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Rabbi Dave’s Guide to The Seven Critical Solicitation Activities

Introduction

This is an 8 week solicitation training program for Regional Directors, Regional Development Professionals and anyone who will need to do one on one solicitation. I will be teaching the 7 critical solicitation activities of Making/Acquiring Contact Lists, Setting Appointments, Presenting, Following Up, Celebrating Success, Self Growth and Competition, and Leading By Example.

I suggest you commit to a partner to hold each other accountable by email or phone.

The accountability email should include both the previous weeks statistics and the approaching weeks goals. The statistics/goals to be included are: Hours worked setting appointments, number of dials, number of prospects reached, number of appointments set, number of appointments kept, number of donations, and amount donated. You will be able to use these statistics to monitor your progress, fix any breakdowns as they are occurring and identify areas for improvement.

 

The Basics

The bottom line for success is the law of massive action.  If you are ignorance on fire but go through the numbers you will succeed.  If you can sell Ice to the Eskimos but shuffle papers or have analysis paralysis you will fail.  At the same time your personal experience with your cause is key.  People can tell if you are faking it and not making it.  If you are calling for donations be an active volunteer as well or your solicitations won’t have the necessary sincerity.

That being said you can increase your batting average by working smarter not harder.  You want to learn to set up store hours; call prospects not suspects; qualify to see if they are worth your time; build a relationship; don’t give a nickel and dime presentation; own your numbers; establish goals; be held accountable and celebrate your successes both short term and long term.

In the end it is a sorting game.  Your job is to call and sort for gold nuggets. 10 – 20% of each activity will lead to the next step.  Expect 80 – 90% to say no at each step.  You need to get those no’s in order to get the yesses so don’t let no’s bother you – you need them too.  The one who gets the most no’s makes the most money!  So when you are told no just say sw sw sw sw which means some will some won’t so what someone’s waiting.

You must be open for business (making calls) when your prospect is available.  So first you must create a “straw person” prospect and find out the best times to reach them that are also convenient for you.  You need to ask the questions:  Is work or home better; does gender matter; does income matter; does previous donations matter; etc.  

For example, if you are looking for large donations from businessmen who doesn’t know you or your cause you should be calling people who make a couple million dollars or more at work and should either call when there is no secretary in the way (before 8:30 or after 5:30) or have your secretary call their secretary to get you through to them (see secretary scripts).

If they know you or your cause already then call personally.  You can always call prospects after dinner time at home from 7:30 to 9:00pm with a reasonable chance of having a conversation.

Another tool for getting the appointment is edification.  Use your Boss or a significant lay leader to help you by edifying.  The donors know you or of you as a kids guy or a small donations gal.  They respect you for that but will not usually respect your fundraising attempts equally.  However if you tell them that reb Joe from the OU in New York is one of the most interesting and caring individuals you know.  He single handedly keeps the essential parts of  the entire organization running at peak capacity is coming in from New York for one day and has given you the opportunity to introduce him to a few people you hold are key to the future of Judaism in your community and I immediately thought of you.  Now you have an appointment with your most sought after prospects with Joe the Janitor from the OU.  Since you edified him to your prospect he did not know he was a janitor and is willing to meet because he respects your edification.  (See sample edifications in appendix).

You should try to qualify your prospects as much as possible ahead of time by doing your research.  That being said you may not always know if you are calling a qualified prospect so you want to learn to discover this in your initial conversation (see prospecting scripts).

Once qualified, try to create a relationship by getting to talk about F.O.R.M. People love talking about their Families, Occupations, Recreation or Money. And then set an appointment.  Do not short change your presentation by doing it on the spot.  Do not mail or email information it is a waste of time.  Make an appointment for a personal presentation.  What if they have an objection?  It is almost never real.  Answer their objections (see objection scripts) by taking away the excuses until you come down to the real answer.

Six Telephone Tips:

  1. Use a mirror – If you look at yourself you’ll smile and sound better.
  2. Use a timer – Know how long your usual call takes so you can plan.
  3. Practice – Get someone to drill you till you have your responses down cold.
  4. Keep Records – How many dials, how many conversations, equal how many appointments.
  5. Tape your calls – Week 1 listen to 100% of your calls, week 2 75%; week 3 50% and 10% thereafter.
  6. Stand up – you’ll feel better, sound better and be better!

