Thanks to LUMA for providing this awesome graphic that shows just how many tools you could use for marketing efforts these days. These tools make marketing “easy”. But deciding which ones to use… that’s another story.
Posts Tagged ‘solve problems’
Marketing is easy, right?
Thursday, May 9th, 2013Why we love planned giving
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
80 20 rule for planned giving
So you probably won’t see much of the fruits of your labor. And, years from now, someone else will probably get the credit for your hard work and smart strategic planning.
But we’re not bummed-out, are we? Even if the seeds you plant and have already planted might not benefit the organization you serve for 10 to 20 years (or more)… and even if you won’t get the credit for a good bit of your hard work… you and me… we love planned giving!
Here’s why:
- We know that the 80 / 20 rule applies to planned giving. In other words, we know that a small number of donors (“the 20″) will leave amazing gifts (“the 80″) if we educate them about the possibilities.
- We know that these donors are average folks. They aren’t rich elites. We can relate to them.
- We know that future generations will benefit because of our hard work and conscientiousness today.
- We know that we are already in the midst of the greatest transfer of wealth.
- We know that the conversations we have with prospective donors bring out amazing stories of passion and love.
- We know that we can help make the world a better place.
My hat goes off to everyone in the planned giving community every day.
Why selling planned gifts is different (the case for a multi-step cultivation effort)
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Seth Godin is pretty smart. He really understands marketing.
In his recent blog post he discusses why we should sometimes avoid “easy leads” and, rather, seek to qualify our leads more vigorously. But when it comes to planned giving marketing, I feel that what he’s talking about and what we’re doing are very different.
First let me point out that my firm used to be a bare-knuckle marketing “hired gun” for some of the toughest businesses in the Washington, DC region. Back then we were mostly doing hardcore lead generation. One of our clients was a home improvement company. For them, we had to find ways to find “highly qualified” leads. The cost of sending someone out to a home to quote on a job that averaged only $3,000-$10,000 was just too high. So, we tested adding questions to our surveys on landing pages. Then we arranged for telephone calls to follow up on every lead (to ensure that both decision-makers of the household were present before sending a sales rep out the door). Then just before the sales person left to go meet them, again we’d confirm that all the decision-makers would be present.
Now, for our marketing planned gifts, the “sale” is very different. We’re not selling a product but rather a life choice and a large investment. We’re aiming to help people align their legacy mission with that of the nonprofit we serve. So we need to widen the funnel a lot. Then we need to cultivate the relationships (possibly for many years) with financial/educational information, mission-oriented information and conversion-oriented options (to get folks to raise their hands) because:
1- You never know which ones of these leads are just tire-kickers and which ones will leave a gift. Some people might say they will not leave a gift only because they don’t want phone calls. They just want to be anonymous.
2- For most folks it’s a HUGE jump forward to request this information at all. By doing so they are moving from the avoidance stage to the consideration stage of a very long and emotional, non-measured (even erratic) decision-making process. Considering the fact that over 50% of Americans never create a will at all, the fact that they are requesting this information is simply tremendous. This point should not be overlooked and all of these leads should be treated like gold.
3- It takes time. Some people will act right away to make a legacy gift decision. But most people will skim the information an organization sends out in response to requests and soon put it all in a drawer. Hopefully it’s near their tax information or their legal stuff. But, yes… that’s right… it will probably sit in a drawer.
4- Here’s where the magic happens. When your organization takes the effort to remind these leads about the planned giving concept and seek ways to get them to educate themselves further about the benefits they would enjoy (for their soul and their pocket-book), something special happens. I know it’s time consuming and tedious. But the largest and most impactful gifts happen in the minds of your donors when you are not there. It’s a slow process. It requires frequency and repetition. It requires well-conceived messages. And it always must include easy ways for people to move to the next step in the consideration process. In planned giving marketing we must treat each lead as if it holds the potential for a $1 million gift. Cultivate a relationship with each one properly over time and, because it’s a numbers game, you WILL end up with boatloads of money for your organization.
5- Most importantly, this “sale” usually happens when no one from the organization is around. Simply stated, most folks don’t need to involve you and your staff in order to make this kind of gift/investment. That’s the hardest part to grasp but the critical reason why this “sale” is so different from what Seth Godin is talking about.
For more on the slow sale concept, read about the tortoise and the hare in planned giving marketing here.
Why you should simply make your planned giving messages simple.
Sunday, February 17th, 2013Recently a client asked me to review and critique a fundraising letter. It was written by one of her committee members. Can you say, “awkward position!”
To say that the author and the target audience is highly educated would be an understatement.
Well, as you might have guessed, I did it anyway. And here’s what I told her:
- The sentences are too long
- The sentence structure is too complex
- The words are too sophisticated (lots of 3 to 4 syllable words)
- There’s no emotional story
- There’s no call all to action
- And, there’s no urgency
“Bottom line,” I told her, “the letter is just too difficult to understand.”
