Character in Fundraising - Principle Number Six: Persuasiveness
By Roger Richard Breault, MCS, CFRE
August 23, 2004
This is the sixth in a series of articles about the seven character
traits to develop to become an effective, productive, and authentic fundraiser.
It is written with the intent to fill a sizable gap in the formation and education
of those who want to be true fundraising professionals.
Have you tackled a CFRE accreditation exam? If you have, you'll know that
it is comprehensive. It grills you on all aspects of fundraising: annual giving,
direct mail, events, planned giving, capital campaigns, elements of case statements,
and some aspects of management. Sadly, the measure of whether you qualify
as a "professional" does not evaluate one of the most important elements of
the business: your persuasiveness.
Persuasion is essential. Effective fundraisers are successful salespeople. Don't take this pejoratively. Above all, successful salespeople actively listen and practice the art of appealing to their clients' inner desires. Fundraisers must be able to influence and convince prospects that charitable gifts help donors satisfy an unfulfilled need and a deep yearning to aid others.
How persuasive are you? How good are you at convincing others to support your cause? Can you articulate a prospect's need to support your organization in plain clear language? Can you explain what makes your agency distinctively different and how it makes a veritable difference in the community? Can you do it with logic, emotion? Can you illustrate the positive impact of giving through concrete, poignant, real-life anecdotes about people you've served? How good are you at capturing the imagination of a prospect? This takes life-long practice.
The power of persuasion is crucial in fundraising. To be effective you need
to persuade leaders to champion your cause, and others to support it. Mainly,
we rely on three skills to be persuasive:
- an ability to listen attentively,
- a facility with the written word, and
- the development of a verbal talent of expressing yourself commandingly.
Fortunately these are capabilities that
we can hone. When we polish these competencies, we develop a strong character
trait that will nourish us in our careers and in our personal life. "De facto",
we become persuasive.
How do we work on these character traits? Effective communication can be defined as the exchange of information whereby both parties are transformed by the interchange of ideas. Many noted authors have proven that persuasive people have worked hard on developing this ability. It can be mastered. I know; I used to do most of the talking when I conversed with others. In doing so, I thought that I'd be far more convincing. Nothing is further from the truth. Persuasive people are first-rate listeners, not foghorns. The study of body language also helps.
As fundraisers we are called upon to write persuasive copy. We write case statements, brochures, direct mail, reports, letters, and plans. Wording, text formatting, and our prose differ depending on the purpose of a document. Our writing style must vary according to the emotion and the effect that we want to have on the reader. Do you write with the reader in mind? Does the style of your writing respect the reader? Have you used proven techniques and writing tricks to call special attention to salient points of the text? Books and articles provide answers. To be persuasive, read them; put into practice what the masters tell you.
Verbal acuity is one of the most important character traits of fundraisers. All of us can become better at expressing ourselves. If you are not comfortable addressing a group of people, take a course on how to do it. Force yourself to accept speaking engagements to tune your verbal skills. If necessary, join Toastmasters to get better. And finally, expand your vocabulary through selected readings.
A Short List of Selected Readings on the Subject of Persuasiveness in Fundraising:
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
You Can't be Serious, Putting Humor to Work by Michael Kerr
How to Sell Yourself to Anyone by Dr. Mark Victor
Effective Public Speaking by Zig Ziglar
Roger Richard Breault has prepared the articles for the benefit and
the advancement of the profession. Roger has a Masters' Degree in Communication
Studies, and a CFRE accreditation. He is a dedicated reader and Manager of
Fund Raising Consultants of Alberta and the Speakers' Bureau of Alberta.
