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This is Part 3 of the 4 part series.

Success (and money) LOVES decision and action! How do we get smarter about raising major gifts faster to enjoy the success we want sooner? How do we find a rich life balance? Can we skip some steps along the way? How do we intentionally incorporate experiences into life to leapfrog over some of the rough parts as well as move through the learning more quickly?

Here are Four Steps you need to take to Skip Steps to Success!

1. Figure out what’s important to you – professionally and personally.
2. Focus on BOTH components of success – the thought process and the specific techniques.
3. Seek out all types of mentors and educational experiences.
4. Realize you are closer than you think.

Today’s Feature Topic: Seek out all types of mentors and educational experiences.

If you are not growing, you’re dying. Think about it. Either your plant is growing or it’s going the other direction. It’s not “not growing.” It’s declining. This blog is not just about having mentors….it’s much deeper than that. It’s about IF and HOW you choose to GROW in your life.

I met Zig Ziglar, you know…the handshake-at-an-event kind of “meet” and I was thrilled. Zig said, “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

Yes, we become what we think about. You will reap what you sew into your mind. WHAT and WHO are you listening to, reading and watching? This concept in the core of your mentor and educational experiences!

Here are my TOP 5 Tips to Achieve Continuous Growth

1. Make growing a daily priority.
Not hours…minutes, but every day. Subscribe to a few “daily motivations” that make you feel uplifted. Keep the ones that make you smile and sit up a bit taller. Unsubscribe from the rest. I’m not talking about fundraising tips here. I’m talking about short messages about gratitude, generosity, faith, spirit, believing, looking for good, seeing possibilities, joy. I like Simple Truths. They sell small personal growth books and also share free video and written pieces that are terrific. Do you have a favorite source? Hit reply or please comment and share!

2. Minimize the negative – starting with the news.

I devour personal-development programs. Those who have been wildly successful, spiritually and financially, share one common action. They don’t take in a large dose of the daily news. Bad news sells, and journalists are trained to create powerful mental images that most vividly burn these negative headlines into our brains. And as if this is not bad enough, we take those downers out with us and spread it like manure. “Did you see the shooting…flood…war?” The mental and emotional energy we invest in this negative weight is lost to all the good we can do each day. Now I know many of you work to counter these evils. BRING ON THE SOLUTIONS and I’ll listen and give!

3. Invest some bucks.
Too often I hear, “We don’t have professional development money so I can’t attend.” Bull. Reach into your wallet and step up for yourself. What is your own personal and professional development worth to you, your success and your family? How valuable is participating in workshops, teleseminars, AFP meetings and coaching that lifts your spirit and deepens your confidence? IT IS PRICELESS. The folks who “don’t have time” or “know that already?” Right, we all know them – the frustrating colleagues! The folks who come to my MORE Major Gifts workshop and say, “This was a stretch for me, but worth every penny,” are the ones raising more money. My Major Gifts Success Club is a cheap $10 bucks a month – but some can’t find 2 hours to listen and participate. It’s not about the money or the time. Investing in your own education is about how you value yourself.

4. Seek out formal and informal mentors and coaches.

Life joy and success is about making the right choices more of the time. Coaches and mentors help by coming from a place of wisdom and experience. Coaching is today’s Badge of Honor for leadership who place such importance on maximizing their growth that they engage in hired, structured coaching relationships. The hitch is to choose well. Has the mentor/coach been successful at doing what you want to learn from them? If you want to ask for $1 million gifts, work with someone who has successfully ask for $1 million gifts, not $100,000. If you want to achieve a calm, structured work/life balance, work with someone who has achieved this. You want to adopt the successful mindsets, practices and habits. While it is a journey, they should be farther down the road than you! Trust, support, genuine caring, and helping you take responsibility for your results are all important components.

5. Variety is the spice…
We, in this honorable and novel profession of fundraising, have a plethora of opportunities for professional growth. Continuous improvement is about learning the “best practices.” Degree programs, certification programs, on-line videos, workshops, hand-on experiences, conversations with colleagues, friends at church or synagogue, Tony Robbins and Joyce Meyers. Marcy Heim for that matter. Explore those near to your specific niche, and investigate tapping. (What’s that you ask?) The point is GO LARGE and go often to that place to grow.

Feed your joy, power your enthusiasm, adopt changes and systems, structure for freedom, continue to grow! Remember, the way you make people feel about themselves says a lot about you. Are they growing because of you?

Invest in Joy!

PART 1 of a 4-Part Series.

It’s supposed to be hard, right?  This endless, uphill climb fraught with overwhelm, unexpected problems, unfair decisions.  Then one day – bingo – you are a success!

Or, perhaps you’re not where you want to be yet.  Or, perhaps many years have gone by and you look back with a bit of disappointment at some unfulfilled desires and goals.
All this work – find the prospects, cultivate the prospects, ask the prospects, ask again maybe, steward them – and all over again.  Maybe do events, too or some program, or manage staff, or whatever.

And, you’d like to mix in at least a little R & R within the ROI of your performance.

My Dad always said, “We’re too soon old and too late smart.”

