You gotta start where you're at

You gotta start where you're at.

That may sound overly simplistic, but my experience is that many people, especially in fundraising, want to start way ahead of where they actually are.

Here's some of the things I've heard: she gives everything away... Don't undervalue your program... You should be able to get at least $10,000 for that.

The truth is what you are selling is worth exactly what people are willing to pay and not a penny more.

A few years ago, I was selling sponsorships in the County's annual Outlook Calendar. Each sponsor got an ad across the bottom of a month in the calendar.

Before I started working there, someone had assigned a value for each sponsorship at $550.

The prior year's calendar only had one ad in it so, theoretically, the calendar only generated $550 - hardly enough to offset the cost of printing, which was the point of having ads in the first place.

I decided I was going to do whatever I had to do to sell each and every month.

I started selling them for $100 each, two for one, an ad bundled with an event sponsorship... Whatever I had to do to fill those slots.

I sold them all. I think I ended up raising about $2200 for that calendar - not a lot, but a 300% increase over the previous year.

But if I had stuck with the initial estimated value of $550 a page, I probably wouldn't have sold any of them.

I had to start where I was at to set. That way, I could set myself up for a fantastic finish.

Five powerful minutes - Part 2

Last week I wrote about how to get five minutes with a prospective new sponsor.

This week, I'm writing about what to do - and not do - when you get those five powerful minutes.

As I mentioned in last week's blog, do not ask for anything and do not hand your prospective new client anything to read. It will likely be dropped on top of a pile of other things he or she has been given and hasn't had a chance to read that have not yet made it to the trash bin. Or it will just go right to the trash.

You can give them those things after and only after you've established a relationship.

Tell the person you are meeting with briefly why you got involved with the organization you are working for. Make it personal.

And then ask your new contact a powerful question - one that in my experience seldom gets asked - but should:

"What are your biggest challenges for the next six months and how can I help you achieve them?"

Your new contact will quickly become your new friend.

One of the reasons I was so successful finding sponsors for Mecklenburg County's programs and services during the Great Recession was because I did just that. I learned quickly that if I wanted sponsorships and if I wanted repeat sponsorships, I had better be prepared to deliver something to the companies I was working with. Something THEY wanted; not something we thought they wanted.

Generally, companies want people to walk in their doors and spend money. That's the only way they can stay in business, keep employees, and support community events. And they are faced with tighter operating budgets and more competition all the time.

That's where you come in.

Your job now is to come up with ways that you can get what you want by helping your new friend achieve some of his or her objectives.

It is not as difficult as it sounds. You can do it. And I will give you some ideas in Part 3.

Five powerful minutes - Part 1

Say you have a big event next year and you want to start prospecting for new sponsors (and in fundraising, who doesn't)?

Many sponsorship seekers - and I've experienced this first hand - will put together a list of companies/contacts they'd like to recruit, put together a proposal, and email it to as many of those people as they can, with attachments, of course, that might not ever get read. (See previous blog on attachments).

Its not a completely terrible approach. I've done it myself and with some success.

But here's a better idea: call your potential sponsor/contact and ask for five minutes of their time. Just five. That's it. And be very specific about it when you ask.

'Hello Joe. This is Susan from the Springfield Rescue Mission and I would love to stop by and introduce myself and only take five minutes of your time. That's it. Just five minutes. I will be near your office on Wednesday morning. Can I just stop in and introduce myself? I promise I will be in and out in five minutes.'

I promise you will get a meeting, if you are flexible with your time.

The person you are calling on will either say, 'Sure' or 'Wednesday is horrible, can you make it Friday?' or something similar.

An important side note: keep calling until you reach your contact's live voice. Do NOT leave a message and ask for a return phone call. Why? Because then you have just actually added to your potential sponsor's already busy day of tasks and have immediately created a negative neuro-association. Trust me on this one. They also might start mentally preparing their 'We are already over budget. Contact me after the first of the year' speech and you will be out of luck.

When you go in for your five minute power meeting, lead off with, 'I just wanted to say hello, introduce myself, and I will be out of your hair in five minutes.' And take a watch so you can be sure to keep it to five minutes.

Your contact will be shocked. Nobody ever wants just five minutes. If you stick to that, you will be putting a friendly face to your charity's name and building a relationship with your new contact.

Do not give them any paperwork to look over. And don't ask for anything. I repeat, don't ask for anything. Not at your first meeting.

Tell them why you got involved with your charity and make it personal.

Next, use your five minutes to ask a powerful question.

That powerful question - one that almost never gets asked by fundraisers - will come in Part 2 of this blog.

Donor retention just as important as finding new donors

I'm gonna tell you a short story.

Back in December of 2008, the economy was crashing, stocks were tumbling, and getting return phone calls or emails about sponsorships was depressing, to say the least.

Then I get a phone call from the title sponsor of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's signature event, Bark in the Park. Due to the economy and changing marketing priorities, the title sponsor was not renewing its $50,000 title sponsorship of that event.

It's hard to find a title sponsor. It's even HARDER to replace a title sponsor and replacing a title sponsor during the Great Recession was almost impossible.

After much networking and just two months before the event, I was able to find a new title sponsor, but for $20,000. I talked to the event committee - we agreed to take it. Not too many people were announcing new $20,000 sponsorships at this time, I pointed out to them.

My job then became really simple: Make sure the new sponsor was thrilled with what they recieved for sponsoring Bark in the Park.

I made sure all the ducks were in a row, made sure their logo was in all the right places, and sat down with my new best friend title sponsor a number of times to make sure he was getting everything he wanted out of the event.

At the April 2009 Bark in the Park event, I was insisting that the new sponsors' tables were being set up exactly like the sponsor wanted.

A staffer helping with the event said, "What do you care? You've already got their money!"

I replied: "I'm already working on next year!"

And I was.

The next year, the new title sponsor increased their commitment to the event by 50% from $20,000 to $30,000. They were thrilled with what they got out of their first title sponsorship of Bark in the Park.

And while that didn't bring us back up to the $50,000 we were at before, by working with the new sponsor we were able to open up some new sponsorship categories that had been closed at the insistence of the previous sponsor and that brought in another $10,000.

The point is, fight like heck to keep the sponsors and donors you've got. Sit down with them often and ask them if they are getting everything they want and expect from your event. You may not be able to replace them.

What steps are you taking to retain major donors?