From the course: Cause Selling: The Secret to Nonprofit Donations
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Maximizing participation
From the course: Cause Selling: The Secret to Nonprofit Donations
Maximizing participation
- Discovery conversations with prospective donors are treks into the unknown. Some of these conversations are easy, particularly when you and the donor connect personally, or when the donor is already a fan. There could also be meetings when donors are reserved or even angry. I once had a tough conversation with a prospect who accepted the meeting, only to express her displeasure with recent organizational decisions. She spoke loudly and with a lot of emotion. While it was a challenging conversation, the donor felt heard. I learned a lot, and we were able to continue building our relationship. Discovery is, indeed, unpredictable. You want donors to talk about themselves at least 75% of the time while you listen. Some fundraisers call this listening their way to a gift. Today, I'll walk you through five ways to have a successful discovery conversation leading to maximizing donor participation. First, by using soft…