So how do we get smarter about raising major gifts faster to enjoy the success we want sooner? How do we find a rich life balance?  Can we skip some steps along the way?

Yes!

And to do that we need to fill our lives with experiences and people we can learn from!   “Mentors” in terms of real people, books, workshops, this post and more.  In this and the next 3 posts, we’ll look at how to intentionally incorporate these experiences into your life to leapfrog over some of the rough parts as well as move through the learning more quickly.

Here are Four Steps you need to take to Skip Steps to Get Success!

1. Figure out what’s important to you.
2. Focus on BOTH components of success  – the thought process and the specific techniques.
3. Seek out all types of mentors and educational experiences.
4. Realize you are closer than you think.

1. Figure out what’s important to you.

There’s a saying, “It’s not dress rehearsal. Live the life you imagined.”  So many of us pack our days with activity.  Make a date with yourself to WRITE OUT where you see yourself in 5-10 years.  What does “success” look like to you?  Your work, family, hobbies, free time.

Earl Nightingale defined “success” as “The progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”   In other words, making decisions that lead you to what you define as your ideal life.  Honestly, it takes some effort.  It’s easier to let your parents, boss, spouse or someone else tell you or pursue THEIR dreams and you tag along.   Problem is, they AREN’T you.  So you end up feeling like something is missing.  Take the time to WRITE OUT…what does your work and personal life look like?  Where and how do you spend your time? With whom?

Then here’s a step to skip.  Skip the stuff you are doing simply to please others and take action on what is important to you.  Brutally track your time and ask, “What can I stop doing?”   Full-time major gift officer?  Major gifts and staff management?  Big organization?  Small shop?  Benefits?  Flexibility?  Working from home?  Easy options for catching the kids 15 minute show at school?  Best pay? A culture of long days?  What is important to you?  Not in a selfish way, but in a focused way.  The ‘best’ you BEST serves others.

You see, if you know what you want you have a whole lot better shot at getting it.  I will have folks tell me, “I couldn’t believe I was able to get the time to pursue a degree while working.” or “We worked out a completely different schedule so I could care for my parents…that was really important to me.”   Actually, I more often hear, “Jenny worked out going to an Executive MBA class.  I wonder if I’d ever get to do something like that?”

Only 3% of all people have clear, written goals.  Studies show that only 2-3% of people say they are happy with the success in their lives.  Hmmmmm.  See a connection here?

Do you always know NOW what you want YEARS from NOW?   There are some continuous and common themes.  Doing work that supports others…living by the water….active in a church that supports you spiritually….colleagues you can also be friends with…. children.  As you write out this vision of what is important to you, over time you will see patterns,  where you are in sync with your vision, and what seems to never happen.   This is a good time to ask, “why?”  The answers may surprise you.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in June!

Part of The Words We Use Series

As we go around my Cycle of Successful Relationships, I talk about the ‘touches’ needed to flow from Creating a Joyous Giver to being ready to Make an Artful Ask and Invoking a Grateful Recipient.

Our role is connecting a prospective giver in just the right way (through our giving options) to investing in a gift that brings her joy in having an impact. This process is on their timeline, not ours, but we are responsible for assuring that the relationship is nurtured – not neglected. We are responsible for creating a plan and “following up”.

The specific words we use – to our givers directly and as we discuss these givers in our organizations, must be authentic and respectful. Yes, this is better for them but it also makes us feel differently about our work. So ‘follow up’ by ‘just checking in.’ Let me tell you a true story.

There was an emeritus faculty member who ga ve a one-time gift of $10,000 when he retired. I met with him in the assisted living facility he called home to thank him. He shared he enjoyed hearing from us, read what we sent, and might consider additional giving at some point. Each quarter I would call or write and say I was “just checking in” with him. Literally my note or call would be, “Hello Professor Smith, It’s Marcy, just checking in with you. Happy Spring!’ or whatever. Sometimes we would visit a bit. Sometimes I would share new projects, news of other gifts. Each year I made a personal visit – just to check in on how he was doing. On one of these visits, after 6 years, he said he was writing his will and wanted my help with wording for the University. We explored several options and he left us $5 million. He told me the reason he had decided to include the University was because I never pushed him, he felt he could trust me, I was reliable and he liked being “checked in with.”

Remember:

1. “Not right now” does not mean, “no.”

2. Pressuring doesn’t work, be it peer to peer, leadership to donor, or sales closing tactics. Yes, you may get some dollars, but not significant major gifts.

3. Consistency builds trust. It doesn’t have to be a big deal or take a lot of time. You show you are reliable, you can be counted on. This leads to trust in how a major gift will be managed by your organization.

4. Being persistent and following up by ‘just checking in’ will bring in the largest gifts.

‘Just checking in’ is an effective phrase to use when seeking appointments, “I’m just checking in to see if now is a better time to meet.” It’s also wonderful AFTER the gift is made. “I’m just checking in to share how your support helped us. ” “Just checking in to see if you can join us for the tour next week.”

“Just checking in” versus, “I’m following up with you today to see…” is a friendlier way of seeing where t he prospective giver is in their philanthropic life and remaining a significant partner in that philanthropic life.

