When someone gives you the name of a person who has gazillions of $$$. What do you do now?

So first things first, we want to find out a bit more about the person. Do they really donate large amounts to charity?

And if they do, then how can we know if they would be interested in giving to our nonprofit?

It’s a good idea to do a ‘quick qualify.’ Two minutes is what you need. This will clarify if you should go for it or not. Putting effort into a non-opportunity can be a big waste of time. 

Basic Google research is a good place to start. And of course asking the person who is referring this prospect.

We’re looking to uncover three things:

  1. Do they have money?
  2. Do they donate to your type of organization?
  3. What can you learn about the prospect? (If the prospect is good, this will help you map out your next steps towards gaining their support.)

I’ve developed a simple tool to qualify prospects THE PROSPECT QUALIFIER™

It allows us to score prospects. This helps avoid wasting time with people who are most likely to be non-givers to our cause.

And it’s useful when you have a number of prospects, since you can prioritize who seem the best or better candidates to invest your efforts.

And proper qualifying will give you the confidence at any stage to trash who initially seemed to be the donor of your dreams.

How does THE PROSPECT QUALIFIER™ work?

We care about four attributes with each prospect:

– Their ABILITY

– Their INTEREST

– Your CONNECTEDNESS

– The TIMING

You’re going to give each prospect a score for these four attributes:

You’ll use the scores to prioritize your efforts. And put aside the prospects who turn out to be lemons or where the data is too unclear at present to justify investing time with them.

So hold tight. Here it is. Drum Role….  THE PROSPECT QUALIFIER™ 

Take your first prospect and using The Qualifier, run through the following questions using research tools like Google as well as the people who know more about the prospect.

ABILITY What’s the giving ability of this prospect?

No clarity – 0 points 

Prospect is generous, but unclear how he gives (e.g., large amounts to few, smaller amounts to many) – 3 points 

Research has shown prospect gives at the levels you are looking for – 10 points 

INTEREST Does the prospect like supporting your type of project?

No clarity – 0 points 

Some interest in your type of project – 3 points 

His main interest is supporting projects like yours – 10 points 

CONNECTEDNESS Do you know someone who is connected to the prospect?

No one – 0 points 

Someone who is somewhat connected – 5 points 

Someone who is strongly connected to prospect – 15 points 

TIMING – Is this a good time for the prospect to give?

No clarity whether this is a good time or if it’s a bad time – 0 points 

You have information that shows it’s a good time – 5 points 

Now let’s see how your prospects scored:

< 11 points – Delete Prospect or if you need more clarity, don’t move on it yet.

12-18 points – Good Prospect – Worth putting in some reasonable effort.

19 > points – Great Prospect – Worth prioritizing your focus and energy with this prospect.

Enjoy the tool!

Do you need to raise more in 2019?

‘The Big Picture’ Consult could be for you.

It’s a personalized ‘one on one’ power session with me. In the session, you’ll gain at least 3 valuable, clear, implementable insights with a clear action plan, so you’ll increase what you raise in 2019. 

___________________

Avraham Lewis guides Jewish leaders, running their own projects or organizations, to change their current reality and ‘up’ their fundraising game and personal productivity, through effective mindsets, strategies and techniques, that have a track record of raising more funds. Contact:  avrahamlewis@gmail.com

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