The Extreme Fundraising Blog

We’ve spent the last couple issues of EFE looking at objections. If you’re asking at high enough dollar amounts, you know they’re going to come. Objections pop up in just about any walk of life—sales, dating, family…

By now you know that I believe objections are a great sign. It’s a prospect’s way of fogging a mirror. By pushing back a bit, they’re showing that they’re alive. Making objections is a normal part of being a human.

Sales and motivational guru Zig Ziglar says that there are four times to deal with objections:

1. before they happen 
2. as they happen
3. after they happen
4. never

The good news is we can do something about the first three. The bad news is that if we don’t deal with them in the first three times, we can’t do anything about the fourth.

So use the brainstorm talked about in the last issue of EFE and see if you can create compelling answers to the 5 or 6 common objections your team comes up with. Then strategize with how to use these answers during each step of the process.

If we never deal with objections, we never deal with them. (Sounds like something Yogi Berra would say, doesn’t it? *grin*)

Here’s an encouraging note. Even if you deftly deal with every objection, four out of five times the prospect will likely say “no.”

Most good fundraising gift charts recommend having 4 or 5 prospects for each gift. If you’re looking for one person to give $100,000, you’ll need four or five prospects capable of that. If you’re looking for 20 people to give $1000, you’ll need 80-100 people capable of giving that size gift.

So don’t get discouraged if you’re not seeing the gifts come in. A “no” can be a sign that you’re one step closer to finding the prospect that is going to give!

And remember, if you’re not getting any objections, you’re not asking for enough money.

My friends at Blackbaud just sent me this. If you think it may be a fit for you, give them a call! Blackbaud seems like an incredibly cool place to work:

Our rapidly-growing public company (www.blackbaud.com) needs people with at least five years experience in fundraising for hospitals, colleges, or universities, ideally with experience in major gifts, planned giving, annual fund, or the like.

Blackbaud is a leader in technology for non-profits, with five times the market share of our competitors. We have at least five Principal Consultant positions to fill. We look for these individuals to be skilled fundraisers who confidently and competently use software to assist them with their fundraising and understand the benefits that technology brings to their fundraising efforts.

This position offers a competitive salary plus bonus (up to 30% of base) and benefits. It is about 70% travel, and there is also a lot of opportunity for rapid advancement. We are located in Charleston, SC, although relocation here is not a must.

Interested persons should send their e-resume to Marie-Louise Ramsdale at Marie-Louise.Ramsdale@Blackbaud.com. Also, I am happy to answer any questions about this position, and may be reached by email or by phone at 1.800.443.9441 X 3240.

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone said “yes” when you asked them for money?

But they don’t, do they?

Often, they come up with a reason they can’t possibly give at the level you’ve requested.

Despite how it feels, objections are actually a very good sign. While a “yes” would be terrific, an objection is at least not a no. (You may need to read that sentence a few times!)

In my 3-hour seminar “Asking for Money 2: How to Handle Objections,” I offer five reasons to like objections:

1. Objections show interest. An objection is often a way for the prospect to say “Tell me more.” 
2. If there were no objections, you’d be out of a job! People would just be giving oodles of money to your cause and you’d be irrelevant!
3. Objections are better than questions. Both are calls for more information but questions can be merely polite–unattached and disinterested. Objections show some level of personal interest and connection with your soliciation.
4. You don’t have to answer them all! Let me repeat that: YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER THEM ALL! You’re a fundraiser, not an objection answering service. I recently had the wonderful experience of asking a prospect, “Is [the issue you just brought up] something that would keep you from making a gift?” It turns out the issue he was bringing up wasn’t really important to his decision making. So we didn’t have to deal with that particular objection at all!
5. In most cases, objections are similar. Sales guru Zig Ziglar says most solicitations are met with 5 or 6 common objections. Figure out these common objections and you’re more than half way to answering them.

Why not get your staff together and brainstorm a huge list of objections? Maybe this could be done in a party like atmosphere or at the local pub. Make this fun. Pretend you’ve just been asked to give to your cause and rattle off all the reasons you couldn’t do that.

Then look at the huge list, and narrow it down to five or six most common objections.

• “My kids are in college.”
• “My businesses isn’t doing that well this year.”
• “There are 17,000 other campaigns in our town.” Etc.

Once you have this list, you’re in power.

See what you can do to restructure your presentation. Perhaps you can incorporate stories of how others that are supporting the cause have overcome one of those objections.

If you know the person has kids in college, you may make an off-hand but strategic comment like: “You know, last week Joe said that this was so important for our community that he’s making a leadership gift even though he’s got 32 kids in college right now.”

You may still get that objection but at least you’ve gone a long way to answering it before it even comes up.

I doubt I’ll convince you to look forward to objections. But hopefully these will help take the sting (or surprise) out of them when they come.

Remember, if you’re not getting any objections, you’re not asking for enough money!

I just received this email from a colleague in MA. Does it fit you?

From time to time, we advise our friends about the executive searches that Mersky, Jaffe & Associates conducts in the nonprofit sector. I am pleased to share with you a position description for an exceptional opportunity to head up the lawyers’ Division of UJA/Federation of New York.

We are very proud of our association with UJA/Federation. I welcome your suggestions of promising candidates for the position.

If you have any questions or are interested in exploring working with us to assist you in filling positions within your organization, please contact me directly.

David A. Mersky,
Founder and Managing Director
Mersky, Jaffe & Associates
Offices in New York and Boston
V: 617-965-2347
F:413-556-1074
www.merskyjaffe.com

Last issue I said we’d learn to “Live/Love/Like” the person whether they say “yes” or “no.” But asking for money rarely results in a simple “yes” or “no.” Nine times out of ten, people raise objections and tell you why they couldn’t possibly give what you’d asked.

So before we explore how to relate to people after the ask, let’s look at how to handle objections.
Think about your reaction to an objection. Is it an eager, joyous reaction? Or is it more akin to fear and dread?

I think most of us, at some level, take objections personally. This is scary! What if they ask a question I can’t answer?

What if they’re really saying, “I think you’re nuts and don’t have any idea why anyone with half a brain would make a gift to your organization!”

The good news is that they aren’t.

Objections are part of the businesses. None of us want to look to “easy” when it comes to responding to requests. For those of you with kids, are there times you answer them “Maybe” when you know you really intend to do what they’ve requested? There’s just something in us that doesn’t want to look too easy.

As I see it, there are three main reasons for objections:

1. Lack of connection with the cause.
2. Lack of cultivation of the prospect.
3. The improper solicitation technique, either not knowing the donor (research and engage) or not thanking appropriately after the last gift.

The good news? The Get REAL process addresses all those areas!

Over the next few weeks we’ll be diving into objections. Maybe you’ll even learn to love objections.

But if not, at least you’ll learn to feel prepared for them!

This week, think about the most recent set of objections you received. Do they fit one of the three main reasons?