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The Cutting Edge of Discovery Calls
Best Practices, Surveying the Field
2
“This is largely a business of
figuring it out on your own.”
An Inconvenient Truth
3
The Cutting Edge of Discovery Calls
4
John Greenhoe, MA, CFRE
John.greenhoe@wmich.edu
about.me/johngreenhoe
Twitter: @jjgcfre
• Lack of Discipline/Organization
• Becoming Easily Discouraged
• Not Focusing on Donor/Listening
Common Mistakes/Tips
5
Lacking Discipline
Mistake #1
6
Lack of Discipline
– Procrastination
– Avoiding the difficult
– Being reactive
Mistake #1
7
Becoming Easily Discouraged
Mistake #2
8
Defeatist Attitude
– Giving Up Easily
– Apologizing
– Weak/Embarrassed Approach
Mistake #2
9
Listening (Lack of)
Mistake #3
10
Not Listening/Lacking Donor Focus
– Too much time focused on organization
– Thinking too much about “pitch”/solicitation
– Making assumptions
Mistake #3
11
12
"When asking questions, your job is to
gain information -- not to respond.“
--Jerry Panas
Celebrate Small Victories
• It is Difficult!
• Reward Yourself
• The Toughest Part
of Fundraising?
Parting Shots
13
The Cutting Edge of Discovery Calls
Best Practices, Surveying the Field
14
John Greenhoe, MA, CFRE
John.greenhoe@wmich.edu
about.me/johngreenhoe
Twitter: @jjgcfre

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Afp conf 2015 greenhoe top takeaways

Editor's Notes

  1. Thank you for coming today Love the fact that so many are ready to get out there and start new donor relationships!
  2. Two years ago, I wrote what is believed to be the first ever book devoted to donor discovery calls My point was that there were so many resources out there on the ask, but so many non profits were not ready to do so – they really didn’t know their prospects
  3. In the course of reviewing respondent answers and comments, I found three general themes 1. Rigor 2. Gave up, didn’t try very hard 3. Had their own agenda, not really interested in what prospect has to say
  4. Not everyone is going to be a valid prospect
  5. This is the part of the job where you need to be psychologically strong You need to project a strong and positive image
  6. It’s not about YOU!
  7. The pitch is way over rated. People are not ready for a pitch when they first meet you any way. Assumptions – you try to predetermine where the donor’s interests are (impatience or ignorance)
  8. Many people have a natural tendency to listen with the sole intention to listen for cues so that they can interject their perspective, and even take over the conversation You want to share enough to elicit dialogue from the prospect – just make the discussion is about them…
  9. It doesn’t happen overnight! Keep plugging along. Remember if you can master the discovery call, you will often find the rest of the process falls into place. Many fundraisers say that the discovery call is tougher than the solicitation or ask
  10. To wrap up, remember that while discovery calls do not conduct themselves, they can be very rewarding. I promise you that you will meet some amazing people, and given time some of those individuals will indeed make significant philanthropic investments in your organizations. Thank you.