Softer Side of Selling

Secrets of the Softer Side of Selling

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Selling And Volunteer Fundraising: Making The Donor Visit

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I’m looking at the similarities between professional selling and volunteer fundraising. After setting the date and preparing for the donor visit fund raisers are ready to meet the donor. Just like a well-planned sales call, the fund raiser has an agenda for the meeting. First he builds rapport then moves on to learning what drives a donor to give and whether the particular project excites them. The fund raiser, just like great salespeople, asks open-ended questions and listens attentively to direct the conversation.

Both Selling And Fundraising Are About Getting People To Part With Their Money

Salespeople and Fundraisers Are Skilled At Asking People For Money

What’s The Same Between A Donor Visit And A Sales Call?

When the salesperson shows up the prospect knows he is there to sell something. So when the fund raiser shows up, the donor is on guard because they think they are going to hit him up for a donation. The donor thinks: “How much will he ask for?” or “Why did I agree to meet with her?” or “Where did they get my name?” or even “Wonder how fast I can get him out of here?” Successful fund raisers get the donor out his mind quickly. Sure, just like great salespeople, successful fund raisers open by building rapport. A few minutes of finding common interests or renewing friendships to engage the donor. Then time to set his mind at ease….

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Selling And Fundraising: Preparing For The Donor Visit

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I’m looking at the similarities between professional selling and volunteer fundraising. The first step was to schedule a visit with the donor. Now you are off to visit the donor. Just like great salespeople know asking good questions and learning from the answers is the purpose of a sales meeting; likewise, the fundraiser is interested in learning all about the donor. The same techniques of asking open-ended questions and active listening are used in donor visits.

Both Selling And Fundraising Are About Getting People To Part With Their Money

Salespeople and Fundraisers Are Skilled At Asking People For Money

Getting Prepared For The Donor Visit

Great salespeople know they can’t “talk” a prospect into buying. The key to closing a deal is to listen. Buyers don’t commit until they feel the salesperson knows all about their problem. Likewise, in fundraising when the donor believes they have been heard and appreciated they are more likely to give. So successful fund raisers prepare a list of questions to learn all they can about the donor and their motivation to give. Jerold Panas in his book “Asking” puts it this way: “No one ever listened himself out of a gift.”

The Problem Of Talking Too Much

In “Asking”, Panas lists the reasons that talking too much will not achieve the desired result. Here are some of the compelling reasons to listen:

  • You learn about the donor’s needs and desires
  • You will hear their concerns when you probe
  • You uncover giving clues
  • You will understand what they will invest in
  • You allow the prospect to gain ownership of the idea
  • You guide the conversation instead of dominating it
  • You get time to think ahead
  • You put the spotlight on the donor
  • You will find the donor is more willing to contribute when they are talking

Just like great salespeople know listening is a powerful way to win work, champion fundraisers are great listeners.

Active Listening Is A Fundraising Skill

Just like great salespeople use open-ended questions, successful fund raisers are expert questioners. What are open-ended questions? They typically begin with “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “how” and sometimes “why”. These adverbs stimulate conversation. For example: “What are the goals you have for the coming year?” asks the donor to talk about his vision of the future and how it might be accomplished. “Who, in addition to yourself, will participate in the decision to give?” helps the fund raiser to understand the decision-making process. “How do you feel about this program?” helps the fund raiser understand the donor’s concerns.

Are Closed-Ended Questions Valuable In Active Listening?

Of course they are. Closed-ended questions are a tool fund raisers use to confirm they heard what the prospect said. Suppose you are confirming a meeting. You might ask: “Is Tuesday at 10 am still a good time to meet?”  A simple “yes” from the prospect is all you really need. Active listening involves getting answers and giving feedback on what you heard. Successful fund raisers summarize a conversation then ask closed-ended questions like: “Is that correct?” or “Are we in agreement?” Notice, closed-ended questions typically begin with a verb.

What Happens When The Donor Starts Asking Questions?

One active listening technique successful fund raisers use is “the reverse”. This is simply answering a question with a question. It is something we do naturally every day. A colleague asks: “How are you today?” You respond: “Fine. How are you?” See how easy this is to get the other person back into the speaking mode. Maybe a donor asks: “Do you have an amount in mind for me to give?” To reverse a fund raiser might say: “I’m not comfortable telling you what to give. Have you thought how much this program means to you?”

Active Listening Checks Where You Are In The Fundraising Process.

