As a speaker and trainer, I get into a "zone" and when I get interrupted, sometimes it's tough to get back into the groove. This happened to me twice within a week by two well-known dignitaries.
A few weeks ago, I was invited to a retreat for Make-A-Wish in San Diego. I was just warming up when the President of the San Diego Padres baseball team showed up to accept an award. We were at Petco Park and I was certainly happy to wait to continue!
Then thanks to a very generous invitation from Kevin P. Martin Jr., Kevin P Martin & Associates, P.C. I was delivering the keynote at his Not-For-Profit Philanthropy Summit in Boston. Who interrupted me? The Mayor!
He talked for about 35 minutes. When I asked what he said, someone replied, "Whatever an Irish-heritage politician running for re-election in Boston usually talks about." He talked about volunteerism, the importance of nonprofits in this economy and the safety net they provide.
When I came back to speak, Kevin pulled a great surprise on me. We were in a very elegant ballroom at the Intercontinental Hotel in front of Board members and executives from major nonprofits throughout the area. He dressed his staff in black, arranged my book in tiers on silver platters and then proceeded to deliver them to each person in the audience! Thanks Kevin; you made my book look very appetizing!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Finding Buried Treasure in Your Own Backyard
Could you find new "treasure" among your Board members or your donors? At a recent Board Retreat, my mission was to motivate Board members into revealing prospects for a new campaign and to train them to contact these prospects for the organization.
I asked the Executive Director to choose 5 people who were very important to the organization - the Board did not know any of them. The staff then chose one large donor and I gave them an exercise in which they were asked questions about the donor's personal and business life. The more questions they could answer the higher the score. Like many of my clients, they rated below 50%. My rule is: You need to score at least 76% before you can make an ask for anything.
During this same program, one of the most prominent businessmen in the city told the group one reason that he donated was because his mother loved the organization. "However, no one at the organization has visited me. And, I know and see often at least seven Board members here, and not one of you has asked me to participate." He was definitely buried gold!
However, as part of my Board program, the organization uncovered 159 new names and each one is connected to someone involved with the organization. In addition, they received training to know what to say and how to partner with the staff to approach these prospects!
The moral of this story: You don't always need to go outside your organization to get the new prospects you need to raise more money!
Happy prospecting!
I asked the Executive Director to choose 5 people who were very important to the organization - the Board did not know any of them. The staff then chose one large donor and I gave them an exercise in which they were asked questions about the donor's personal and business life. The more questions they could answer the higher the score. Like many of my clients, they rated below 50%. My rule is: You need to score at least 76% before you can make an ask for anything.
During this same program, one of the most prominent businessmen in the city told the group one reason that he donated was because his mother loved the organization. "However, no one at the organization has visited me. And, I know and see often at least seven Board members here, and not one of you has asked me to participate." He was definitely buried gold!
However, as part of my Board program, the organization uncovered 159 new names and each one is connected to someone involved with the organization. In addition, they received training to know what to say and how to partner with the staff to approach these prospects!
The moral of this story: You don't always need to go outside your organization to get the new prospects you need to raise more money!
Happy prospecting!
YAHOO'S goodreads - check out my book reviews
Many of you know how curious I am about others. I decided be curious about myself and Googled my name. (I'm sure most of you have done that too. ) I was surprised to find my book reviewed on YAHOO's GoodReads site.. Two women, Mary Turner and Sue enjoyed it.
Here are their comments:
05/28/09 - Mary Turner rated it:
Read in May, 2009
There were times when I felt a little silly reading this book simply because the narrative, solely used as a vehicle to apply the lessons in a possible life scenario, was a bit corny. Nevertheless, the lessons were highly applicable to the work I do and to non-profit management in general and the narrative made it digestible and memorable. I actually identified with the main character, ED Oscar, who often looks for shortcuts and feels VERY nervous about asking people for money or making people feel like they are just another step on your networking ladder.
Howard explains through the character of Victoria, Board Chair, that forming real relationships with stakeholders in your community and asking them to give back is the opposite of treating these stakeholders as a rung on your ladder. The strategies utilized by Oscar to create and develop these relationships were something anyone with a true will to improve their organization and leadership style could embrace. I am really glad I read it and plan to recommend it to my board members, as well as purchase organizational copies for members of the Executive Board. Whether you work in non-profit management or just want to work smarter, I highly recommend taking the short time to read this book. But now I will stop writing this review before I sound too much like a motivational speaker and start selling tickets...
05/27/09 - Sue rated it:
Read in May, 2009
While the story is framed around fundraising in a non-profit organization, the books lessons are applicable everywhere. Everything we do in our lives is build around relationships, and many of us in the non-profit arena don't think in those terms when it comes to our jobs. What I liked about this book is that more than anything is just reaffirms that the best work we can do is built on common sense.
