Richard and I have seen so many MGOs go down in flames over the years because they don’t have the fortitude to “stay with it.” What I mean is, they don’t have the ability to put in the hard work and wait. And then, put in more hard work and wait some more.
There are a few things happening here. This type of MGO:

  1. …can only function with instant gratification, cannot see the value of the long-term and gets bored easily.
  2. …doesn’t value building relationships or understand what it takes to establish trust with a donor.
  3.  …may be getting pressure from a manager to “get the money” and not have the strength to push back.

Magnificent MGOs, on the other hand, have an amazing ability to be both persistent and patient with their donors. What our team at Veritus Group has observed about these top-performing MGOs is their uncanny ability to navigate a relationship with a donor and hold these two qualities in tension with each other.
Let me give you an example. I know a magnificent MGO, Maria, (not her real name) who has been working for a particular non-profit for many years. Maria’s portfolio of donors’ total value is over $10 million a year! That wasn’t always the case. When Maria first started working on her caseload it had a value of $400K with 125 donors.
Maria has the temperament of someone with passion, but “is in it for the long haul.” She made a goal for herself that in two years she would build her caseload to over $1MM, not by adding a bunch of new donors into her caseload, but by establishing trust with her current caseload of donors.
Maria told her manager and the CEO of the non-profit what her goals were. She said she would need time to build trust with her donors and that it would require at least two years before her caseload would be able to reach that goal.
You see what she did there? She took the initiative to set goals for her donors, and then set expectations with her boss and CEO. For some MGOs that would seem like a scary thing to do. But magnificent MGOs take this type of initiative, which allows their managers and CEOs to hold them accountable.
Maria knew that if she was going to grow her caseload she had to get to know her donors. She was dogged about setting up face-to-face meetings, not to ask for a gift at first, but to establish trust. Many times she was rejected over the phone for her meeting requests. In fact, the majority of her first requests were rejected. However, Maria did not get discouraged by this. She knew donors were busy and she did not take it personally.
This is a key element we see with magnificent MGOs. They don’t get discouraged when donors say “no.” In fact, what we find is that great MGOs thrive on turning a “no” into a “yes” and seem to know exactly when to push and when to pull back with donors, allowing them space.
Maria had a goal and strategy in place for every one of her donors. She kept to her strategy even when things didn’t always looks so good. She knew the mission was solid and that her donors had capacity. All she had to do was understand the best way to bring those two together.
Maria’s persistence and patience paid off. After two years she brought her portfolio of what was once $400K to $1.5 million! 50% over her goal.
And now, after 10 years, she has built that portfolio of donors to over $10 million. She is a principal major gift officer and her donors love working with her. This was all built on her ability to stay the course, even when things looked shaky, remaining patient with her donors, understanding that it’s in “their time” not hers.
In fact, her largest single gift from a donor of $5 million dollars took four years to cultivate. Four years! But because she understood the nuances of the donor and the impact of the gift, AND managed the expectation of her manager, she was able to solicit this gift successfully.
Persistence and Patience. Do you have these two traits to be successful in major gifts?
Jeff
Series details:

Magnificent MGOs quality #1: Teamwork
Quality #2: A True Customer-service Mindset
Quality #3: Persistence and Patience
Quality #4: Planners!
Quality #5: Competitive and Restless
Quality #6: Brokers of Love and Joy

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