Managing A Sales Force: Lessons for Managing a Major Giving Program

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Managing A Sales Force Lessons for
Managing a Major Giving Program

• Gregg Carlson, Chairman CEO, IDC
• Colin Ware, CFRE, Vice President of Client
  Services, IDC

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Who We Are

• Gregg Carlson, Chairman CEO, IDC
• Colin Ware, CFRE, Vice President of Client
  Services, IDC

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About IDC

• National fundraising consulting firm
• High-touch programs that bridge low-level annual
  giving and major gifts
• Created PHONE/MAIL 35 years ago at Yale
• Raised over 40 million for our clients last
  year

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Managing Sales/Major Gift Staff

• You have two choices
• Support them and get out of the way
• Manage activity
• First only works with very experienced staff
  (think Bill Sturtevant!)
• We will be focusing on the second

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Our Focus Today will be

• Sales Marketing and fundraising are more
  similar than you might think
• Creating an effective annual sales/major
  gift plan
• Managing to that plan

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Building the Plane in Mid-Air
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Classic Sales Marketing Strategies
Equal Fundraising Success!

• Fundraising will always balance art
  and science.
• One lens through which to view this balancing act
  is Sales Marketing also art and science.

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Begin by Defining Audience Who is the
Customer?

• Determine a donor profile
• Analyze donors or current customers
• Who are they?
• What are they giving to?
• Why are they giving?
• Current donors are your best prospects to be
  future customers
• Current donors are best indicators as to which
  non-donor
  
  constituencies are your best prospective
  customers
• What are some possible constituencies or
  segments?

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What Are You Trying to Sell Them?

• Why do people give?
• Donors image of themselves
• What do people give to?
• The case for support
• How do you present the case for support?
• Tell a story
• How do you uncover case stories?
• Ask, discuss, interview

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Presenting the Case for Support

• Who should tell the story?
• How do you communicate the story?
• 3 ways of learning or processing information
• Written
• Visual (Brochure/Video/Video Streaming)
• Verbal
• The PHONE/MAIL Telecommunications Program

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Case Sales Marketing Context

• What problems do our products address
• What are the outcomes we deliver
• In what situations are we most effective
• What are our particular skills that separate us
  from our competitors
• Who has used us successfully

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Case - Fundraising Context

• What needs does your organization meet
• What is the ROI on giving
• Why is your organization best suited to meet this
  need
• How will you know when you are successful
• Who has given you money in the past

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Plan to Succeed

• Or plan to fail.

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Components of an Annual Plan

• Qualified prospect list
• Prospecting plan
• Goal
• Activity plan/calendar
• Budget

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Qualified Prospect List
Highest Rated
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Qualified Prospect List
Lower Rated
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Prospecting Plan
Where Will My New Prospects Come From?
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Source-Based Goal Setting

• Set after review of prospect list
• Base on past activity
• How many proposals will we get
• How many will say yes and for how much
• Factor in prospecting
• Then factor improvement
• Base on what is possible!

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Key Statistics

• Average major gift/sale
• Closing rate
• Rate that prospects accept a proposal
• Number of meetings to get to a proposal
• Percentage of prospects accepting invitation to
  meet
• If possible, variation between new
  prospects/business and renewals?

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Activity Plan

• Based on goal calculation
• Calculate (using key statistics)
• How many proposals?
• How many meetings?
• How many cold calls?
• How many prospects do I need to identify to add
  to the ones I already have?
• Prospecting activity what and when

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Simple Example

• Need 20 gifts/sales
• If the closing rate is 50, we need 40 proposals
• If 50 of prospects take a proposal, we need 80
  prospects
• If it takes 3 meetings to present a proposal, we
  need 240 meetings

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Activity Calendar

• When will I conduct this activity
• Factor in vacations, slow periods etc
• Then break down by month as your basic unit of
  time

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Budget

• What do we have to spend to meet our goals?

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Managing Activity Premise

• If our stats are good, then doing the activity
  should, in most cases get us to our goal

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Reporting

• Will need simple, comprehensive reports
• Activity by week
• Prospects moved closer to decision
• Proposals
• Prospects added to funnel
• Money raised

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CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

• Keeping contact info
• Tracking meetings, phone calls and other contacts
• Tracking progress towards sales/giving goal
• Documenting interconnections and relationships
• Tracking giving/sales
• Generating reports

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Tools Available

• Raisers Edge is a CRM program
• Excel or Access can be a CRM program for small
  shops
• IDC uses Upshot, a Siebel product

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Not meeting activity goals

• Do we have the right tools
• Do major gifts/sales people need additional
  training on cold calling/appointment setting
• Is there something we have not factored in
• Are staff doing the work?
• Do staff have the support they need
• Are the goals realistic?
• Do staff have the budget/resources they need?

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Activity is Good Not Closing

• Do staff need training on closing
• Are we asking/closing prematurely
• Are our materials appropriate
• Are staff using best practices
• Are the proposals effective/relevant
• Is there something we have not considered
• Are we competitive?

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Summary

• Make an annual plan that includes prospect lists,
  prospecting plans, activity plans and budgets
• Provide the necessary tools
• Set realistic goals
• Manage activity first then closing