This morning, I was on my way to Erie, Pennsylvania to deliver a keynote address at the Keystone Conference. At JFK, I stopped to get a breakfast sandwich as I waited in line, the cashier informed me that I had to order my sandwich in the back before paying at the front. She was clearly annoyed that I (and everyone in front of me) did not know this. As it was only 8am, she was in for a very long day of telling everyone the same thing.
How was I supposed to know that I should have ordered first? There was no sign, no directions. Was I supposed to magically mind-read?
Too often, we expect our donors to intuit what we want them to do without actually telling them what we want them to do.
We bury the lead in fundraising letters.
We make wishy-washy asks in meetings (if we ask at all). (“Will you give us a gift? Whatever you think is best…”)
We send out communication with too many confusing directions (Join our newsletter! Donate! Follow us on social! Volunteer!)
We ask once and expect that we won’t get buried in their inbox.
As a friend of mine once said, “Say what you mean, mean what you say, get what you want.”
It’s Q4 and the giving season is upon us. I encourage you to get really clear and directive in your asks and do it more than once.
For more tips on getting your year-end fundraising right and tight, listen to this week’s interview with the incomparable Jess Campbell.
