Closing Time: Keys to Closing Major Donors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSzwg4AH0so

One of the greatest frustrations I hear from fundraisers and fundraising leaders is that when they send a proposal to a prospect, often, they are ghosted. There is then an attempt to re-engage the donor with follow calls, emails, and requests for a meeting, and nothing. What the fundraiser thought was once a sure win is now sinking fast.

When our hero submitted the proposal, the fundraiser was so confident that they had already put this donor on the "closed" list. The fundraiser was so sure this would come in they had the gift acceptance forms filled out and ready to be sent to development operations. Our hero was confident for good reasons. The fundraiser had met with the prospect so often that when our hero got into their car, google maps would display the route to the coffee shop where they would meet with the prospect.

All that work, and today, the team would be happy to hear crickets on the other end of the phone. After all, crickets are something; they are getting nothing.

None of us want to be in this situation, but we've all been there.

So how do we make this better? Three components need to happen for a donor to be ready to close. Unfortunately, drinking coffee is not one of them.

First – are they ready to close? Your donor is ready to close when

1) there is an agreed-upon vision for these dollars' impact.

2) there is an agreed-upon value proposition

3) there is an agreed-upon cost to achieve the vision

Secondly – are they THE decision-maker or A decision-maker? Remember, you can't get a donation from somebody who can't give.

With whom do they discuss this decision? Is this proposal the first time your prospect's advisors/partners will hear about this gift? These people will need convincing. Does the prospect have the information necessary to get the other decision-makers on board?

Lastly – How will they evaluate the proposal? Have you, as a fundraiser, developed a proposal evaluation plan? I will tell you this with 100% certainty – the prospect will evaluate the proposal's merits before giving you a substantial gift. Have you put a plan together to "prove" that your organization can execute the work outlined in the proposal?

When a donor is ready to close, the decision-making process is outlined, and the donor has a proposal evaluation plan; the donor can adequately evaluate the proposal, have questions and answers, and come to a decision quickly. High net-worth individuals have experience evaluating large-dollar decisions, and it is up to the fundraiser to help them with this decision.

Getting a donor to say yes, is much less about one big ask and much more about many, many, small "yeses."

Philanthropy System methodology and our workshops work with fundraisers and fundraising leaders to develop and implement systems to ensure that donors are ready to close so that you successfully close more gifts.

Remember, fundraising is enjoyable when you are raising a lot of money.

We hope to see you at an upcoming workshop – if you want more information, you can always schedule a 15-minute strategy session through our website "PhilanthropySystems.com"