Most successful prospects have a gatekeeper whose job is to keep you away.    You need to fight fire with fire by unleashing your secret weapon – your secretary.  Your secretary can be anyone other than you.  You can even play secretary for someone else and have them play secretary for you.  If you are so busy that a secretary sets up your appointments you become important in the prospects eyes.  Your secretary has only one role on the phone: to get the prospect to speak with you either right then or if you or they are not available then, to set an appointment.  

 

 

Activity 1: Keep Building Your Contact List

Your contact list is a resource that should never run dry.  Don’t leave home without it.  Always continue adding names.  There are many sources for lists which I’ll discuss below.  If you get a name with no number try www.infousa.com  To research their giving history try www.guidestar.com 

A great list tells you how much they gave to tzeduka (20k+) and their business phone number.  

A good list tells you how much they make (2 million+) or their businesses gross (20 million+)

#1 Source – Referrals!!!   Always ask “who do you know?” from:

  1. Donors (recruit up – who do you know that can give ____ [the next level up from them] and can they introduce you – be specific)
  2. Alumni
  3. Parents
  4. Relatives
  5. Staff
  6. Successful Businessman and Professionals
  7. Prospects who say NO!!!!
  8. Other fundraisers

“I really value your opinion as a successful _______ .  Can I meet with you for a few minutes to show you what we are doing and get your opinion?”  “You might even be able to refer me to someone who might be able to help me.”

“Thank you for your time, name.  I understand this is not for you.  However, with all of your successful experience, do you know of anyone who might be interested in helping me?”

An important point about time allocation is spend 80% of your time where you will get the most results.  The fortune is in the follow up as we will see in critical activity number four so spend 80% of your time talking with and seeing current donors to solidify and improve the relationship.  I only spend two hours per week cold calling for new prospects.  You can do more than that; but, if you spend more than 20% of your workweek calling cold prospects you will probably burn out.

Go to dinners and meetings and network for names and numbers.  Offer to learn with them and afterwards explain what we do and make an ask.

Some of the best lists can be gotten from Business magazines and non Jewish institutions (Universities and cultural).  Ask for their list of Jewish businessman or use ROI to separate out the Jewish names.

www.yahoo.com go to finance, symbol lookup, click on the symbol, on the left bottom under ownership there is major holders and insider roster, click on profile for their business location

www.quicken.com search for the company and go to insider trader

Vickers www.argusgroup.org weekly stock trades report pursue people with large transactions

Go through phone directory and pick out Jewish sounding names in exclusive neighborhoods

Look at annual reports of the competing charity in your area by type and geography

http://www.bizjournals.com/bookoflists/ lists of prospects in your city from local business journals

Commercial Property News 212-714-1300

Financial Yellow Book 212-627-4140

Researching Individuals foundations:  www.guidestar.com  http://lnpfdncenter.org/finder.html www.cof.org www.foundations.org/page2.html 

Wealthy lists www.hoovers.com

IPOs  Newspapers list once per week.  Check for Jewish names in their 10k filing at www.sec.gov/edaux/formlynx.htm

Ownership over 5% and executive compensation:  www.sec.gov www.zpub.com/sf/arl/ www.ceoexpress.com www.pulver.com www.mercurycenter.com/business 

Home valuation sites such as http://boston.com/realestate/bt/retestbt.htm www.orps.state.ny.us

Other Jewish Organizations Journals, ads and donor lists

List Brokers such as ROI, Negev etc.

Activity 2: Set Appointments

If you don’t have appointments on your calendar, you’re out of business! Set appointments consistently.

 

2a. Appointment Scripts

Script for getting donors on the phone with Rabbi Dave Felsenthal

“Hello is Mr./Ms. (First and Last Name) in please?”

“Who’s calling please?”

“Hello, this is Christina and I am the Executive Assistant for Rabbi Dave Felsenthal of NCSY and the Orthodox Union. He would like to speak to Mr./Ms. (Last Name).”

If they put you through:

“Hello Mr./Ms. (Last Name), please hold for Rabbi Felsenthal.”

