with donors is one of the hardest parts of MTD. People may choose not to respond during the time they said or take a long time to do the action steps they said they would. There are some important things to remember about follow-up.
- Pray - Be sure to pray before each follow-up call for the person you are reaching out to. You never know what might be going on in their lives.
- Grace - Grace on Grace on Grace for people. Remember, they want the best for you and your ministry, but their lives are busy. Have grace.
- We tend to quit too early in our follow-up process because we make assumptions about people. Your job is to provide people with opportunities to get involved in Kingdom work. Keeping track of how many times you've followed up can help someone get to a decision. Acting on that decision takes regular follow-up. Give them opportunities to share with you if this isn't something they want to be a part of. No guilt conversations are key. As you can see, the need for LOTS of follow-up is normal. It doesn't mean the person is avoiding you.
How long it will take someone to go through the process of engagement to decision to action depends heavily on how frequently you follow up. So, unless you want this to drag on forever, follow up frequently.
Let's talk about follow-ups! One of the best places to start with follow-up is during the actual appointment. A couple of ways this can be done:
- If a donor says yes to giving, be sure you ask, "Great, when do you think it would be possible for you to start your giving?"
- If a donor says, "I'm not sure if I can give..." "I don't know how much..." I say, "Great! I'd love to check back in with you on that decision. Is tomorrow too soon? "
- Be sure to always leave an appointment with the next time you will speak to them already scheduled.
1st follow-up after an appt is the thank you. Send it w/in 24 hours.
- What I say on a follow-up call:
- "I know you've been praying about joining my team and wanted to see how that decision is going."
- "Would a few more days give you the ability to come to a decision? Let's see, today is Monday. How about I give you a call back on Wednesday?"
- Use a date as a motivator: "I'm praying in faith that the Lord will have 6 people join my team at $100 a month by September 30th. Would you be one of those 6 people for me?" (Yes! I need you to join my team! We've got to get this going!) *People will rise to the occasion when you give them a specific amount and a date because they want to be the hero.
- If they've said yes and have procrastinated signing up: Hey, wanted to know if you could start your giving before the end of this month. I can jump on the phone with you and walk you through it. It will take 3 minutes.
- If someone is ready to give, it's okay to ask, "Hey, if you have 3 minutes, I can walk you through how to set that up right now. Do you have a couple of minutes to get that going?" (FYI: You'll need to know how to walk someone through how to start up a gift online. Here’s how:
- When someone is not returning your call, it’s okay to take a break from reaching out to them. If you do this, make sure you give them the date when you will reach out again. This is a relationship-builder that helps establish trust. Sample script: “Hey, it seems like you’re in a busy season right now. I understand. You can trust me to reach back out to you on _____ date. (Let that be a date in 2-4 weeks if someone isn’t returning your call).”
Also, see:
- for how often to follow up after an MTD meeting. *download
- - Scripts/notes from the New Staff Training manual on how to follow up for a decision.