Ignore Communication Preference at Your Peril

There is no doubt that you have your preference in terms of communication. I do. I love texts and email. Clean. Simple. Fast. The great thing about texting and email is you write them, send them, and that’s it! So easy. And you can do it in the middle of the night while you are up worrying about things.

Doing a phone or video call or even taking the time to visit a donor in person takes so much time. Getting the donor to answer the phone can be a nightmare. And scheduling a meeting is even more complicated.
All these dynamics explain why, if left to our own devices, we will use the communication method we prefer vs. the one the donor prefers.

And this one point is the reason, if you allow it to happen, you will go down a perilous path of failure in your relationship to your donor.

Time and again, Jeff and I, and our team of frontline coaches, have found that the lack of connection between a frontline fundraiser and their donor rests on this one point. The frontline fundraiser either does not know the communication preference of the donor or he/she is ignoring it.

So, they insist on pushing for an in-person meeting when the donor has consistently said they prefer email communication. Or they revert to emailing the donor when the donor has clearly stated that they would like to talk on the phone or have a video call.

Why do we do this? Quite simply, we do it because we are coming at the relationship from our point of view vs. the donor’s. 

If you find that this is true about your situation, take the following steps to correct it:

1.    Ask your donor for their communication preference.
2.    Follow that in all your communication.
3.    Ignore that little voice in your head that goes counter to the two points above.

It is truly about that simple. But doing this consistently with your donor demonstrates that you are listening to them, that you care and respect them, and that you are willing to do what is right by them vs. what is right and convenient for you.

Try it. You will see a tremendous difference in your relationship to your qualified caseload donors.

Richard