If the receiver (not the actual prospect) asks answer one or two simple questions like:

“Who is Rabbi Felsenthal?”
“He is a Director of NCSY, part of the Orthodox Union.”

“What is NCSY?”
“It is a Program being offered to the Jewish Community to promote brotherly love by the Orthodox Union.”

Why does he want to speak to Mr./Ms. (Last Name)?
“He is meeting with Leaders in the Jewish community about a Program to promote brotherly love being initiated by the Orthodox Union.”

Does he know Mr./Ms. (Last Name)?
I don’t believe so, but Mr/Mrs. (Last Name would be familiar with the organization, The Orthodox Union.

After two questions without putting you through or with any difficulty or if the receiver (not the actual prospect) asks to speak to Rabbi Felsenthal – say:

“Thank you for your time.” And hang up.

If the prospect is not in, is not available or you get an answering machine try to set an appointment:

“Rabbi Dave Felsenthal would like to speak to Mr./Ms. (Last Name) about the Orthodox Unions “Love Your Neighbor” program. Rabbi Felsenthal’s number is 212-613-8153. Would Tuesday or Wednesday morning be better for Rabbi Felsenthal to come to Mr./Ms. (Last Name) office? Is 9am or 10am better?”

Script for Setting Appointments With Potential Donors

Get to the point quickly. Lead with a question so you can get them talking about them self. Whenever you can leave the script and bond – do it! Once you get the appointment, keep quiet. DO NOT SOLICIT AT THIS POINT.

Get to the point quickly. If you can, get them talking about them self. Whenever you can leave the script and bond – do it! Once you get the appointment, keep quiet. DO NOT SOLICIT AT THIS POINT.

“Hi Mr./Ms. (Last Name), my name is Rabbi Dave Felsenthal. and I am Director of the NCSY “Love Your Neighbor” project at the OU. Have you heard of us? (Then as you know) We are the largest Orthodox umbrella organization in the world and we are trying to meet Jewish leaders of all backgrounds to work together on a project that promotes love between all Jews. Can you give me a few minutes? “

If no, schedule a call back.

“Great, I’m very excited about showing you our initial plans and getting your input. It will only take a few minutes, you’ll enjoy the presentation and I promise it won’t be a waste of your time. Is ________ or _________ morning better? __am or __am? I look forward to meeting you in person.”

If they give an objection make two attempts to answer (seen page 2) and meet in person before giving more info on phone (page 3).

 

2b. Overcoming Objections

“Please tell me more on the phone.”
“My presentation is visual and will only take a few minutes; can’t I just come by one morning?”

“Can you send me something in writing?”
“My presentation involves showing how much we care about our fellow Jews in person. Can’t I just come by one morning?”

“No thanks, I’m happy with the organizations I already support”
“That’s great that you support other organizations. Your experience as a supporter of other causes is exactly why I want your input.”

“I’m not interested”
“Well, Mr. Schwartz, a lot of people had the same reaction when I first called – before they had a chance to meet me in person. Can’t I just come by one morning?”

“I’m too busy to talk”
“Mr. Schwartz, the only reason I was calling was to set an appointment. Is ________ or _________ morning better? __am or __am? I look forward to meeting you in person.

“I have no time to see you”
“I appreciate that you are a busy person and I promise I won’t waste your time. Can’t I just come by one morning?”

“I have no money, I’m overextended this year”
It’s not a question of money. We are dealing with Love between Jewish Brothers and Sisters and I only want to meet for a few minutes. Can’t I just come by one morning?

“Where did you get my name”
“Everyone knows of your philanthropy to the Jewish community. Can’t I just come by one morning?”

“I’m not interested, or, I don’t care”
“Can I tell you a quick story about Baron Rothschild? [ledger story – the more you give, the more you get]”

“I’ll send you money, just give me your name”
“I’d rather meet with you and speak to you in person. “I appreciate that you are a busy person and I promise I won’t waste your time. Can’t I just come by one morning?

If you can’t get an in person appointment:

I will give you a brief idea of what we’ve done so far; however, this really is just the beginning and I’m hoping to be able to meet with you to brainstorm on ways to expand.

We have a way of promoting love of Judaism to an entire generation of uninvolved Jews and want to share it and partner with Jewish leaders and organizations of all backgrounds and that is why I contacted you.

