Hi John,

Do you ever go to major donors and seek their advice?

I hope so, because Advice Visits are one of our favorite discovery and cultivation strategies for our major gift prospects.

Why do we like Advice Visits?

Because you honor your donor by asking for more than their money. You ask for their insight, their input, their advice on strategy.

When you ask a donor for advice, you get them on your side. You get them thinking about how you can be successful.

In a way, they join your team of strategic thinkers. All of a sudden they are saying “we need to do this” instead of ‘you need to do this.”

Today’s post is a must-read for everyone who struggles with donor conversations. If you or someone on your team is not sure what to say or even how to talk to major donors, you really need this strategy.

How to Ask Major Gift Prospects for Advice and Input

This approach is subtle. It’s fun and - it’s wildly helpful to you and your cause. It deepens your relationship with your donors, and helps them enjoy their time with you. They will look forward to seeing you again!

Advice Visits are one of the Soft Skills of Major Gift Fundraising that we teach in our Major Gifts Roadmap coaching program.

When you join us, you can learn a systematic, organized approach to building donor relationships.

Many of our coaching members have used these Advice Visit strategies with surprising results. One member got a $5k gift without asking. Another member received – on the spot – a $1.5 million challenge gift when she asked her donor for his advice! (Yes she almost fainted!)

When you join our Major Gift Roadmap program, we can show you how to get these kinds of results too.

What’s your experience with Advice Visits? Leave a comment on the blog and let us know!

Dedicated to fun, happy and productive visits with your donors,

Gail

PS: REMINDER - Major Gift Roadmap for 2020 closes out on February 3.

The group is filling up fast but it’s not too late for you and your team to join.

Here’s the high level major gift training you’ve been waiting for. I will be with you -- nurturing your major gift fundraising skills, and teaching you the strategies that will have major donors asking “how can I help?”

If you want to finally achieve your organization’s fundraising potential, then consider joining our group. We will help you get your team organized with a systematic approach to major gifts. When you join,

• You'll start to bring transformational major gifts into your organization, so that you'll finally have the funding to do your important work.

• You'll get an accountability and infrastructure system that will keep major gifts flowing into your nonprofit for years, so you won't have to start over all the time.

• You'll get your major prospects identified, discovered, organized, and prioritized. You’ll set up cultivation plans and make those asks, so that you'll actually close generous gifts.

• You'll get your entire board and team trained in major gift fundraising so that you'll all share the same language and have the same tools and skills.

• You won't be alone any longer. You'll have us as major gift coaches and mentors for 10 months this year, so that you'll have our help when you need it.

Everything is live in our program. Nothing is pre-recorded. We are only an email or phone call away.

We’d love to help you and your team nail the gifts that are out there right now, and finally achieve financial sustainability. Find out more here.

PPS: Here's our series on Major Gifts Fundraising so far:

• (Major Gifts #1) How to Move from Transactional to Transformational Major Gifts
• (Major Gifts #2) What You Can Expect from a Full Scale Major Gift Program
• (Major Gifts #3) What Board Members and Executive Management Need to Know About Major Gift Strategy
• (Major Gifts #4) What’s the Return on Investment from a Major Gift Program?
• (Major Gifts #5) Major Gift Fundraising by the Numbers
• (Major Gifts #6) What's the Best Structure for a Full-Scale Major Gift Program
• (Major Gifts #7) The Three Most Critical Elements of Every Successful Major Gifts Program

You can find them at www.gailperry.com/blog.

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