SuddesGroup

“Outcome: Dramatic and different…”

Nick Fellers | May 9, 2007

“You’ve brought tremendous clarity to Battelle for Kids. As true entrepreneurs, you helped us to go a different direction. We decided to change the entire fundraising model and become a business ‘For Impact.’ That was the best decision we ever made. You helped us become something much more dramatic and different.”

Jim Mahoney, Executive Director
Battelle for Kids,. Columbus, OH

“Completely practical…”

Nick Fellers | May 9, 2007

“I attended the Fundraising School. That was boring and academic. This was totally different. It was charged with energy and completely practical.”

Sherry Smith, Major Gifts Officer
St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation

“Revolutionary and Right on the Money…”

Nick Fellers | May 9, 2007

“The ForImpact training was instrumental in initiating the change mentality. Without change, we become stagnant. Even though we’re 125 years old, we still need to think in terms of GROWTH and CHANGE and how well we SHARE OUR STORY.

To sum up the training, I would say, ‘It ROCKS! It’s revolutionary! It’s right on the money!’It’s been very exciting to see that we can do something NEW and get NEW results.”

Sarah Cherne, Executive Director
American Red Cross, Great Bay Region (NH)

“ForImpact has been transformational…”

Nick Fellers | May 9, 2007

“ForImpact brings you back to common sense principals and then gives you actual tactical skills to lay it out in an effective way. They move beyond the process of ‘what to’ to ‘how to.’ That is the significant differentiator with this organization.

We needed to truly transform [what we were doing] to get investors on board. Within days of the training we had generated $80,000!”We are now on a path to a significantly different place than we have been. We are no longer focusing on the ‘next 50 hours’; we are providing the financial support to ‘dream the 50 year dream’.

Dave Meurer, Board Member
St. Pius High School. Albuquerque, NM

Board Roles and Responsibilities

Nick Fellers | May 4, 2007

I just gave two sessions on COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP at the Franklin University Symposium on Leadership.

Almost every ‘COMMUNITY LEADER’ I know is engaged on some BOARD for their church, school, United Way, social service agency, whatever.

Special Note: I led off my session on COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP by simply writing this on a flip chart:

I am always AMAZED… STUNNED… OVERWHELMED… that there does not seem to be a SINGLE ‘NOT FOR PROFIT‘ that has figured out the ROLE and RESPONSIBILITY of the BOARD!!!

I have done a considerable amount of work with colleges, large national associations, almost every Catholic secondary school in America (at least that’s what it seems like), the leaders and national models in cancer research, international education, homelessness, healthcare, museums and much more.

Every single one of these groups… along with pretty much every organization who has attended our workshops or training camps… has a HUGE PROBLEM with this whole BOARD ROLE & RESPONSIBILITY.

ACTION:

You can share this WOW E-Mail with your team, board members and other community leaders.

I’ve also provided stand-alone one-pagers to go deeper on each of these.

• BOARD RESPONSIBILITY
• BOARDING (FUNDING) ROLE
• ALTITUDE / ATTITUDE

The Return on Investment, Energy and Relationships

Nick Fellers | April 12, 2007

Here are some thoughts on this concept of RETURN… RETURN ON INVESTMENT… RETURN ON ENERGY… RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS…

If you’ve been following the For Impact MESSAGE in any way, you should be familiar with the VOCABULARY CHANGE of ‘donor’ and ‘donation’ to ‘investor’ and ‘investment.’

And, obviously, you would know what every INVESTOR wants from their investment: A RETURN!

And, as a For Impact Leader or Social Entrepreneur, you know that you can DELIVER on that RETURN.

There is another ‘RETURN’ that Nick and I use quite often that seems to really grab people’s attention: RETURN ON ENERGY.

This particular nugget should be pretty self-explanatory. What (exactly) is your RETURN on ENERGY? (In this case, ‘ENERGY’ means both physical and mental TIME and FOCUS.) Is the end result worth the ENERGY? Are you working on your Top 3% or still expending a lot of (wasted) energy at the bottom?

*This concept is explained and expanded wonderfully in a great book by Jim Loehr called The Power of Full Engagement.

Loehr’s premise is very simple: It’s all about MANAGING YOUR ENERGY… NOT YOUR TIME.