Whether it is a one-call-close or a protracted negotiation, successful fund raisers use active listening to know when to move to the next step. Fund raisers use open-ended questions like: “How do you feel about this program?” to understand their commitment. Looking to confirm they have successfully overcome an objection a fund raiser might ask: “Have I cleared that up for you?” When a fund raiser believes they have found out enough information to move on to the next step in the process, they ask for the donor’s agreement. “Thanks, Barbara for meeting with me today. Let’s meet again next Tuesday. OK?”

What You Can Do Right Now To Prepare For Fundraising

  • Set the goal for the donor meeting
  • Prepare a list of open-ended questions to encourage the donor to talk
  • Be prepared to answer their questions or use the reverse technique as appropriate

To learn more sales secrets see Chapter Sixteen, Making The Sales Call, in Secrets of the Softer Side of Selling. For even more sales help, join our FREE Sales Club! “See” you next week.

Good selling!
Don Crawford

 

 

 

In Fundraising First, Get The Meeting

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In this series of blogs I’m looking at the similarities between professional selling and volunteer fundraising. Great salespeople know the first step is to convince the prospect to meet with you. Likewise in fundraising, getting a visit with the donor is the first step. I’m reading the book “Asking” by Jerold Panas. In chapters Seven, Eight and Nine, he outlines his process of getting a meeting. Writing to set up a phone call to set the time then calling to convince the donor to meet is the same process great salespeople use to arrange meetings with prospects.

Both Selling And Fundraising Are About Getting People To Part With Their Money

Salespeople and Fundraisers Are Skilled At Asking People For Money

Why Send A Letter?

Panas recommends sending a letter to set the stage for a phone call to arrange a time to meet. The purpose of the letter is to prepare the donor for the phone call. Like in professional selling, the fundraiser needs to present an overwhelmingly compelling reason to meet. The letter should be personal. Take a paragraph to promote the organization in need of the donor’s money. Briefly describe why the campaign is important. And here are the most important sentences: “I promise not to ask for money during this visit. All we will discuss is the program and your good counsel and advice on what we should do next. What comes next is up to you.”…

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Secrets of the Softer Side of Fundraising

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After retiring from 45 years as a successful professional salesperson, I thought I could contribute to my community by helping organizations with their fundraising. Not having much experience in fundraising I wondered how different asking people to support a valuable community organization was than asking someone to make a purchase. I was surprised to find out there is very little difference between the process of closing a sale and getting a donation.

Both Selling And Fundraising Are About Getting People To Part With Their Money

Salespeople and Fundraisers Are Skilled At Asking People For Money

Secrets Of A Successful Fundraiser

While cleaning out our bookshelves, my wife came across the book “Asking” by Jerold Panas. Mr. Panas in a few short pages (there are only 108 including the appendices) outlines the process a successful fundraiser uses:…

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Time For A “Toolbox” Check Up

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Did you ever take a look in the maintenance bay of an auto repair shop? See all those large toolboxes? One at every workstation. They contain the tools a mechanic needs to do his job. Like the mechanic, great salespeople have a “toolbox”. It’s a collection of the attitudes, behaviors and knowledge a salesperson needs to find, win and keep good customers.

Red tool box illustrating salespeople need to keep their sales tools organized

Are Your Selling Tools Ready To Go?
Photo Courtesy of Snap-On Tools

What’s In Your Tool Box?

Those big red toolboxes a mechanic has have lots of drawers and those drawers are filled with specialized tools to do a particular task. Great salespeople, too, have lots of tools. We have techniques to keep ourselves motivated and optimistic. Each day we go out and do the things needed to find, win and keep good customers. Great salespeople know their products and how those benefit their customers….

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The First Work Day Of The Roaring 2020’s

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It’s here!! The first business day of The Roaring 2020’s. How are you spending it? Hanging out with your associates comparing holiday stories? Staring glassy-eyed at your territory goals for 2020? Or getting to work on meeting those goals?

Begin the new year with resolve to be the best salesperson you can be

Time To Get To Work!
Image by Annalise Batista from Pixabay

Let’s Get To Work

It’s important to keep and build relationships within your company. So at the end of the business day enjoy some time with your associates. But when the customers are working, you should be selling….

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A Christmas Gift

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When I was a kid, my friends and I would get together after Christmas. The usual question was: “What did you get?” Then we would show off the new model airplane or train or kick around a new football.

It’s Better To Give Than Receive

As I grew older I found more joy in seeing how gifts I gave were received. Yes, I still enjoyed getting the new sweater or a good book. But for me the giving was more rewarding.

The Best Gifts Are The Ones You Give Because They Are Golden

The Best Gifts Are The Ones You Give
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

In Business, Too

I found my success in selling depended greatly on what I gave. Whether it was a commitment of time to be sure the solution I was proposing was a perfect fit or referral to a colleague, I found those investments in giving were satisfying and ultimately profitable….

