People are Busy, So Success Means Following Up

Maybe you've been fundraising for some time now, and you're getting discouraged that all you seem to get out of people is their voicemail greeting. It's important to keep leaving those messages and to keep calling back. Be honest, when is the last time you ignored a phone call because you didn't have time at that moment to have a conversation? Probably today!

One client has quickly raised over $6k a month. When reviewing her fundraising success together, I asked her what has been the key to her success? She said persistent follow up. 

This person's mindset has been that people are busy and that it's her job to follow up with them, not the other way around. This mindset is what helped her to keep texting, emailing, calling and using Facebook to follow up every 3 days. 

She actually believes people when they say they want to partner, so she continued to reach out until she got an answer from them. If they said they were interested, she didn't take it as a platitude, but as genuine interest. 

Because of her persistence, people actually said to her, "Thanks for bugging me! I needed you to keep reminding me because I am so busy!" Having the right mindset when following up is huge! 

Don't take it personally, don't focus on yourself and your own insecurities. Believe that when someone says they want to be involved, they mean it, but they're too busy to remember to get back to you. This will help you follow up because you can see you're simply helping them do what they said they want to do.  

Deb Evans, Fundraising Coach

Being a fundraising coach is exciting because I am able to meet with and help God’s ambassadors get to the field. Coaching also gives me the privilege of contributing to the Great Commission. When I’m not coaching or blogging, I’m surfing the web for new recipes to try on my family in Birmingham, AL. They are my Guinea pigs!