Special Note: I believe this RETURN ON ENERGY concept applies both to YOU and your INVESTORS / CHAMPIONS. (They are also expecting a return on ENERGY, not just a return on INVESTMENT.)

As I was pulling this together, it hit me that the first return may be the RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS. I never really heard anyone talk about it this way, but if you think about it, the RETURN on a RELATIONSHIP could be a way to talk about both RETURN ON IVNESTMENT and the RETURN ON ENERGY.

Again, I believe this RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP applies to both YOU and your FOR IMPACT ORGANIZATION, and your STAKEHOLDERS, INVESTORS and CHAMPIONS.

Are you actually maximizing the RETURN ON RELATIONSHIPS? Are your top prospects and potential investors clear about their RETURN ON THE RELATIONSHIP? And, finally, can you use this whole concept of ‘RETURN’… on the RELATIONSHIP… on the INVESTMENT… on ENERGY… as a way for you to get TRULY FOCUSED???

Follow-Up Is 90% Of The Effort

Nick Fellers | April 1, 2007

Like predisposition, follow-up requires a specific strategy. Too often wonderful presentations/asks/sales calls are wasted because there is no follow-up.

A typical scenario includes someone making a great presentation and then ‘hoping’ a gift comes as a result of the ask. Or, sometimes there is only a phone call that some weeks later in which the substance of the dialogue is one question: ” We were wondering if you had a chance to make a decision?”

Just remember one thing: “Hope is not a strategy!” - Rick Page

And for you: Hope is definitely not a follow-up strategy.

Huge problem: We consider our work finished when we get to the point of making the request. We feel like we’ve shared everything we can and now it must be in the prospect’s hands. That notion is wrong. In fact, follow-up is 90% of the effort!

Some misc. reminders to help you:

• Remember, this is not some one-off transaction. It’s all about a true relationship. Follow-up is not really about a strict yes or no - it’s about advancing the relationship, opportunity or plan WITH the prospect.
• It’s either win/win or lose/lose! You’re presenting an opportunity to save lives, change lives or impact lives. Stop being so bashful.
• Follow-up is about taking the opportunity to continue the excitement generated on the visit. You’re literally trying to continue the momentum. This could mean:
  • An immediate follow-up letter.
  • An immediate follow-up phone call from champion or volunteer.
  • An immediate follow-up phone call from you.
• Don’t dodge the issue! The worst follow-up is when you step politely around the pending request (hoping the prospect brings it up or announces to you a commitment). Using your own style you need continue to work with prospect to advance the ball - be direct, sincere and authentic and remember…
  “Hope is not a strategy.”

Never Make A Cold Call

Nick Fellers | March 23, 2007

This little nugget is about predisposition–the goal of which is to set the stage for your visit, call or presentation. Predisposition is an important component of the sales process and it’s done in advance of your visit.

So often I hear about visits where so much work was done to get the visit, there was a lot of strategy around the ask, number, etc. but for some reason or another something just didn’t feel right and so an ‘ask’ was never made. Many times this is because there was zero predisposition beforehand.

To help you understand predisposition, think of it as the sum of actions that will make the visit as far removed from a cold call as possible. This could apply in many ways:

• Predisposition to your cause, case or project: If this person has no real idea about a particular problem, then your solution is not going to be as exciting. Or, perhaps it’s a long time relationship that doesn’t know about a wonderful project or campaign initiative. Get this person excited about the project.The best predisposition in the world would be to have the prospect see how/where/when you deliver your impact!
• Predisposition to the ASK: If an ask is coming out of left field then you did not do a good job of predisposing to the ask BEFORE the visit. If you go a great job predisposing to the ask then numbers are VERY EASY to talk about.
• Predisposition to the presentation team: The prospect might have a great relationship with a board member and even to the organization but not to you as an executive director or development person. Use your champion to set the stage to predispose for the personal relationship so that you don’t get the cold shoulder.
• Predisposition in any other way that prevents your visit from being ‘cold’…

This is a concept. What’s important is that you get the concept and apply it to each presentation strategy so that you’re not met with cold or clueless receptions.

Action: Look at any visits you have setup for the next three weeks. Force yourself to come up with a predisposition strategy for each visit. Perhaps it’s as simple as a support phone call from a champion or sending over some materials via e-mail–in advance of the visit.

You’re in Sales… Get Over It

Tom Suddes | March 14, 2007

Nick and I have been working with some really impactful organizations that, like many of you, came late to the idea that:

“God gives every bird food.
He just doesn’t throw it into the nest!”

