Posted 12/23/21
A colleague from my network, whom I respect very much, is a corporate realtor focusing on the sale / rental of warehouse and office space. When discussing business development, he always said “90% of sales is showing up.” At first I had to think about it, but soon realized he was right, it is true. You need to be seen and you never know who you might meet. He was personally responsible for developing his own leads, making multiple cold calls and trying to develop connections, often facing rejection. What I learned from him (among other things), was the need to “work it,” meaning “work” contact lists, as well as attending events, trade shows, community fairs, networking meetings and more, all requiring showing-up. It is amazing how simply talking to a few people, even casually, can make a difference, especially if you take an interest in their work as well. (Turns out this also applies to fundraising).
My first fundraising opportunity was with the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, as a temporary in their Loaned Executive Program (meaning corporations “loaned” executives to help fundraise during the campaign season, although this particular year, they advertised the positions to the general public). Fortunately, I was one hired to that role. Due to the responsibilities and pressures on the existing full-time fundraisers to concentrate on active accounts, and based on my filling a temporary role, I was assigned a portfolio of mostly lapsed contacts. Some had prior communications while others had simply gone cold. Luckily I remembered what my colleague said, “Work what you have (database lists) and keep Showing-Up!” It can take some time and repeat attendance, but it worked!
With this being the case, it would be in your best interest as a fundraising candidate to ask during the job interview, how “robust” the database is and if it is relatively updated. This can be a great source for creating contact lists, including lapsed or inactive donors. These lists give you something to “work with ” when you are beginning a new fundraising position, often leading to donor meetings or hopefully greater network connections. If you find that the database has not been managed, then it is your choice whether or not to assume the challenge of starting over, and regardless, it does not change the strategy of “Showing-Up.”
If you are making a change from sales to fundraising, or are newly hired to a fundraising position, whether it be a smaller community organization, or a territory in a larger one, understanding the need to “show up” is important. The potential resistance with this strategy, however, is that “showing-up” requires you to be out of the office at times, and even more often as you develop more relationships. If you are working for a supervisor who has little or no sales/fundraising experience, he/she may not understand or be uncomfortable with you being out so often. It requires a significant commitment to communication with that supervisor and earning their trust. If he/she is unsure of what you are doing, it can cause some fiction (hopefully you can get a feel for this in the interview). It requires a commitment to communication and some level of trust with the supervisor to allow the fundraiser(s) to be out. (Now, if the privilege of being out is abused, it will be indicated by a lack of productivity and erode the mutual feeling of trust). Trust is the key factor involved here, and the bottom line is that “showing-up” (even when you don’t feel like it) is worth the effort and will eventually produce results, regardless if you are in sales or fundraising.
(Thanks to my colleague for the great lesson).
*Photo by Keegan Checks: www.pexels.com