“But dad what do I say?”
This is the question my kids ask me when faced with a challenge in their studies and they don’t even know what to ask their teacher in order to get help.
Everyone can freeze up and get tongue twisted when there are challenges or tensions are high.
We’ve been living in both realities this year.
People are still worried about the virus, economy, market and now the election more than ever.
So what do you say to donors when you don’t know what to say or when you feel like you’ve said it all, already?
Try this:
Ask, “How are you doing?”
This is a genuine and heartfelt question that relays that you care and don’t have an agenda with the question.
Then ask, “How can I help you, now?”
This gets at your desire to help, even if it may not help you and there is some immediacy to it.
Finally ask, “We’ve been working on (insert a project you’ve been doing or activity other donors have connected to), could something like this be of interest to you? And if not, what what might be of interest to you?”
This question gives a suggestion of how the donor could be involved in a way that interests them.
As you know, donors are people too. When you first take interest in what they are interested in, they tend to be more interested in what you are interested in accomplishing.
Quote:
“Become genuinely interested in other people.”
– Dale Carnegie