At the moment we’re working with an Abbey in Northern California. Beatitude House in Youngstown. The International Baccalaureate Association in Geneva, Switzerland. Father Joe’s Villages in San Diego. American Numismatics Association. Junior Achievement. And many others.

We were with the American Lung Association’s National Development Conference last Thursday and 50 Christian Brothers’ schools on Friday. In two weeks I’m speaking with CEOs and Development Teams from all the YMCA’s in North America.

One part of our MESSAGE is always the same:

NOTHING HAPPENS UNLESS YOU’RE OUT SELLING…YOUR VISION. YOUR IMPACT. YOUR MESSAGE. YOUR IDEAS. YOUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT. Etc., etc., etc.

All of these organizations, and all of you, are deeply committed to your CAUSE and your ORGANIZATION.

Yet, none of you have been ‘TRAINED IN SALES’!

(You’re not alone. Even the Nation’s business schools provide no SALES TRAINING. Yet, in this ‘FOR PROFIT WORLD,’ SALES drives [almost] every company. Without it, all products and services remain ‘on the shelf.’)

I’ve spent my whole adult life in SALES, much of it selling ‘INTANGIBLES’ (large gifts/commitments for great causes and cases).

Nick and I are out ‘PRACTICING’ our craft/art every day.

Here are three really big things that may help you on your next VISIT/’SALES CALL’.

1. DISCOVERY
2. SHARE THE STORY –> PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITY
3. AUTHENTICITY

ACTION:

• Write this on a little card.
• Look at this every time you go to visit/meet with a Qualified Prospect or Potential Investor.

THE SHORTHAND.

1. DISCOVERY. Where’s the best place to find out ANYTHING you want to know about your INVESTOR/PROSPECT???FROM THEM!

   Remember: SELLING IS NOT TELLING!

   ASK QUESTIONS. More importantly, LISTEN TO ANSWERS!

   Here are three great questions to help you with your DISCOVERY.

   • WHY are you engaged/involved with us?
   • Which of these three things (buckets) is most important to you?
   • Can you help us Fund this Vision?
2. SHARE THE STORY –> PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITYSHARE THE STORY is exactly that. SHARE. THE. STORY.

   Everybody in the organization can share THEIR ’story’.

   You must also be able to capture the ‘STORY’ of your organization… your cause… your vision.

   Then, PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITY This is NOT about ASKING PEOPLE FOR MONEY!!!

   • It’s about PRESENTING THE OPPORTUNITY for them to make an IMPACT!
   • To move from SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE!
   • To SAVE LIVES. To CHANGE LIVES. To CHANGE THE WORLD!

   Special Note: Ask your Board Members or Volunteer Leaders whether they’d rather go out and ‘ASK THEIR FRIENDS FOR MONEY’ …or
   SHARE THE STORY –> PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITY.

3. AUTHENTICITYFirst, this is about being YOURSELF! If you just started with the organization, say so; and, then explain why you made that decision. If you spent 10 or 15 years working with your organization, explain WHY you devoted that kind of commitment to this cause.

   Additionally, AUTHENTICITY is about total candor. Sometimes even BRUTUAL HONESTY. (“You’re one of our top investors. You helped us build this plan and we know you want to see it succeed. Can you take the LEAD?”) Nick had a great line last week that was about as AUTHENTIC as you can get. “I have one goal with you today: to have your jaw drop at the unbelievable impact that this organization is having on children. That’s it.”

   CLOSE: For those of you out VISITING and PRESENTING… I hope you can use these simple but powerful reminders.

For the rest of you…

• Get out of the office. (GO PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES.)
• Stop doing research. (DO DISCOVERY… ON THE VISIT.)
• Stop doing proposals and grant writing. (GO SHARE THE STORY AND PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITY.)

On Change - A Manifesto (PDF)

Tom Suddes | March 1, 2007

Here it is. A short monograph on ‘CHANGE.’

It’s not ‘finished’ (and may never be…), but it’s now out there, in the ether-net, for use.

As part of our OPEN SOURCE INITIATIVE, please send your own STORIES, IDEAS, CHANGES to tom@forimpact.org!

Feel free to PRINT, FORWARD and SHARE with others.

ENJOY!

Click here to download PDF