How to contact Investors in the nonprofit sector

Yes, that’s right I use the word investors (rather than donor/sponsor/contributor/partner/champion, etc.). Why? It’s a simple explanation. When people invest in your nonprofit they expect a return. Do you offer a return? Not a direct financial return of course, but a real return. We can work on this one later. For now, let’s talk about the steps to contacting a prospective investor.

Quick start:

Be Prepared

However, this not an excuse to fall into analysis paralysis or as I describe some development staff –Prepare to Prepare to Do. In fact, the goal is to have the right tools in place so that if your initial commercial entices the investor, then you’re questioning process helps dig deeper.

Have a great E-mail subject line

Most key investors in your local area will want something via e-mail. Now, this does not take the place of a phone call or face-to-face, but the e-mail should create curiosity and open the door to a longer discussion. It must be short, emotional, clear, and action oriented.

The First E-mail

When you send your first e-mail you have 10 to 15 seconds to engage them/grab them. Most nonprofit commercials are too long, uninspiring, and “me” focused/or positioned for only the nonprofit’s benefit.

Have a great e-mail signature

It should have all the proper links, address, web site, etc., but also convey one to two challenge or opportunity points for the recipient. The signature should look and feel personal and emotional.

Make sure your message requires a response of either

• I don’t invest in your sector (nonprofit category –i.e. education, human services, health care, etc.).
  
• You’re not in my focus area.
  
• Or you’re not in my geographical area of choice.
  

Or, I’d like to learn more/hear or see more.

2nd Email to an Investor

Keep this one short and to the point and ask for the appointment (set up the phone call if they are out of your area).

3rd Email to an Investor

If they didn’t want to meet or do a call after the 2^nd e-mail, then you may have to help them get out of the situation. Make it ok for them to tell you no thanks or maybe some time down the road. Several techniques to do this – rescue, fall on the sword, close the file, put on the bottom of the list, etc.

Get to the point

An e-mail should enhance your 59 second commercial versus provide you with an opportunity to write a book about how your nonprofit is the greatest one ever created. Remember they care about their needs not yours.

Be the pink cat

Always think what’s in it for them or how we are different, and what will make them care about us. If you saw a pink cat walking around your neighborhood, you would probably become curious as to how it got there and is “it really pink.”

Track your numbers and do the behavior

Are you tracking the # of calls you’re making and e-mails your sending on a daily basis? If not, then there may not be a strong enough reason to keep doing them. Identifying potential investors is a numbers game, but more importantly, it is a quality numbers game. Furthermore, focus on your day-to-day prospecting behavior and block out 1 to 2 hours each day to just do prospecting activities which are defined as active versus passive fundraising. For example, writing grants or submitting paperwork is not an active prospecting activity, but picking up the phone, sending an e-mail or going to a networking event is an active activity.

At my Fundraising academy in Denver we dive into many techniques, skills, and approaches for contacting prospective investors. I understand how to teach nonprofits to sell like for profits –I have a system focused just on nonprofits and it works. Learn more at billyounginspires.com/academy.php. Now is the time to make the shift from government and foundation grants to corporate, major, and minor investors (donors).

What Nonprofits can learn from Seth Goden

I really respect Seth’s views on the marketing world. Although at times he can be somewhat cynical, I believe he is also correct. The following is list of Seth’s marketing lessons from What Every Good Marketer Knows. I’m listing what I think are the top 12 for most nonprofits (no particular order). This was difficult because all the lessons are good.

• Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.
  

Nonprofit Perspective: Make sure your mission is truly helping the people you think it is. And make sure your board is selling a consistent message

• Share of wallet is easier, more profitable and ultimately more effective a measure than share of market.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: Your donors are giving to several organizations- are you receiving the most of their wallet share?
  

• Advertising is just a symptom, a tactic. Marketing is about far more than that.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: Do you have a real strategy to get to major gifts and corporate opportunities or are you just using the same tactics you’ve always used?
  

• Products that are remarkable get talked about.
  

Nonprofit Perspective: Nonprofits that are remarkable get talked about.

• What people want is the extra, the emotional bonus they get when they buy something they love.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: They want the emotional bonus when they give to your organization. Are they getting one from you?
  

• Traditional ways of interrupting consumers (TV ads, trade show booths, junk mail) are losing their cost-effectiveness. At the same time, new ways of spreading ideas (blogs, permission-based RSS information, consumer fan clubs) are quickly proving how well they work.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: The traditional ways still work and typically work more effective like picking up the telephone and calling your prospective sponsor.
  

