Selling the Non-Profit
Jeb Blount discusses how to boost fund raising using the sales process.
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Selling the Non-Profit
Katie, a listener from Little Rock, Arkansas sent this email:
I am a new listener and find your podcast fascinating! I am in the nonprofit sector and have been disappointed with the results of my fundraising efforts. I think that many nonprofit fundraisers (myself included, until recently) don’t think of themselves as being in sales, but this perspective, I think, robs us of the potential for success. Perhaps you could do a podcast that addresses this? I sure would appreciate it.
This is a great question and the answer is useful for many people in professions from non-profits to banking, who don’t consider themselves in sales. This, “I’m not in sales” mentality is so prevalent that regularly, prior to speaking to groups, I’m asked by the meeting organizer not to use the word “sales”, out of fear that this word will offend someone.
The conversation usually goes like this, “Jeb, we know you are the Sales Guy and that you like to talk about sales, but our people don’t really see themselves as salespeople and we don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable. Would you mind not using the word sales in your presentation?”
Because they are paying me to speak I comply but I’m always wondering “if the front line people of the organization, who are responsible for bringing in revenue, are not selling, what are they doing? And perhaps if these organizations actually told their people that sales was in their job description, they wouldn’t need to hire me in the first place.”
So how can Katie apply the sales process to increase her fund raising dollars? The first thing that non-profits, and for that matter every other organization in the world, must understand, is nothing happens until something gets sold. Period! The problem for many non-profits is that they believe that they are somehow different from other businesses. They are under the false impression that their cause, and conviction for that cause, will somehow, on its own, generate revenue. Because of this, these organizations, and the individuals who make them up, rarely teach, or attempt to learn, the revenue generation skills taught to sales professionals in for-profit businesses.
Of course, my hat goes off to Katie because she gets it. On her own she is taking steps to learn and apply selling skills that will help her raise funds that will ultimately benefit people everywhere.
If you work in fund raising for a non-profit here is a reality check. You are in sales. If you don’t like that moniker get out of fund raising because you are doomed to frustration and failure. However, if you will change your belief and wear sales as a badge of honor, I guarantee you will do more to help you cause than you could ever have imagined. And though there is not enough time on a five minute podcast to do justice to non-profit selling skills, here is a Quick and Dirty crash course in selling.
No matter how you look at it, Sales is a Process, and the key to getting people to give you money is to follow a consistent sales process day in and day out. The basic sales process goes something like this:
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Qualify: the first and most important step is qualifying your prospect. Qualifying your prospective donor simply means that you ask questions to determine whether or not they have the ability to give time or treasure to your cause. If they do not, move one. Spending time with people who are not qualified to donate wastes your time.
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Connect: it is critical that you connect and build rapport with your prospective donor because people tend to buy from people they like. The fastest way to connect with anyone is to be likeable and listen. Being likeable is simple. Just remember to smile, be confident, approach your prospect with a positive attitude, and be polite and respectful. Listening is the real key to connecting. At the core everyone wants to be listened to and to feel important. If you will just listen to your prospect and give them your genuine attention, you will quickly create an emotional bond.
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Gather Information: this is the part of the sales process most people forget. Instead of asking questions to understand their donor better, most non-profit fun raisers go right into the pitch – regurgitating a litany of reasons for donating. To become a successful fundraiser it is critical that you come to grips with this universal law of sales: People donate for their reasons not yours. The only way to understand their motivations for donating, or their hot buttons for pulling out their check book, is to ask questions.
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Presentation: once you understand your donor’s motivations for giving, your next step is to present the reasons why they should fund your cause. The presentation is not your opportunity to give them a canned speech. Instead, you want to use what you learned while gathering information to connect your potential donor’s motivations, or needs, to your cause. In other words you want to demonstrate that giving to your organization will help your donor fulfill their needs and wants.
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Closing: closing is simply the call for action. It is asking for the money. Unfortunately, many sellers and fund raisers never close, leaving the conversation open-ended. Why don’t they close? The fear of rejection. They are afraid of hearing no. Well here’s the deal. You are going to hear no. It is a brutal fact of life in fund raising. However, if you follow the sales process, your ratio of yeses to nos will improve dramatically and over time, as your confidence builds, your fear of asking for the money will diminish.
Although you won’t master the sales process overnight, the most important thing you can do is to start practicing it today.
For more resources on sales and selling skills go to www.SalesGravy.com. We have thousands of free articles, videos, and audio programs all designed to help you improve your sales skills and sell more.
This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy. To get a complete transcript of this show go to QuickandDirtyTips.com
Donate image courtesy of Shutterstock