Week 5 - How to Ask for Connections

Last week, we discussed how to find new names using the resources missionaries already have, such as their own lists, social media, and referrals. Today's topic discusses how to get new referrals from other donors. 

Here's a helpful 3 step process: 

Prep: 

Look at your current donor list; those who give $100 a month or more and those annual donors who give generously. Look for commonalities among them. Maybe they all had a child in college when you asked (and you do college ministry), maybe they all traveled to Europe and have a love for the culture (and you minister in Europe), maybe they're politically active and see the need for a gospel presence in DC. Once you find these traits of your best supporters, incorporate that into your names ask. For example: The people who tend to get the most excited to hear about this ministry and understand the need for it are those who have a child in college, those who have traveled to Europe and have a love for the culture.

Ask: 

• Build up the mojo (energy/ vision) again after the financial ask. Examples include:
  • "Thank you for the gift! Believe it or not, there’s another way that you can help out that’s even more significant. It’s through introducing me to others who would be excited to hear about what God’s doing in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders. Would you be able to help me reach others with this story?"
  • "Thank you for the gift! There's a way you can actually double or even triple that gift..."
  • “I will need to meet with hundreds of people and share about my ministry and see if they want to get involved…”
  • “While we’re here, there’s another HUGE way you can help me that can get me to campus even faster. I’m going to have to meet with hundreds of people and, as you know from my story, [Insert point from story here]. Getting me connected to more people like you– people who are excited to hear about missions and how God is building His Kingdom - would be really helpful. So, who do you know in your [Pick one: church/ work/ school/ community group/ family/ etc] that I should talk to?"
  • God has given everyone different resources. My greatest need right now is to be connected well. I am trusting the Lord to help introduce me to new people through meetings like this. Would you take a moment now to think of who might be interested in hearing of the vision of the work I’m doing? (if they’re thinking, just wait) By the way, they don’t need to be people that can give. This person you connect me to might not be able to give, but might be really excited to pray for this ministry. (this frees them up from only thinking of connecting with people who have money.)
  • *If enough time, “Hey, for the sake of saving you and me some time, let’s sit here right now and maybe you can flip through your phone or facebook. I have some work to do, so I can sit here and work on my stuff while you’re looking through that. Getting connected to others is my greatest need, so this would be a huge help for me.”
• Brainstorm: “I know you probably haven’t been thinking of people already. Sometimes it helps to think through groups of people...
  • Anyone who you know has been on a mission trip lately?
  • Someone like you who has a heart for ministry – maybe someone in your small group or Bible study?
• Put their minds at ease that you’re excited to talk to them
  •  “I love meeting with new people. They usually really enjoy hearing about what God is doing in ministry.”
  • As they’re thinking or giving names, thank them a LOT. (This is encouraging)
• Remind them not to pre-qualify!!
  • “One thing I learned is not to count anyone out. Of course not everyone is in a position to give, but that is why there are four different ways to help. Each of those ways are equally valuable and each of us has something to offer toward the building of the Kingdom.”
    
• Keep your contacts out of "jail."
  •  It's great if someone wants to contact their people before you reach out to them. BUT set a deadline for when you will reach out to them.
  • “Sometimes people like to reach out to their contacts before I call them up. Would it help if I sent you a short email you could forward along? It’s a quick introduction of who I am and the ministry God’s called me to. [Wait for response. Validate. Then discover when they plan to reach out to their people.] Great! I’ll plan to connect with them on [day after their determined date]. You can count on me doing that even if you’re not able to get in touch with them. Sound ok?

Handling Objections:

• “I'll think about it and get back to you.”
  • That’s totally fine. You can totally get back to me after thinking about it some more. I know you haven’t been thinking about this all day. I do wonder whether you’d be willing to dedicate just 5 minutes with me now to begin that process and then after that you can continue to do so after I leave. But I want to be sensitive to your time. Do you have 5 minutes to do a little brainstorming with me?
     (Your body language w/ pen & paper in hand, closing your book, should communicate you are ready to work on this right now.)

• “I’m not sure I know anybody that would interested”
  • Honestly, I’ve found that it’s easy for me to share with just about any Christian, not just those who are involved with campus ministry, etc...

• “Most people I know can’t give right now”
  • I understand. Just like I said earlier, there is zero obligation to give. People can get involved in a variety of ways if they choose, but for now, I’m just excited about telling my story to as many people as possible. So who are...

Different options to try if you get some pushback:

1. ”Who do you know that I should know?" (long pause)
2. Did anyone come to mind as I was sharing about this ministry?
3. Who do you know that is passionate about missions/sharing the gospel?
4. Who do you know from your church/small group?
5. Who do you know that has a passion for reaching university students with the Gospel message?
6. If you just have one person you could connect us to, that would be a huge blessing to us. Could we pray right now and ask the Lord to bring someone to mind?

Circle Back Around: 

• Make sure you’re always going back to people who referred you to others after you meet with their contact! This is essential; especially for social mavens. A maven won’t give you all their contacts the first time you ask; they won’t even give you their good contacts on the first time. They’ll give you 1-2 easy connections to test out how you will steward that relationship. This is why it’s essential to go back to that person who referred you to others and ask them if they can think of anyone else. Sample script: “Thank you so much for introducing me to (name)! We had such a great time getting to know each other. It was amazing that (mention a common connection or something they dug about your ministry). They were so excited about the ministry they’ve already come out to one of our student Bible study nights.  Do you know anyone else like (name)? Maybe in the last few weeks, the Lord brought someone else to mind who might be interested in hearing about this ministry? I’d really love to meet with them!”