Where can you find an entire generation of uninvolved Jews? We have the ability to go directly to Jewish teens in their public schools, help them start Jewish clubs which the schools all support and for the price of a free piece of pizza get a half hour of their attention every single week! Isn’t it great in any business to be able to go directly to your ideal customers and have their undivided attention for an inexpensive premium? We have already set up 150 of these clubs throughout the country meeting with about 15,000 kids per week and can easily set up thousands of more clubs with partnership. The students create their own board, socialize and pick projects to work on together applying Jewish values to make a better community and world. We want to partner with Jews of all backgrounds to spread this concept far and wide. The question is how?!

If this concept makes any sense to you then I’d like to meet in person, show you a brief video of what goes on inside the clubs and brainstorm on how you can help reach these objectives?

It will only take a few minutes, you’ll enjoy the presentation and I promise it won’t be a waste of your time. Can I come by to meet in person.
Is ________ or _________ morning better? __am or __am? I look forward to meeting you in.

If they still won’t meet.

“Mr./Ms. (Last Name), let me ask you. On a scale of one to ten, one being not important and 10 being very important, how do you rank this program. Can we count on you sponsoring __ kid(s) for a month for $18 each for now and we’ll send you a report next month telling them exactly how the kid(s) is/are doing?”

Telephone tag:

“This is Rabbi Dave Felsenthal calling you back. I just looked at my schedule and I realize I’ll be around the corner from you next week seeing xyz. I’d like to get together. Would next Thursday about 2:30pm work out? If not call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx and we’ll set a different time”

If all else fails:

“Thank you for your time. I understand you really can’t see me right now. Is there anyone else who comes to mind that you can recommend I ask?”

2c. Edifications

Rabbi Dave Felsenthal has had over 5,000 personal students in NCSY and in his spare time has created a business over the internet that retails over one million dollars per year. As Director of NCSY alumni, he has dedicated himself to a mission to bring the NCSY magic passion for Judaism that has inspired 98% of our alumni to marry Jewish to the 2.5 million Jewish teens in North America who are here today but are disappearing fast.

Rabbi Steve Burg is a leader who takes a problem others say cannot be solved and creates opportunities for greatness. He took over the West Coast Region when all others felt it was a disaster waiting to happen and turn it into the flagship region all others try to emulate. He looked at the fact that almost no Jewish teens are affiliating with ANY Jewish organization and created the Jewish Student Union of public school clubs for over 2,500 Jewish teens per week. He has now become the National Director of NCSY an Orthodox Organization and wants to share the NCSY magic passion for Judaism to every Jew of all backgrounds with no strings attached

Andy Goldsmith is the Director of Development for the largest Orthodox membership organization in the world. He is an expert at empowering donors to leverage their charitable giving to make an impact that will not just effect all of the Jewish people today but he can show you how to make an impact that will help create the destiny for our Jewish future.

 

Activity 3: Make Presentations

The most productive and rewarding activity you can do is present the NCSY opportunity and generate donations.

Pre Meeting Homework:

  1. Research their business (sign up for a free trial at Hoovers.com).
  2. Research who they give to and how much.
  3. Arrive early and read the walls in the waiting room.
  4. Know your goals (Relationship, money, contacts, chavrusah)
  5. Leave behind professional material
  6. Dress like an executive. (Top 3: Shoes, Tie, Shirt Collar)
  7. Pray for success (Kalman Packouz) “Al-mighty Master of the Universe who has given me all good things. Please help me find the words that go to this persons heart, and will go all the way to his pocket. Help us get the money we need to bring your children back to Torah, and help us use the money wisely. Thank you for this and for everything you have given me.”