• Good marketers tell a story.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: Great Nonprofits fundraise because their stories tell the world what’s in it for the world.
  

• Marketing that works is marketing that people choose to notice.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: When you engage your prospects they don’t just see you as another donation, but they understand the value of what you really do and accomplish on a daily basis.
  

• Effective stories match the worldview of the people you are telling the story to.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: When you give your 59 second commercial does it connect to what the donor or sponsor wants and is it a compelling message?
  

• A product for everyone rarely reaches much of anyone.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: Do you understand the profile of your ideal investor (donor/sponsor)? And then do you use that data to formulate your prospecting plan?
  

• Good marketers measure.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: How do you track your daily prospecting behavior? This includes number of calls, e-mails, meetings, grants applications, and networking opportunities.
  

• There are more rich people than ever before, and they demand to be treated differently.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: Reread the above sentence. Have you sold yourself on there not being enough donors or sponsors for your nonprofit?
  

This top 12 list is about strategy and truly thinking the process through before beginning. What does your 2011 fundraising plan call for? Are you ahead or behind in regards to this year’s goals?

One more just for fun -

• Most marketers create good enough and then quit. Greatest beats good enough every time.
  

  Nonprofit Perspective: Is your nonprofit good enough or greatest?
  

Seth Godin work can be found at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Start Reading People’s Minds

You really read that guy well,” an employee said to me as we left an initial meeting. We had just closed on a six figure technology project and my employee had noticed how it seemed as if I’d read the prospects mind. Well, I did, sort-of, I used my NLP training to understand what the prospect was thinking and what direction he was headed. I’m not an expert in this field, but I’ve studied it enough to feel comfortable showing you how to use it. In fact, I’ve used my knowledge and awareness to mirror and match prospective investors and help them connect to my purpose.

 

As described in Strategy 1, NLP is an acronym for the three most influential components tied in producing human experiences/emotions – neurology, language, and programming. According to the web definition, the neurological system regulates how our bodies function; language determines the kinds of models of the world we create. NLP programming describes the interaction between the mind and language affects the body and behavior. This process helps you understand someone when their words are either not clear or perhaps misleading. For example, you might tell the sales associate that you’re interested in purchasing something in a retail store, but your body is facing the door with a facial expression making you look like you need to go to the restroom (providing different signals).

 

On the other hand, there are times when you connect with another person right from the second you meet them. It is almost like you’ve known them your entire life. The more you understand how NLP works within your own behavioral preferences, the faster your comfort level grows in identifying others preferences. One of the most common behavioral style indicators is the DISC personality assessment. It is the most common used assessment in the sales world, improving the way people interact with each other. DISC stands for the four quadrant behavioral model based on William Moulton Marston’s work and demonstrates different behavior styles that we all possess. Marston examined individual behavior in the personal environments and within certain situations.

 

The assessment classifies four aspects of behavior by testing a person’s association to certain words. The acronym means:

 

Dominance (D’s) – relates to power, control, and assertiveness

Influence (I’s) – relates to social situations and communication

Steadiness (S’s) – relates to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness

Conscientiousness (compliance) (C’s) –relates to structure and organization

 

We each tend to emphasize one or two of the styles and incorporate all of them into our overall behavior. For example, you might be 50% D, 30% I, 5% S, and 15% C. D’s tend to be intense and active when dealing with challenges. In fact, they can be described as demanding, forceful, strong, determined, and pioneering. Whereas, I’s tend to influence others with charm, described as convincing, magnetic, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, trusting, and optimistic. In addition, when describing S’s, you might think of words like steady, secure, and predicable. These people are loyal, related, deliberate, and stable. On the other hand, the last group, C’s, adhere to rules and regulations. They like structure along with interaction that is careful, neat, accurate, and tactful.

 

    In my officer workshops, How Good Nonprofit Officers Become Great Fundraisers, I teach Nonprofit leaders to first understand the core fundamentals of the four styles, next to identify them in others, and then to mirror and match the style. The better you get at reading people the more your fundraising contribution will increase. When you are dealing with a D, especially a high D for example, you should be brief and to the point. They like answers and results and don’t need all the facts. In fact, when you learn how to notice these characteristics in others and then customize your discussion to their preferences, you’ll find your donations and sponsors significantly increase and it will seem like you’re reading people’s minds. This skill comes in handy as you connect with more new prospects.

Turn up the heat and add Oxygen

“It has always been my belief that a man (person) should do his best, regardless of how much he receives for his services, or the number of people he may be serving or the class of people served.