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What’s In Your Future?

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Well, here it is again. The end of another year. How did you do? Reach all your sales goals? Spend quality time with family and friends? Improve your golf game? Catch the big trout? Now that we have cataloged the successes of the past year, it’s time to look ahead. Great salespeople create their own future. They evaluate their successes and failures to understand what knowledge and skills need updating. Then they develop a personal improvement plan to make the changes needed to insure future success.

Do you have a crystal ball to tell your future?

Do You Control Your Future? Or Leave It To Chance?
Image from Pixabay

So How Did You Do In 2019?

Great salespeople have realistic goals. As time passes they reassess the goals to keep themselves on track. What were your 2019 goals? How did they change throughout the year? What prompted the changes? Did you measure your activities? How many sales calls did you make? Were you able to win new customers? If you lost a sale what did you learn? Most importantly did you keep records of your performance in 2019? When we track what’s important to success, then we can measure our performance and compare the actual to the desired. Then learn from what we did well and what needs to improve.

Are You Ready For 2020?

Next year is coming whether you are ready or not. Great salespeople know the hanging of a new calendar is not a cataclysmic shift. For them it’s just the passing from one month to the next. Like every other month they have tasks to plan, skills to work on and activities to do. Yes, year-end brings holidays, celebrations and more time off for most of us (unless you are in retail!). And traditionally it’s a time to take the long view of the next year. What do you want to accomplish in 2020? Great salespeople set both professional and personal goals. They develop plans to achieve those goals and share them with others who can keep them accountable and help them along the way. Great salespeople take an honest look at their past performance and commit to self improvement.

Did You Make a New Year’s Resolution?

I don’t take much stock in New Year’s resolutions. But I do make lists:

  • Of my best customers
  • Of the best prospects
  • Of what affects the markets I sell into
  • Of the products I sell both current and new introductions
  • Of strategies for selling each product
  • Of the reasons my customers buy from me
  • Of what my competitors did to win orders I lost
  • Of activities I have completed
  • Of the skills I need to improve
  • Of recommendations from my mentor for training needed

Maybe you would call me an “obsessive lister”. But taken together these lists form my plan. Perhaps there is a particular format your company requires for your plan. Or you have a different planning approach effective for you. Whatever method you use, just remember what General Eisenhower said about plans: “In planning for battle I have found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensible.” Great salespeople resolve to be effective planners and they know the value of the plan lies not in the plan itself but in the preparation and the execution.

What You Can Do Right Now

  • Resolve to be a planner
  • Make a plan to achieve each goal
  • Track progress in the pursuit of each goal
  • Make changes needed to reach each goal

To learn more sales secrets see Chapter Eighteen, Setting Your Goals, in Secrets of the Softer Side of Selling. For even more sales encouragement, join our FREE Sales Club! “See” you next week.

Good selling!
Don Crawford

 

Will 2020 Be Better Than 2019?

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This year is almost over. Maybe you are completing a few year-end deals to help your valuable customers spend some budget balances. But mostly it’s done. Great salespeople are planning now to make 2020 even better than this year.

Woman jumping across a chasm to illustrate good planning

Never Plan To Leap A Gap In Two Bounds
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Why Plan?

Yeah, I know no matter how well you plan it never works out that way. My favorite answer to why plan is from General Eisenhower. This is what he said about planning: “In planning for battle I have found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Great salespeople know that the process of planning prepares them for the challenges of finding and creating customers for life….

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Great Salespeople Are Thankful

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This blog was first posted at Thanksgiving 2019. Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is also celebrated at different times in many other countries. The early Thanksgiving celebrations were to pause and show gratitude for the harvest of the previous year and the sacrifices making it possible. In our family we gather with friends and relatives to mark the day with pleasant conversation, sumptuous food and of course a glass (or two) of wine. As we enjoy the meal together we take turns saying what we are particularly grateful for.

Great Salespeople Celebrate Their Success

Great Salespeople Are Thankful
Image by GraphicMama-team from Pixabay

A Grateful Attitude

Great salespeople approach their work and their life with a grateful attitude. They don’t presume success as they begin each sales pursuit. But at each step along the path to winning the deal they are thankful. Even when success seems remote, great salespeople celebrate the lessons learned from the failure. Like those early Thanksgiving celebrations for a bountiful harvest, great salespeople appreciate the journey to sales victory. Although we celebrate each accomplishment along the way, great salespeople defer gratification until the deal is done….

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