“But the audience is very highly educated,” she replied. “They have graduate degrees and doctorates.”
“So what?” I told her.
Here’s the thing folks… You should write your appeals at about a 4th – 6th grade level. Simple sentences. Simple sentence structure. Simple words. Add a story. Add a call to action. And add some urgency… and you have a solid letter.
Why? Simply stated… it’s a matter of courtesy. Supporters of you mission can get sophistication from a bottle of wine or a good book. But when it comes to your letters, they just want to know what the problem is and how they can help.
You won’t impress anyone by complicating your appeal. And you won’t insult them if you make it simple. In fact, simplicity will actually help you deliver your message more effectively. Then, your donors will respond because you made it easy to understand.
Take a look at Google— arguably the most successful advertising business in the world. And how many characters are you allowed when you advertise there?
- Ad headline- 25 characters
- Description lines (you get 2 lines and that’s it!)- 35 characters per line
The Red Cross uses Google AdWords all yearlong (see a sample below on the right).
How about Twitter?- 140 characters to get your message across
You can’t argue with success. These new media are successful because they keep it simple so people will respond. You should do the same. Even when you are marketing planned gifts.
Save all the legalese and confusing babble about the benefits of a sophisticated, tax-saving gift instrument. Focus on bequests. Speak in plain English.
Your donors will thank you by responding and leaving gifts.
Innovative possibilities are right in front of your face.
Sunday, May 20th, 2012Most of the time innovation is possible simply by taking what has already been created and mixing it up a bit.
Let’s play the game.
Mastercard- credit card payment
+
Paypal- allows payments to be made on the internet
+
Starbucks- uses a scanner to debit your prepaid card
+
iPhone- connects all the above
Starbucks often has long lines. If they could move people through the stores faster, they could sell more coffee. So Adam Brotman (Chief Digital Officer, Starbucks) created an app that serves as a virtual Starbucks card. By doing so, he connected all of the above and 42 million mobile payments were made in March, 2012 alone (and that number keeps growing every week).
Now the lines move faster, customers are happier, and Starbucks’ profits are larger.
What’s right in front of your face that could create value for your customers, clients or donors with just one more ingredient?
The number one thing to avoid saying when you call a planned giving prospect
Sunday, May 13th, 2012So somebody was interested in learning more about how to update their will. You know because they sent in a reply form from one of your marketing efforts.
You sent them the information they requested making sure to spell their name correctly on the cover letter. You entered their contact information in your database. You set up a calendar reminder so you could call to follow-up in about 2 weeks. You’re busy but you made sure to grab your phone and dial their number. And, you’re in luck because they actually answered the phone. So what do you say?
The answer I most commonly get when I ask that question to folks is, “Did you get the information I sent?”
STOP!!! That’s it! That’s the number one thing to avoid saying when you call a planned giving prospect!
Why?
Number one: Because you never want to start off with a yes or no question to a prospect. If you do, most of the time they’ll just say “no”. It doesn’t matter what you ask them. “NO” is the first word we learn as babies (next to mama and dada). And people are especially trained to say “no” to strangers calling them at home.
Number two: Everyone is so busy. They won’t remember what you sent them. Then they’ll say “no”. Then you’ll have to say, “Oh, well I’ll resend it.” End of conversation? I hope not. But it usually is.
Number three: Let’s face it. You should be calling them with an objective. What is it? If you plan that out before you pick up the phone, you’ll have a strategy for your call. And the strategy should be to accomplish one or all of the following:
- Build rapport
- Learn why they requested the information in the first place
- Understand why they requested the information from your organization
- Determine why they care about your organization
- Uncover their estate planning and philanthropic goals
- SAY THANK YOU
In the end, it’s all about them. It’s about getting their needs, wishes and dreams aligned with your organizations’ mission. What’s written in the brochure you sent them doesn’t really matter. And it won’t matter if they got the brochure or not. The brochure they requested was a door opener for you to uncover why they care about your organization and how you can help them understand how planned gifts can work.
When I make the calls (as a volunteer for my favorite charity), I start off by saying “thank you” first. Then I go on to ask what prompted them to start giving to that particular charity. I try to get them to tell me their story…. why they care.
I may thank them more than once for their donations and interest. Then, after rapport has been established and sometimes after listening for 20 minutes about their life story (which is usually very interesting), I get to asking why they were interested in information about how to update their will. Most of the time they remember. Sometimes they don’t.
Then I may ask if they ever considered leaving money to the organization in their will. That’s a “yes” or “no” question. But it’s ok to ask it now. A lot of times they’ll say “yes”. Or at least I’ll get to hear their objections and so I can provide reasonable rebuttals that might help them understand the process better.
Even if they say “no” at this point, you can continue by asking “why not?” The decision tree is endless for this kind of call. But by asking if they received the information, you’ll turn the call into a short one and a waste of time for both you and your donor prospect. That’s for sure.