Napoleon Hill

You begin to improve the way you identify potential donors and sponsors (Start calling them investors) by defining your ideal (Perfect) Investor (donor/sponsor). There are thousands of people wanting to work with you, however, they do not know who you are and you may not know how to find them. They need to know how you differentiate from other nonprofits and the value you bring. You must change the culture of your organization by adjusting attitudes, implementing new terminology, and creating a positive fundraising environment. In the end, trust between you and the investors comes through the questions you ask and a 59 second commercial that engages and provokes.

Quick checklist:

• Change your language/terms – call donors investor (who love returns on their investment)
  
• Make sure your nonprofit entry commercial is sizzling
  
• Use fun fundraising quick hits at staff and committee meetings
  

 

ASCEND Your Mountains Part 2

Do you believe you can raise the money and hit the goals you need to hit? Do you believe you can meet the people you need to meet? What about bringing in the sponsorship dollars to keep your event or group moving forward? Start with clarifying your beliefs of who you are and who you are not.

 

I like to challenge people with the following questions:

 

• Why are you doing what you’re doing?
  
• Are you following your own passion or someone else’s?
  
• Are you passionate about the Nonprofit you represent?
  
• Why do you believe what you believe?
  
• What forces influence your beliefs? Parents? Bosses? Donors/Investors? Government? Friends?
  

 

In an earlier article, I spoke about reckless abandonment and what it means for your fundraising efforts. The reason you may not be accomplishing your funding goals or exceeding your revenue expectations is because you’re not following your vision. You may be pretending like you’re really into the mission and services, but at the end of the day the fire is lacking.

Take some time today to do an honest assessment of your own personal goals and the goals of the nonprofit – Do they match? If not, then it could be time to move on to an organization or an industry that lights the fire inside of you.

The Green Light Process

“I work in marketing now, but I’ve always wanted to make movies,” Steve said to me the first time I met him at a networking event. It was an interesting opening statement, unique but perplexing. He said the statement almost with a futuristic knowing, as if he had been working on his own mental scripts. Later, I would help Steve as the Executive Producer to make that movie (Seclusion – Available at Netflix or Blockbuster) and learned some valuable lessons about mental scripts from the movie industry. I never forgot that experience, customizing for process for my volunteer and fundraising roles.

In the movie business when they green light a project it means their moving forward into the production phase; kicking off a whirl wind of activities including signing the director, bringing on executive producers, and hiring the cinematographer just to name a few of the chores. At the green light, those behind the movie believe it will be successful and their actions match their belief.

As a nonprofit leader, the green light process deals with how you create new scripts, beliefs, and expectations with regard to your own fundraising activities and behavior. In many cases the Borrower Phenomenon© (One of the many challenges volunteers face) appears repeatedly when the leader has not created new mental scripts regarding asking for money or inviting a contact to attend an event. You often stop when approaching a potential sponsor or donor because the feeling of rejection starts to come over you or a long held mental script pops up. In many cases you are influenced by the existing scripts of the current staff, board, or investors.

The Borrower Phenomenon is similar to watching a homeless person ask for money and it affects many areas of your organization including day-to-day operations, goal setting, and sponsorship structures. The same type of mental script as observing a homeless person solicit money from strangers begins to play in the board member’s mind. They begin to feel unfortunate, lost, confused, or overbearing. They wonder within if the person they’ve approached will frown upon them for asking for their attendance or asking to sponsor an event. These feelings have nothing to do with the reality of the person’s real psyche or with the importance of actually asking people for assistance, but naturally come on when they are put in the uncomfortable position of asking for anything relating to money. Even if you are an exception, you still deal with strong money scripts when you tackle your prospecting responsibilities.

Go to www.billyounginspires.com to learn more about how to turn on the Green Light Process.

 

Reckless Abandonment

“If you truly believe in what you’re doing, then you’ll have reckless abandonment toward your goals,” Richard Brooke used this phrase during his vision workshop. His statement hit me between the eyes like a stiff punch. In fact, his statement was one of the factors that helped push me to create the Fundraising System. I was going along and not following my passion which is to train nonprofit executives, board of directors, entrepreneurs, and speaking to all types of groups about many subjects.

Although the phrase “Reckless Abandonment” usually conjures up negative images and is tied to having no concern for the consequences of your actions, for our purposes I’m using the phrase to help you understand how you need to act to substantially increase your fundraising levels. The term is often defined as the trait of lacking restraint or control; however, I’m using the term as a positive thrust for you to have courage to do the behaviors and activities that you must to succeed. Even though you may have fear or doubt about the final outcome, your passion for the day-to-day activity carries you through. It’s about working more hours then you planned or persisting until the prospective donor or investor has signed on.