And I really like it's presentation as a story instead of an academic format. Direct application is always so much more interesting than theory. (And I love theory!!)
If you want to join the discussion and add your review, I would appreciate it! Just login and you can create a community of people around you and the other books you are reading!
Here are their comments:
05/28/09 - Mary Turner rated it:
Read in May, 2009
There were times when I felt a little silly reading this book simply because the narrative, solely used as a vehicle to apply the lessons in a possible life scenario, was a bit corny. Nevertheless, the lessons were highly applicable to the work I do and to non-profit management in general and the narrative made it digestible and memorable. I actually identified with the main character, ED Oscar, who often looks for shortcuts and feels VERY nervous about asking people for money or making people feel like they are just another step on your networking ladder.
Howard explains through the character of Victoria, Board Chair, that forming real relationships with stakeholders in your community and asking them to give back is the opposite of treating these stakeholders as a rung on your ladder. The strategies utilized by Oscar to create and develop these relationships were something anyone with a true will to improve their organization and leadership style could embrace. I am really glad I read it and plan to recommend it to my board members, as well as purchase organizational copies for members of the Executive Board. Whether you work in non-profit management or just want to work smarter, I highly recommend taking the short time to read this book. But now I will stop writing this review before I sound too much like a motivational speaker and start selling tickets...
05/27/09 - Sue rated it:
Read in May, 2009
While the story is framed around fundraising in a non-profit organization, the books lessons are applicable everywhere. Everything we do in our lives is build around relationships, and many of us in the non-profit arena don't think in those terms when it comes to our jobs. What I liked about this book is that more than anything is just reaffirms that the best work we can do is built on common sense.
And I really like it's presentation as a story instead of an academic format. Direct application is always so much more interesting than theory. (And I love theory!!)
If you want to join the discussion and add your review, I would appreciate it! Just login and you can create a community of people around you and the other books you are reading!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Conversation Stoppers
If nothing else, the folks at Southwest are entertaining and innovative marketeers.
I'm a big fan of their airlines and have been flying them since they used stickers on your boarding passes for seat assignments!
I just got these great sayings from them. These are great when you're on the plane and want to hide out (which I never do)!
"I am sorry, I cannot talk with you - I have given up face-to-face conversation as a personal experiment."
Find the map in the Spirit magazine and say "Sorry, I'm memorizing the codes for all the airports Southwest flies to, in reverse alphabetical order."
"I can' really talk with anyone until I've had two drinks, and I always stop after my first."
I'm a big fan of their airlines and have been flying them since they used stickers on your boarding passes for seat assignments!
I just got these great sayings from them. These are great when you're on the plane and want to hide out (which I never do)!
"I am sorry, I cannot talk with you - I have given up face-to-face conversation as a personal experiment."
Find the map in the Spirit magazine and say "Sorry, I'm memorizing the codes for all the airports Southwest flies to, in reverse alphabetical order."
"I can' really talk with anyone until I've had two drinks, and I always stop after my first."
Two Great Student Successes
Since I left consulting to go into training, I've met a lot of great people, heard a lot of great stories and enjoyed my travels. But I miss the one thing I had with ongoing clients - the thrill of watching them connect with people and meet their goals.
Last week, I had two terrific stories that gave me a lot of satisfaction. I taught a three-part Master's Series taking participants through basic relationship-building to establishing a Partnership Council.
One Executive Director told me about meeting a Board Member to discuss paying the yearly dues. However, by focusing on connecting and they found they had many connections in common. She offered to help his ill son . . .and also procured a $60,000 donation to the organization!
In another agency, I coached the ED, development director and board through three trainings and now they are well on their way to establishing a Council. The board members have fully embraced going out in the community and connecting. One of them said to me, "This process has been fun. I can grow as a "human being" and can help others grow too!
In the next few weeks we will have these stories on our website as case histories. Like all teachers which I was in the 60's and am now, we like to know that we have value and impact on others' lives!
Last week, I had two terrific stories that gave me a lot of satisfaction. I taught a three-part Master's Series taking participants through basic relationship-building to establishing a Partnership Council.
One Executive Director told me about meeting a Board Member to discuss paying the yearly dues. However, by focusing on connecting and they found they had many connections in common. She offered to help his ill son . . .and also procured a $60,000 donation to the organization!
In another agency, I coached the ED, development director and board through three trainings and now they are well on their way to establishing a Council. The board members have fully embraced going out in the community and connecting. One of them said to me, "This process has been fun. I can grow as a "human being" and can help others grow too!
In the next few weeks we will have these stories on our website as case histories. Like all teachers which I was in the 60's and am now, we like to know that we have value and impact on others' lives!
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