Just checking…..

4 Simple Secrets Successful Development Professionals Know That Help Them Avoid Year-End Overwhelm

By Brooke Hein

As the year comes to a close, the positive glow of the holidays can fade as demands increase and it seems there is never enough time. At the Artful Asker, we always talk about creating repeatable systems and how this can help us manage our time, and thus our stress, better.

Here are 4 ways you can avoid year end stress. Make them a habit, almost like “Lather, rinse, repeat”.

1. Write. When it comes to your to do list, do not try and remember it all. Set yourself up for success and make sure you write everything there is to do in one central place! This is what I call a “brain dump”. Writing a 5-page master to do list that drops to your feet and rolls out the door may seem like wasted time, but I guarantee you will find yourself more focused and successful in everything you do (with a better night’s sleep, too!). As you check things off of your never-ending to do list, make sure you write about it in your Success Journal! Not only does writing about your incredible accomplishments put you in a positive frame of mind, it gives you the ability to see how far you have come. Document it! You ARE amazing!
2. Reflect. Take a moment to pull out your Success Journal (or start one) and review the things that you have accomplished this last year. It’s crucial to your success to stop and give yourself credit for everything that you are capable of and all of the extraordinary things that you do! Reflect on the people who have supported you along the way, who have impacted your life or who always put a smile on your face. Carve time out of your week and give thanks to these people.
3. Focus. It’s important to remember that your donors, your paperwork and those crucial conversations will still be there in January. December is the absolute worst time to try and tie loose ends…for everyone! This month, focus on what really needs to be done. What are priorities and what can wait? Make a list. Strategically postpone certain things for January, a time when things have settled down and you can maintain your authenticity and focus.
4. Repeat. Every successful and effective development professional knows the importance of writing, reflecting and focusing in order to be successful in the office and in life. They also know it’s important to do these things all year long, not just at year-end. Create repeatable systems and routines to avoid the year-end overwhelm and stress. You will be amazed at how easy it is to replace anxiety and nervousness with peace and joy by simply writing, reflecting, focusing and repeating.

May the New Year bring you incredible success and happiness in everything that you do! Thank you! Invest in joy!

–Brooke Hein, Artful Asker Director of Operations

Let’s get real here. The math of major gift work say it takes about 3 prospective givers on their way to being ready for your Artful Ask to have the “rights” line up for one to give you your “yes.” And it can take up to 9 meaningful touches to create that Joyful Giver. So if you want just 5 new major gifts in a year, 135 meaningful touches (9 X 3 X 5) are required. That’s just for 5 new gifts. HOW can you POSSIBLY DO IT ALL? You can’t. At least you can’t do it all yourself.

“But we don’t have a large staff.” “But, I also do events.” “But my board (and perhaps other staff, too) think that it is MY job as the development officer. Not theirs.”

Scary, isn’t it?

Overwhelming, isn’t it?

Here’s what you do!

1. Write out a list of “meaningful touches” that will engage your major givers. Think of actions that fit all personality types, honor the limited time of the leadership and board and are REPEATABLE. Example… a personal invite to something – tour, event, lunch, meeting with staff, small gathering, meeting with someone who has been touched by your mission in action!
2. Write out a list of “meaningful touches” that say, “WE APPRECIATE YOUR INVESTMENT – YOUR GIFTS” regardless of the size. Again, think of actions that fit all personality types, honor the limited time of the leadership and board and are REPEATABLE. Example… a handwritten note, a phone thank you call, a personal encouragement to attend a thank-you gathering, an interaction with someone who has benefited from the giving, and more.
3. Think of PARTNERS who can DO THESE ACTIONS! Who are prospective partners? How much space can I take? CEO, CFO, ED, Board members, other donors, former Board members, faculty, program leaders, counselors, the receptionist, the janitor, volunteers, friends, program directors, other staff, marketing and communication team members, recipients of grants, services or program benefits, those who have turned their lives around – the living, breathing IMPACT of your mission.
4. NOW… what can these partners do? Help you get a more complete picture of your major donor – how they feel and think, help you create a Joyful Giver, help you demonstrate you are a Grateful Recipient for their gifts, model their own giving, help you create the plan to best serve and engage your donor. (They DON’T finger their friends to be hit up or Open their rolodex so you can hit this up).

THAT was the HARD PART!

Now… Gather your list of Touches, Gather your Village, and create a RAP! A Relationship Action Plan for each TOP MAJOR DONOR (Focus!..)

What sort of legacy do you feel this donor would like to leave with your organization?? Your largest and best guest!

Then… look at your list of Joyful Giver and Grateful Recipient Actions.

NOW…..share my Cycle of Successful Relationships and this calendar with every partner and CONDUCT THE ORCHESTRA! IT IS YOUR JOB to SEE THAT IT HAPPENS – but NOT TO DO EACH TOUCH!

You do not have to do this alone. Creating exciting, long-term major giving relationships is EVERYONE’S OPPORTUNITY! You simply need to show them the plan and where they fit.

Now… smile, the orchestra sounds great and the dollars are coming in!