 

3 Parts to Reckless Abandonment:

1. Passionate Vision
   
2. Planned Behavior
   
3. Persistent & Determined Action
   

 

When you are enjoying your activities and tackling every interaction with enthusiasm, helping others with leads, problems, and opportunities, then you’re acting with reckless abandonment. Hours pass without you noticing and you’re following your goals and dreams and helping your organization accomplish something incredible, major, important, and necessary. The difference between you fundraising at $5,000 level or $5,000,000 has nothing to do with available resources, but the restraints are based your own attitude, approach, and action. Start today! Go for it today!

 

 

Are You Using the G2 Formula?

One of the major complaints I’ve heard from many investors (donors) is that, “that nonprofit only contacts me when they want something.” Typically they phrase it like this, “they only want me for my check.” Some investors will say this out loud, but most simply internalize the feeling, having the affects of the feeling influence their impression and involvement with your entity. It’s the thought in their mind of how you (the NPO) could help them (the investor) rather than how they can help you. This influences the referrals you receive and the in-kind trade (Power partners) opportunities. Of course they want to make a difference which is why they give, however, the subconscious thinking is, “What’s in it for me.” Now is your change to give before you get and implement tools like the Golden Rule and Emotional Bank Account; thinking like a talent scout to help potential fundraising sources.

A well known saying is “put yourself in their shoes.” How often do you really think about your donor’s personal needs? Do you really try to walk a mile in their shoes? In today’s social media, with billions of bits of information, conflicting messages, and a trillion ways to market, your investors are getting approached by many sources. The number of “asks” they receive in person, via e-mail or by phone has gone up considerably in the last five years, but the methods for approaching them has stayed the same. Frankly, the pitch and methods are old and tiresome and it’s time to try a new formula and realize that it comes down to a focus on quality versus quantity.

Zig Zigler’s famous quote, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want,” is about focusing on what’s in it for the other person. We could customize this quote in the NPO world to, “Your organization will get the donations/sponsors that you target if you help enough investors get what they want.” Zig’s quote connects into giving to your investor before they ever give anything to you.

As you look at your fundraising goals for the year, you need to change your mind set. It’s not about what you or your NPO are going to get, it’s about your willingness to give. We’ve all heard the saying, “you have to give to get,” but most of us don’t take it inside our heart and analyze what it really means to know how we can really make significant changes to what we focus on. You’ll need to take an interest in your key supporters, get to know them (I mean really get to know them not just superficially), and give to them in many different ways. The problem isn’t that you don’t know this strategy already. The challenge lies in how you’ve forgotten it or how you lack the tools to deliver on it. As your organization grows and develops, your own driving forces, goals and priorities become top of mind. You forget the importance of the formula. If you want to improve your fundraising efforts, simply think “give first”.

 

Give to Get (3 key parts):

• Listen to them
  
• Focus on them
  
• Give first
  

 

This goes beyond providing heart tugging stories and reduces the time you spend on asking and inviting. This formula will keep you out of the giving trap and avoid the perils of requiring instant gratification. And by giving to get you will build strong relationships that will have significant value to you in the long term. The goal is to give more value to as many people as possible before they even consider giving you and/or your organization anything. This is often accomplished through tools like the Golden rule and the Emotional Bank Account, which will cover tomorrow www.billyounginspires.com.

Play the Match Game

You’ll find that most people talk too much when they’re prospecting for new donors, sponsors, or investors. In fact, it’s not quantity but quality especially when you consider that the Gettysburg Address was 272 words and made a profound impact on our county while the average USA Today article gets lost in the shuffle at an average of 1500 words. My bet is that the sales conversation your nonprofit organization (NPO) or start-up uses is probably 2000 words too many. If you’re talking then you’re not fundraising. You could be coming across more like a Doctor prescribing remedies when they haven’t heard the symptoms, rather than a professional offering significant value in return for a contribution.

 

You might have been taught or trained to have a great pitch, articulating the features and benefits of your organization. A well constructed, dynamic pitch is important but understanding when to bring it out and when not to use it is critical. In fact, a great 59 second commercial opens doors and a poor one keeps them closed. The questioning process (Q in the fundraising formula) starts with a great commercial and extends into open ended questions that keep the focus on the prospective sponsor or donor. Your intro/commercial doesn’t pitch anything but rather it starts the WIIFT (for them) tactic. You no longer have to ask for anything specifically, but your style and type of questions produce the right answers without confusion or drama. If you want to be different, then act different. In fact, if you want to fundraise then ask questions – you’re not telling, selling, or directing, you are listening.

