On the Line...with Jason Fisher

Phonathon Manager's Training Academy

Just a quick reminder to those who have expressed an interest in attending my Phonathon Manager's Training Academy.  This year's version of the two-day, 15 hour intensive managerial training session will be July 28-30 in Minneapolis, MN at the Hilton Minneapolis.  For those attending the RuffaloCODY User's Group Conference, this is conveniently scheduled to immediately follow the end of User's Group.

Sessions begin at 1:00 pm on Tuesday the 28th and run until 11:00 am on Thursday the 30th.  All the major phonathon topics will be covered, including what an entire day should entail for a typical phonathon manager.  For more information on registering, please click on the following link.

http://www.ruffalocody.com/products/events/phonathonAcademy.php

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Next Year Begins Now- Fully Debrief This Year's Results

The best phonathon programs comprehensively report on all major components related to the phone program- documenting the procedures used, changes made, and overall results following the final calls of the year.  It is important to record detailed notes for reference purposes, especially if there is a managerial change expected for the next phonathon.  In any case, having explanations as to strategies that worked and those that did not is extremely helpful in painting a picture of the chronological progress of the program and the efforts by management to move the numbers in a positive direction.  Without this level of detail, there is no effective paper trail (or electronic trail as it may be today) to refer back to. 

 

Simply counting last year’s donors and dollars only tells you a fraction of what you need to know to run a good phonathon program.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the program is not that difficult to run, or that nothing much will need to change.  That’s the precise recipe for stagnant results.  Instead, phonathon managers need to challenge themselves to become immersed in the details of the program; taking all the phonathon components apart and putting them back together again to make sure it’s working correctly and at maximum effectiveness.  Yes, there is another report to write.  And yes, it will take time.  But the amount of information and level of detail you can gather as a result is invaluable…and really needs to be made a priority for your program.  Specifically, the following areas should be covered in great detail.

The Competitive Caller Drives the Phonathon

What skills or traits do you look for in your caller interviews?  Personally, I like callers with a small chip on their shoulder; who take failure just a little bit to heart and who want to come back on their next call and get a pledge.  I want to look over at their calling station after they get a refusal and see traces of frustration- not because they believe they can never get a gift, but because they feel they could have done more on that last call to get the prospect to say yes.  These are characteristics of a competitive caller, and I like my phone room to be full of them.

 

Fundraising is an active profession, not a passive one.  It takes students who are sincere and passionate about what they do to be successful.  Callers who don’t much care whether they get the gift or not, or who are just happy to move onto the next call without thinking about what they could have done better really shouldn’t have a place in your program.  While not everyone you hire will be of a competitive nature, it is important to have a critical mass of these personalities to keep the energy of the calling floor at high levels so that nobody gets too comfortable with being told no.

 

So who makes a competitive caller and how do you find them?  Well, there is no single test you can implement to decide if this person is competitive.  But look at their application and resume for clues.  Previous sports activities may or may not show the type of competitiveness you seek.  Being involved in a ton of activities may just distract your applicant from focusing on their job and cause them to call out more often.  Leadership is important, mainly because leaders don’t want to fail in front of everyone.  Their pride and reputation is at stake, and they want to make sure they always come out on top- so certainly look for that.

Only the Best Callers Should Call Donors

Would the manager of a major league baseball team start their bench players in the World Series?  Would the conductor of an orchestra give a solo to the worst violin player?  Would you want a below-average teacher educating your children?  The answer, of course, is no.  I could go on with the analogies, but I’m assuming you get my point as it relates to phonathon and the title of this article.  Reaching the full productivity potential of any phonathon requires that management make the difficult decisions about which students call their best prospects.  I’m a firm believer that managers should not give the highest producing records to callers who simply aren’t ready to overcome the tough objections, personalize really well in the call, ask credit cards properly, or use their negotiation skills to the level needed to achieve top statistical performance.  Doing so is essentially akin to leaving money on the table and hurting the true value of the phone program.

