There are many ways to increase your planned giving leads. Most clients inquire about their marketing strategy or specific tactics, such as newsletters, emails, ads, inserts, and targeted mailings. While using these self-identifying techniques are an important part of any marketing program, they are only part of the picture.
Pick up the phone and call your top planned giving prospect. Don’t know what you’ll say? Then review their history to determine what your strategy should be. Don’t know who your top prospect is? Then go throu gh your list to identify the top ten planned giving prospects. Don’t have a list? Then screen your donor database based on FLAG – frequency, longevity, age, and gender to create a list of 100 prospects.
Karen Osborne conducted a webinar for PG Calc on Strategic Storytelling and its role in planned giving marketing in April. Some of you may have attended it, but for those who didn’t here’s something to consider. Citing inspiration from a Simon Sinek TED talk, she stated, “your ‘why’ story has to come before what you do and how you do it. What societal problems are you solving? What impact have past investments made? What do you envision going forward?” It’s easier to tell the “why” story in person, but smart planned giving marketing messages should tell the “why” story as well. Your planned giving communications should include the following:
One of your roles as a fundraiser is to match a donor’s charitable objectives with a plan that achieves those goals and supports your organization. Here are some phrases to incorporate into your dialogue with planned gift prospects during the important stages of discovery, cultivation, and solicitation.
