On the Line...with Jason Fisher

The Five Statistical Factors That Make Up Total Dollars

We live in a convenient world.  When we are hungry for a cake, we may simply go down to the market and buy the cake of our choice.  We do this without thinking twice about the various ingredients that went into making that cake.  The wise baker understands that the quality of the cake you are eating has everything to do with the quality of the ingredients it’s made with.  If you want to make a better cake, get better ingredients. 

 

Phonathon is essentially no different than the cake example I just shared.  I’ve said many times that total dollars is simply the result of many statistical factors working together- that it’s not a stand-alone statistic and should not be viewed as directly controllable by management.  If phonathon managers want to affect total dollars, they must first affect the Five Statistical Factors that work together to achieve that final number.  It’s a mistake to think that you can improve total dollar results without including strategy for impacting ALL of these components.  Let’s go through the five components one by one…

Days Lost is Money Lost- Finding Time in a Restricted Calling Calendar

It’s never too late to think about ways to squeeze more donors and dollars out of the phonathon sponge.  Even in early February as we are now, there are decisions that managers can still make that will significantly impact the amount of time available to make calls.  And this is important to note, mainly because poor database completion strategies is the number one reason why phonathons miss their revenue goals.

 

To effectively maximize the productivity of the program, managers must leave no stone unturned.  Budget permitting, every hour possible must be utilized so that each prospect we have in our database of calling can be attempted in sufficient numbers to complete 75% of all prospects loaded.  This is especially true in the donor calls, but the same rule should apply to all prospects that have value.  In some cases, like recent graduate nondonors, you might spend a dollar to make a dollar.  But even at break even, these prospects are important for the growth of your program.  Leaving them as incompleted calls gives you little opportunity to plug the leaky bucket and increase your alumni participation rate.

 

As a general rule of thumb, managers need to apply three basic rules when deciding which days of the calendar to call.  1.  Will our alumni respond negatively to being called?  2.  Can I find enough callers to make it worthwhile to hold a calling shift?  3.  Am I spending my budgeted hours wisely?  Let’s take a closer look at each.

Use Fiscal Year Comparisons To Make Mid-Program Adjustments

If you haven’t done so already, the end of the semester is a good time to put together comprehensive analysis of phonathon results compared to goals and expectations.  Most all programs track overall donors and dollars against previous year results, but I have found that a more complete and in-depth process is very valuable and worth the time and energy spent.  I’ll spend just a few paragraphs here talking about what I think are the most important things to remember when putting together fiscal year comparisons and why it’s a necessity to do so for any phonathon manager.

Analysis should be done at the segment level, not just overall.  The bottom line numbers are ultimately what is important, but for a manager looking to better understand the pulse of their program, what happens at the segment level is of far more consequence.  Go down to the least common denominator and make sure you are looking for the subtle differences.  Avoid only using analysis at 10,000 feet and comparing overall numbers such as donors and dollars.  The devil is in the details, and overall project summaries do not provide the kind of specifics a manager needs to make good decisions.

Compare apples to apples.  For the vast majority of programs, segmentation will not change dramatically from year to year.  But in the event that significant changes have happened, make sure you take those into account when looking at the results.  Sometimes criteria for the segments change from year to year, which means that while statistics are not rendered completely meaningless, you do have to remember that the numbers you are looking at may need to be examined in a different light.   

Look at all the numbers, not just donors and dollars.  Percentages matter more than raw numbers when in comes to finding ways to improve phonathon results.  Participation, average pledge, upgrade percentages, credit card percentages, completes per hour, etc. are the factors that will ultimately decide whether you have a successful year.  Progress can be measured much more accurately by management if they use the above-mentioned percentages and averages instead of just determining that you are behind in donors and dollars.

Develop charts to compare results.  By segment and by statistical category, put down on paper those areas that are most important areas to contrast.  Look at the last two fiscal years in succession and compare those results to the current fiscal year.  Sometimes just looking at two years in a row is not enough to see trends.  Whether you had a great year or a poor year the previous year, having the perspective of seeing how the program moves over a longer period of time (including month-by-month results) is extremely important and helpful.  And don’t be afraid to benchmark your results against peer institutions.  While there will obviously be differences to consider when looking at results across other colleges and universities, it’s important to understand how much or how little success other phonathons are having.

The bottom line is this.  Study the details of your program and not just the overall net result at the end of the year.  There is still plenty of time for management to make mid-program adjustments.  There are undoubtedly areas of your program that can be improved, but without comprehensive fiscal year comparisons and analysis it may be difficult to identify exactly where to put your efforts.

Should You Call During Finals?

The end of November inevitably brings a crossroads for phonathon scheduling and an important decision for management to make.  Ideally speaking, finals week would end up just being a time buffer for the year.  In other words, you wouldn’t need those five days at the end of each semester to complete your program and hit your goal.  It’s essentially just icing on the cake.  Yet, unforeseen challenges with caller attendance, cancelled calling shifts, and low rates of contacts and productivity may render it necessary to include at least some calling in the calendar for this time period.  So what are the pros and cons to doing this and how should the manager go about making this decision?  Here’s a few observations to keep in mind as you formulate your plan.

 

First, don’t fall into the trap that students cannot possibly work at the same time as take tests and that calling during finals is both unrealistic and counterproductive.  While there are likely some procrastinators on your staff, many will have already thought ahead and divided their time appropriately to allow them to work at least a partial schedule.  And remember that not all students have final exams.  Some have term papers that are due instead which have been worked on for many weeks, and others students may not be carrying a full class load.  I’ve found in my own experience not to prematurely judge whether or not a caller can work and take finals at the same time.  Each situation is different, so if you need the hours, don’t be afraid to ask.

 

Second, you need to make the decision whether to call pragmatically.  Phonathon is a business, and sometimes business requires us to change course in order to attain our goals.  If you are behind in productivity, have the records to call, and did not originally schedule calling during finals, it may be smart to use this time while you have it instead of scratching and clawing for every completed call or hour at the end of the program when the days are short and the goal is long.  Time has a way of really working against a phonathon in March and April when you need it the most.  Better to think of this in December while you have the chance to do something about it instead of convincing callers to come in during spring break or Friday nights when the weather gets warm in April and May.  In reality, there are times when the call center is behind in hours and finals become a necessary part of the schedule.  Of course, we as managers need to be sensitive to the academic accomplishments of our student callers.  After all, that is why they are on campus in the first place.  But as I mentioned earlier, don’t assume that they cannot do both.  Some can and some will want to work.

 

In the event that you need to change course and get at least some calling in during finals week, consider offering additional incentives such as ordering pizza or placing the names of those callers who showed up in a hat for a nice door prize at the end of each shift to encourage attendance.  Most importantly, don’t rely on making a blanket announcement to the entire team in the weeks prior to encourage them to work.  Rather, work the room on an individual basis, sitting down to talk to each caller about their schedule and ask them to commit to working at least part of the week.  I have found over the years that strength comes in numbers, and if you want to talk student callers into something that it’s best to do that one-on-one.  They have a much more difficult time saying no in this format.

 

Depending on the academic challenges and the rigors of study at your institution, you may have more or less flexibility with scheduling students during this time.  However, phonathon remains a business and a game played at the margins.  If even 25% or 50% of the room was full, holding a calling shift would positively advance the numbers and help the program get back on track.  Every little bit counts toward the final goal, and in the year of severe economic challenges that progress takes on additional significance.