.com to start a conversation.

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