The Meeting:

  1. If possible bring someone along (“Tovim hashnaim min echad” – Koheles)
  2. Ideal time is 30 minutes Start by asking how much time you have and adjust accordingly.
    1. “I’d like to invest the first (one third) in you.” Spend it to get to know the person. People love to talk about themselves (John Fogg Story). Family, Hobbies, growing up, important Jewish issues, etc. Listen carefully and repeat in a slightly different way so they know you listened. Try to find something they consider a problem that NCSY is the solution for
    2. 1/5 minutes to present NCSY. Do your homework so you know what to ask for. Present an overview of NCSY, relate to their interests, speak internationally and present the big picture, try your first choice program and if the reaction is not good go to back up (include a very short teaching sample). Present a one page personalized proposal in 12 point type with the donors name at the top. Use nice graphics and state the problem, solution, successes and their opportunity.
    3. 1 minute to make your pitch. Solicit for a high dollar high profile project. Ask for the most you think they COULD give comfortably. Can I have permission to ask for your investment. Can we count you in for ________(Don’t say dollars) . Whoever speaks first loses.
    4. 1/5 minutes to respond to objections. If you can answer all objections you will usually win.
    5. Stay calm and say I understand, you (paraphrase). Can you give it Jan. 1st, spread it out, etc. They want to give, you just have to make it easy for them. “If ____ was not an issue could we count on you? Great, …”
    6. 3 minutes for thank you and set follow up appointment. Be heart felt no matter the amount. Send a thank you note within 24 hours.
    7. If you end early you are a super star and leave room for the unexpected.

3.If they are uncomfortable Say, remember I am a Rabbi and that’s what we do. You know there are 4 confidential advisors:
Doctors, Lawyers, ccountants and Rabbis.
4. If they cut to the chase still ask about them. “What’s the most meaningful thing you’ve ever done in your life?”
5. Never put down a donor or another organization.
6. Don’t reschedule appointments. Send someone in your place if you have to.
7. Don’t ask to cover debt, it creates the picture of a losing team.
8. End with a follow up plan
9. If they say they will send you something reply “It helps us as far as our cash flow projections – could you tell us when and how
much you will be giving?”

Activity 4: Follow-Up (creating partners)

The fortune is made in the follow-up. Most donors will turn you down the first time or times. Developing a relationship through follow-up is where success is found. 90% of your donations will come from 10% of your donors. It is much easier to improve an existing relationship than to begin a new one. Once you’ve begun a relationship with a donor who does or can fund a large portion of your budget follow up personally with frequency. Develop a list of your top 100 donors or prospects in your pipeline. Use an autoresponder to automatically stay in touch with every donor you have an email for. Call the top 50 once or twice a month to touch base. Identify your top ten and spend most of your time with them – go to lunch, play golf or tennis, learn with them, invite them for Shabbos, etc.

When a donor is down financially is the MOST important time for you to stick by them. They will make it back again and you will be well rewarded.

Show appreciation by sending gifts. Your major donors can get a gift once per month. Gifts should be meaningful such as pictures of kids, tapes, books, videos, articles, things you know they like.

Ask a donor to teach kids (Torah Issues in the workplace) or staff (on business issues).
Offer a pre-paid gift: 3 lessons with Rabbi X.
Share your problems, inform of your activities, ask their advice.
Put their name on a program.
Send your literature.

 

Activity 5: Celebrate Success

When you succeed share the news with your peers and reward yourself and your support staff. Get creative with how you celebrate. One of my favorite stories is of the businessman who set a lofty goal and told himself that if he succeeds he would buy himself a Cadillac. He put pictures of Cadilacs on the bathroom mirror, on the fridge and on the TV. His wife kept making fun of him and taking down the pictures but he kept putting them up. One day after many months of hard work he comes driving home in a brand new Caddy. The next day, he wakes up and sees a new picture on the mirror, fridge and TV – a diamond necklace. Looks like someone finally figured out the power of celebrating success!

Activity 6: Self Growth and Competition

Keep plugged into training and improving. Surround yourself with successful people and challenge each other. You’ll discover greater synergy and faster growth. One method is a Fast Track Competition over 4 to 8 weeks with a weekly training course. The overall winner with the most “points” will win
FAST TRACK POINTS:

Attend Weekly Call 1 point
Send Weekly Report 1 point
Quality donation (in person appointment) 2 points (add to any donation)
Use someone else to close a donation 2 points
Donation of any size 1 point
$1,000 donation 3 points
$10,000 donation 5 points
$100,000 donation 10 points
$1,000,000 donation 20 points

Activity 7: Leading By Example

The pack follows at the pace of the leader. Whatever you do will duplicate for good and for bad. Realize that you are setting the example for your support staff, your peers and your donors. Don’t expect others to care about what you have to say until you show how much you care.

 

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