Oh… And wanna’ know what else you should avoid saying when you call a planned prospect whom you have never met? “How are you?” Nothing could be more disingenuous than to have a complete stranger call your home and ask you how you are right off the bat. Come on folks. You don’t know them yet and you don’t care how they are. It’s a waste of three words and a wasted opportunity to create rapport with a loyal donor. But I’ll leave more about that for another post.
Follow-up to the post about being disliked…
Monday, April 9th, 2012If you don’t know Seth Godin, you should.
Here’s a post that is much better than mine about being disliked.
When it comes to marketing, branding, cultivation, logos, design, copy and anything else… for some reason everyone has an opinion. But not all opinions are worthy.
I have found this to be true in private and nonprofit organizations. For some reason everyone thinks they can do marketing.
For those of us who truly understand what marketing is and how it should be done, we’ll have to forge ahead and brush aside the opinions that don’t matter. Let us all hope that senior decision-makers do the same.
Who answers your telephones?
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Is the person who answers your phones also your least trained employee? If so, why?
Do they answer the phones with class or “attitude”? And furthermore, does that person understand the value of an inbound lead?
The fact is… you’re putting one of the most important parts of your business (capturing leads) in the hands (or ears) of someone who needs to be trained properly. Give them pointers on politeness and empower them to do what they must to get a call to the right person. Especially if it’s a new business call!
Give them scripts that they must follow so each inbound call is treated like gold. Step outside of the box and think like your customers. How would they want and expect your phones to be answered?
Perhaps even include a benefit statement in the script such as, “JJJ Locksmith… your key to open doors… 24 hours a day, 7 days a week… how can we help you?”
Also, teach them the importance of writing down names and phone numbers without any errors. One missed call could be a missed opportunity for a million dollar client.
Go ahead… Cold call!
Friday, February 25th, 2011Recently someone told me at a networking function that cold-calling was “old-school” and didn’t work.
Of course this person admitted he never made a cold call in his life and is in fact currently unemployed.
In these days of inbound marketing, SEO, PPC, email and online networking, many businesses overlook one of the most powerful business tools out there – the telephone. Dollar-for-dollar it’s one of the most effective marketing tools you own.
Although many admit they hate making – and receiving– cold calls, when done right (with respect, care, concern, sophistication and a desire to help others) the cold call is without question a very inexpensive and powerful marketing technique.
I’ve often had people say to me, “ya’ know… I never take calls like these normally but you really got my attention and I’d like to take a look at what you’re offering. Thank you for calling.”
I’m not kidding.
You have to provide value, be concerned, be genuine, be helpful, be polite, and be persistent.
We make cold calls and many of our clients do. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s something wrong with engaging with your prospects in this way. It may be an old method but it still works.
And by the way… if the guy I met at the networking session spent time cold-calling businesses to offer his services in return for employment, I’d bet he’d find a job much faster (as long as he does it right).
Cold calling is not about whether it works or not, it’s about how you do it that counts.
Interruption marketing is NOT dead.
Monday, December 13th, 2010Evangelists are popping up everywhere screaming that “interruption marketing” is dead.
Folks like David Meerman Scott (author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR), Seth Godin (author of tons of new marketing books), and the whole team at Hubspot say it over and over and over. “Don’t cold call!” “Don’t run traditional advertising!” “Shame on you for interrupting people!”
While I agree with a lot of their new marketing tactics, they really need to stop bashing the old in exchange for the new. The old stuff still works if you do it right AND if you incorporate a multi-channel approach. The bottom line is that human beings love to buy stuff. And to think that the only time to sell them stuff is when they are actively searching for products or services is just wrong.
For instance: I lost my umbrella several weeks ago. And then last week I was on my way to an appointment in downtown D.C. and passed a street vendor selling umbrellas and tons of other stuff. It was a sunny day. The last thing I was thinking about was an umbrella. I had just finished sending a text as I passed by the street vendor when he asked, “Need an umbrella? It’s not raining today but it might tomorrow.” I got three steps past him before I was reminded that I needed an umbrella. I had pain. He interrupted me. He offered a solution to a problem I forgot I had.
So I turned around and bought an umbrella.
Now… let’s think about this. I wasn’t searching for an umbrella at that moment. If he said nothing, I would not have bought an umbrella that day. Surely I would have bought one someday in the future. But not from him.
He got the sale for two reasons:
1- Because he interrupted me.
2- Because he did it in a way that was smart. He said, “it’s not raining today but it might tomorrow.”
That’s good marketing!
So, don’t believe ALL of the hype. Just some of it. Interruption marketing is not dead. It’s just harder than it used to be. And, it requires a multi-channel approach (using several media and tactics to achieve your desired results).
An interesting blog post about the subject (with a slightly different take on the subject can be found here.
