artful persuasion - 32 tips to convince legacy prospects to give
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by Fraser Green from Good Works at AFP Congress, Toronto, November 2013. There are more than $50 billion sitting in wills right now - destined to go to Canadian charities. And for every donor who's made a bequest, there's another who's thinking about it. That's a LOT of money! You can unlock the legacy door by understanding what it takes to persuade donors that a bequest to your organization is a good decision. Fraser Green has been obsessed with legacy gift persuasion since 2003. His book Iceberg Philanthropy is a Canadian best-seller. After more than a decade of research and testing, Fraser has refined his 32 favourite persuasion techniques - and now he's ready to share them. In just one hour, you'll learn these tips - and see practical examples of where and how you can use them to boost your bequest income big time.TRANSCRIPT
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32 Tips To Persuade Legacy Prospects To Give
Fraser Green, Chief Strategist & SmartypantsGood Works
[email protected] www.goodworksco.ca
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Start with WHY
• Bequests are the single biggest revenue growth opportunity in today’s philanthropic market.
• The early adopter and early majority charities are in.
• The horse will have left the barn in about 5 years – it’s getting urgent!
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Has anyone NOT met Jacqueline?
• Everybody’s ‘going younger’ in search of donors
• Stay with the old folks if you’re searching for money
• CIVIC revenue still growing (annual + legacy)
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0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
$ (i
n m
illi
on
s)
2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Civic cohort giving by mail
5
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
$ (i
n m
illi
on
s)
2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Legacy
Same cohort – charitable bequests
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0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
$ (i
n m
illio
ns)
2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Combined
Don’t throw the Civic baby with the bathwater!
And we’re rushing to ‘replace’ these donors why?
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Next comes, WHAT
• Iceberg principle of all those ‘everyday’ donors.
• Direct mail preferred annual giving method.
• Older, female, modest, churchgoer.
• Marketing (rather than tea & banana bread) = answer
• Print preference (Gen Pre-TV)
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This session is about HOW
• Research-based• Road-tested• Nothing complicated• Used synergistically – the more
links, the stronger the message chain.
• No rocket science here – in fact, a lot of common sense when you think about it.
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So buckle up:
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1. Wills ONLY please!
• 90% or more of the money is here for everybody
• It’s what donors already understand – and are prepared to consider.
• Everyday donors want to do good – not reach for the Tylenol.
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2. Paper!
Phone is fast, phone gets numbers.Phone is self-indulgent & not donor-driven in most cases.
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3. Residual FIRST,then percentage,
then fixed amount
Which gift amountmakes my dad gulp.
5% of his estate? or $50,000?
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4. Talk to her like she’s a purple cow
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5. Set the stage with 5-step stewardship.
1. Acknowledge quickly
2. Thank sincerely (purple cow!)
3. Show real results
4. Ask for opinions
5. Offer deeper connect.
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6. Keep showing results today of money donated yesterday. (Donors are SO skeptical about what we do with their $)
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7. Speak to shared beliefs
• What God said to Neil David Walsch
• “the crazy glue of human relationships”
• are your beliefs on your web site?
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8. Identify – don’t solicit.
• ‘Where are you today?’ is different than ‘Will you please give this to us?’
• We like to wait 1 year before asking to I.D.
• You NEVER come right out and ask the donor to make the gift.
• Donors are highly sensitive to feeling pushed.
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9. Go back to the beginning
What ‘care package’ means to my dad, me and my daughter.
Talking about your founding answers why.
Gets the donor thinking over a long time frame – both back and forward.
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10. Have someone else tell her net worth surprise story.
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11. A donor (not you!) must be the teller of the kids and charity decision story –
a story that must be told.story that must be told.
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12. Use an everyday bequest donor to say ‘you don’t have to be rich’.
Which one of thesemade internationalheadlines? Why did I use the other one?
Bill Rahmes Joan Kroc
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13. Use Shakespearean eloquence in a Wal-Mart package
United Way donors in Ottawa reacting to the legacy info kit.
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14. Promise – and deliver – zero pressure
• Persuasion by mail is fine• Donors are so on guard for
phone calls/visits.• Give them name, address,
phone, email & invite them to get in touch when (and if) they’re ready.
• Regional planned giving reps in Ontario and direct mail responders.
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15. Demonstrate future relevance(10-20 years out)
• don’t need to predict the future
• do need to offer a vision of the world and your role in it
• speak to both the cause and your mission
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16. Use social proof – messengers who look and sound like the prospect
prospect profiled in newsletter
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Fraser’s book club
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and a couple more
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Use testimonials to connect the prospect:- living bequesters- surviving loved ones
18.Demonstrate carewith donated dollars
(this is the scarcity generation)
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Storytelling is yourmost powerful tool!
2090 seconds wonan Oscar forMeryl Streep in 1982
Create yourmagic moment
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The bequest decision comes from a different part of the brain.Dr. Russell James and the MRI – thanks Simon Trevelyan!
22Push emotional triggers
happy
sad
angry
afraid
the anthropology of 85%
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The donor gives to the cause – you are just the channel.
60:40!
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usebig
fonts!
dark type on white backgroundkeep design simple
clean photos
80 year old eyesallow 20% light
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NEVERtell thedonor
to makea will!
1. it’s unnecessary.2. They feel lectured to.3. Who ARE you to give advice like that?
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Use oblique angles.
Third party stories are oftenmore effective (and less threatening)than getting straight in their faces.
(Never talk directly about the money!)
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Think twice about the phone:
1. Good ID tool (but re-confirm)2. Persuasion? Not so much3. Mail’s the great persuader4. Do you call donors already?5. Have you found GREAT callers?
28DON’T tell them how to manage their own money.
DO tell them how you manage themoney they’ve given you.
Get in line – behind the kids and grandkids. (but remember, 40% don’t name spouses, and 30% haven’t named children)
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Don’t be that guy!
Ask the prospect to consider a bequest.
Ask the prospect to share her current thinking.
Never actually ask her to make a move.
This is no place for SALES-THINK.
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You can be a greatlegacy persuaderand NEVER talkabout taxes!
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Do you REALLY need to do this?Your donors don’t need it!
Fraser Green is Canada’s authoritative voice on the art of
persuading donors to make legacy gifts. If you’d like to work
with him – or ask him a question – feel free to get in touch!
Fraser Green
Chief Strategist & Smartypants
Good Works
613.612.4232 (direct line)
www.goodworksco.ca