 

Example questions include:

 

• What types of organizations do you give your time or money to?
  
• What do you look for in NPOs?
  
• How much money do you typically give each year? (Budget & Investment Questions)
  

 

You want to think like a doctor, detective or reporter. You’re interviewing the prospective donor/sponsor. Indeed, you’ll notice that most of the questions listed above are based on facts as well as opinions and impressions. You goal is for them to start formulating a flow chart of information, desires, things to avoid, etc. You’re attempting to get to their real feelings with a trust level that avoids the Iceberg Phenomenon (a challenge many nonprofit leaders have to learn overcome). Everyone wants to feel important and that their opinion matters, so help them feel good. Take them into the future and ask about what would be ideal or what could be improved; covering what has not worked in the past but what could work in the future if properly changed.

 

Great questions help you avoid making the wrong assumptions and identify critical data like who the decision maker is or how many people will influence the yes or no answer. Furthermore, the right answers to the right questions make matching prospects to your ideal investor profile easier; often saving you unnecessary presentation time.

 

If you were listening (and taking notes is highly recommended) during the Q (or Questioning) part of the formula, providing authentic behaviors and empowering those around you, then matching the solutions to the problems becomes easier. The prospective donor, investor, or sponsor may not care that you’ve been around for 100 years or that you have had the same staff for 10 years. They told you their concerns when you asked the proper questions so now match your solutions to those answers. Take the canned presentation you’ve had and customize it to each prospect you deal with and connect their needs to your value. Lastly, keep in mind that most investors need to know immediately how you’re Nonprofit or start up has a better ROI than another one or what makes you the Pink Cat (Strategy 3).

 

This is your chance at this point in the process to “pitch,” matching the identified benefits that best fit or will entice your prospect. They’ll think to themselves, “Wow you really hit all of our concerns and opportunities.” This result occurred not because you’re a mind reader, but you asked great questions and then listened for the answers. You matched their desires, objectives, and needs to your organization’s core value. In the end, you won at the match game.

ASCEND your mountains

“It’s time to create your goal board,” Colleen said with a grin. She is a great sales coach and mentor with professional characteristics, deep values, and a drive to succeed. The class began working on our boards, cutting pictures out of magazines and gluing them on to a large white poster board. We spent two or three hours talking about goals, dreams, and living an exciting life. It was a great experience.

The first time I brought this concept to a nonprofit (NPO), they looked at me with very strange expressions. They were thinking the same thing I was thinking, we could identify with the pictures and place them appropriately, but there was a lack of a process for accomplishing the life visions. In fact, there was a gap between the end goal (picture) and the steps to get to it. We weren’t even sure how to set the priorities for such a goal. Once I decided what was most important to me, I would need to connect them to the groups and businesses I was involved in and the important people in my life that would be affected by the goals. Therefore, I created my own process.

As our yearly vision board sessions have grown from my wife and me to many people, I realized the importance to having a process to define the end vision. Each year the process I have developed called ASCEND – the acronym stands for Attitude, Spirit, Connection, Evaluate, Navigate, and Development – has evolved. This is about accomplishing your most important dreams and reaching the vision of your life similar to climbing a mountain. I cover this tool in the first class at my Fundraising Academy to identify each Officers/Directors own personal goals. Along the way, after establishing your own goals, you start to understand where your goals align with your NPO organization and at what points you’re disconnected.

Each step in the process transcends one mountain (or obstacle) to the next. As you reach the top of one, the next becomes larger and more challenging. In fact, you have to take it one step at a time, overcoming problems and finding unique pathways. As an NPO Officer, the vision of raising a $1 million per year can seem impossible if you only currently raise $250,000. However, if you make it through all six stages, then you’ll have a great start to understanding your starting point and along the way, you’ll discover a way to get to the fundraising levels that you once thought were impossible. You’ll feel empowered knowing your connecting your behavior to your goals. It takes about 2 to 4 hours to complete the entire process, but it will save you years of frustration.

IMPROVEMENT OVER PERFECTION –the saying I came up with to describe the growth process – starts with your own goals, dreams, and beliefs before you can help the organization take a giant leap. Start today and figure out the best method for you to ASCEND your mountains –visit my site for more unique ideas.