Invite the gift when the prospect poses a question like, “What do you all need to make this happen?”
Turn the conversation toward your campaign priorities when the prospect asks, “What are you all working on today?”
“Could you see yourself providing a leadership gift for this project?” is a fantastic response when a major donor prospect shows interest.
Moving conversations with prospects into the “gift-giving zone,” is rarely achieved through the use of an abrupt question piercing a convivial interaction. It rarely feels surprising or startling. It rarely happens in any jarring fashion.
Instead, we invite gifts well when we simply walk through the conversational doors our donors and prospects open for us.
When they inquire about our focus, we turn the conversation to our priorities. When they show interest in one or more of our priorities, we extend their interest by asking about their participation.
Focusing on “the ask,” is a sure-fire way to create anxiety in the asker.
Far better to simply focus on extending the conversation in ways that move the prospect toward a gift-giving decision.
This article was originally posted on Jason’s Blog in June 2023. To read more, visit www.jasonmcneal.com.
