You’re 85% on Your Way

My experience is that getting the appointment is harder than getting the gift. If you get your appointment, you are 85% on your way to securing the gift. I have 13 steps which will help ensure that you get the visit. You can download them here.

But before you follow these steps, there is something essential I want you to do. Earmark every Tuesday and Thursday for appointment-setting. I chose those two days because I actually found them best for getting the appointment.

Let everyone know that this is time that is off-limits for meetings and unscheduled visits. You focus your entire time on making the phone calls to get the appointment. You let everyone know you dare not be interrupted.

Review your list of probable donors and schedule phone calls to get appointments for two or three weeks hence.

Now you’re ready to take the 13 steps I recommend. Will it be easy? Hardly!

In some ways, it’s a numbers game. You may have to make ten calls to get four connections. And of the four, perhaps you get one appointment. That means that you have to make fifty calls to get five appointments. This varies a bit from organization to organization. I’ve known some colleges, for instance, that have absolutely no problem in getting appointments— one out of every two calls. Yours may not be that easy.

Getting the appointment is a contact sport. Read my 13 steps.

And, if you would like to see the sample letters I write about, you can download them here.