Sales is the Key!
In this current economic environment, all schools are feeling mounting pressure to “do more in development”. Is it realistic to believe that your school might actually be able to grow the amount of philanthropic support it receives in unrestricted or temporarily restricted money to support the operating budget?
The key to the answer is “sales process”. Although the concept of selling still meets with some degree of resistance in some schools, it is clear to most people that the development office is the sales engine that drives money into private schools–plain and simple. Without a fine-tuned and well-oiled engine the institution just won’t thrive financially…especially in a recessionary economy.
We find that schools that do well and achieve the highest levels of development revenue, have implemented and nurture a defined sales process. They have sales oriented people, who are managed around a set of targeted sales activities towards the achievement of defined sales goals. And absolutely, these sales people spend the majority of their time out of the office meeting face to face with those who can have the greatest financial impact on the school.
Successful sales people are positive and likeable and have determination, drive and ambition. They are motivated to achieve goals and don’t like to fail. They are results-focused and they desire to be more out of the office than in. They value relationships and approach prospects from a problem solving perspective, offering solutions to donor problems. Does your development operation have these kinds of people?
Sales activities that should be watched over are relatively few and simple, like: number of calls with real prospects; the number of people in the pipeline who have been solicited and are considering a decision; the dollar amount of those solicited which will hopefully close; and the next steps with each. These activities should be overseen by the “sales manager” (director of development) on a weekly basis. Does your development operation have these kinds of reporting processes in place?
We know at a conceptual level that the product being sold is the mission of the school and the impact we have on our students. However, in order to make dramatic shifts that will move the money thermometer significantly, the product has to be more practically defined, and it must be easy to understand. For instance, we often experience the greatest lift in annual, unrestricted giving, by simply selling membership into the Presidents Club (or whatever name your school calls the highest giving clubs in the annual fund). The best approach to restricted annual giving is a well defined student sponsorship program. There are others.
Now is the time to take a look under the hood and see how the sales engine is running. It may be time for a tune-up.