 

Managers who make the decision to give donor prospects to everybody or anybody often do so out of fear- fear of their employees leaving, fear of their students not liking them, fear of being accused of favoritism.  This may sound harsh, but phonathon is about making money, not about making everyone happy.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about caller motivation and creating a strong, positive atmosphere.  The vast majority of students who called for me will tell you they felt respected and had a lot of fun.  I prided myself of strong employee relations and running a professional, exciting call center.  But assigning the highest value records to sub-par callers is a poor business decision.  Doing so virtually ensures that the rate of return will be lower than it could otherwise be, the prospects will not get the best experience, and the program overall will underperform.

 

Here are a few additional tips to consider on this subject when developing your nightly strategy for calling donors.

Phonathon at the Margins- Why Small Things Make Huge Differences

I've been traveling around to various campuses and conferences the past few weeks discussing phonathon and where we are at this point in its history.  As I review results from around the industry, it continues to strike me how there is very little room for error if an institution wishes to have a good year and achieve its goals.  Programs cannot just plug in computers or print cards and start the money machine.  It takes thoughtful planning and higher rates of efficiency than ever before to realize success.  Contacts and participation are down noticeably on most campuses, and in some cases significantly.  Now, more than ever before, phonathon is a game played at the margins.  The small things we might have let go many years ago that impact our results will now make or break a campaign.  And I'm not exaggerating when I say that phonathon managers must review every last detail to ensure a successful campaign.  I wrote about this in my book last year.  It's worth another look.  Here's an excerpt from The Phonathon Manager's Planning Handbook on this very subject.

Record-Breaking Phonathons Start With Staff Retention and Cultivation

Many programs are on their last days of calling as they seek to end the fiscal year on a strong note.  The finish line is in sight, both for the callers and for the managers.  Spring is in the air and summer is almost here.  But before celebrating the end of another phonathon experience, managers need to take inventory of next year’s staffing expectations and begin making preparations for the 2009-10 phonathon.  Building a successful program year in and year out takes foresight and planning, and there is nothing more important to think about this early in the process than your human resources.

 

The best programs in the country cultivate calling talent as much as they cultivate donors.  The managers who hire these callers seek strong indications of a high level of commitment from the student, starting with the enthusiasm and dedication they show to their alma mater in the interview.  Good grades and a good personality are important, but the key to finding those callers that will stay for years instead of months is a sense of belonging and wanting to make a difference.

 

After calling for a semester or more, it should be fairly easy to spot those callers that enjoy the job and want to come back.  You likely won’t have to persuade them too much to retain their services.  On the other end of the spectrum, you may have callers that you wouldn’t mind see take another job or find an activity that greatly interferes with their phonathon duties, preventing their return to the program.  Again, if they don’t much like the position, you won’t have to do much influencing.  It’s those callers in the middle that offer the greatest dilemma.  The question then arises- how aggressive should you be in retaining their services?  Here’s my philosophy for cultivating talent and building a great phonathon.

Proximity Matters When it Involves Alumni Participation

I’ve had the opportunity to work on hundreds of phonathon and annual giving programs in my career.  As part of my consulting and audit responsibilities, I often take a closer look at statistical results and attempt to dig into the numbers to find trends that the phonathon and annual giving staff can exploit.  It’s amazing how consistent statistical trends are from campus to campus.  What one might consider at first to be an isolated phenomena is often found in other programs as well, leading me to the conclusion that human behavior is remarkable similar no matter what institution people attend.

 

In particular, I like to review the alumni participation rates by proximity to campus.  They tell an interesting story; one that fundraisers should not overlook.   In general, the farther one goes from campus, the higher the alumni participation rate.  I would say that the vast majority of the schools I work with follow this pattern.  In fact, I cannot remember the last time this wasn’t true.  There are a number of theories floating around out there that try to explain this, but let me give you my basic reasoning for why I believe this happens.