Author: K. Michael Johnson

Get ready because they’re coming. Not only the Millennial generation, but their ideas. Thoughts about how to do things better, thoughts about incorporating new technology, crazy ideas with no grounding in past success or industry-wide best practices.

These folks want to make an impact – that’s why they’re working for your non-profit – and they have ideas for how to make it happen.

The upside is that you need new ideas. That’s right, if you keep doing things the way you’ve always done them, your organization will stagnate and eventually die.

The downside, however, is that there’s work involved in vetting ideas. Because let’s face it, some of the ideas your Millennial staffers bring to you will be good, some of them won’t.

But that’s why you’re in the position you are! You’re the boss because of your experience and good judgment.

I’m not here to tell you which ideas are good or bad for your organization. But, I do have some advice for listening to Millennials so they feel comfortable continuing to bring ideas your way. Remember, you need ideas.

This approach will also keep them engaged with their work. Want employees who care? Want them to be proactive? Learn how to receive ideas. Even from people younger and less experienced than you.

Here are four easy steps:

1.  Listen to the full idea before shutting it down. Don’t interrupt in the middle with a dismissive, “No, that will never work.”

2.   Remember that ideas beget other ideas. Even if the entirety of the idea isn’t exactly right, there might be some piece of it that is brilliant. After listening to the idea, point out the thing you like best about it. See if you can build on it. If it’s entirely dreadful, just go with, “first of all, I can tell you’ve given this some serious thought and I want you to know that I appreciate that.”

3.  Don’t feel pressured to make a decision right away. There’s a vast ocean between “yes and “no,” including:
•  Let me think about it
•  Research this part and come back to me
•  Present this at this next meeting and we’ll talk about it as a group

4.  Be honest about aspects of it that give you pause. And give your staff member and opportunity to respond to your concerns. Maybe they’ve already thought them through.

5.  Give credit where credit is due. If your Millennial staffer brings you an idea and you run with it, make sure to acknowledge where it came from.

If you follow these steps, you’ll be a lot more likely to harness the entrepreneurial spirit of the Millennials on your team. Ignore these steps and you’ll lose people. They’ll get bored with their jobs, spend more time at work checking Instagram, and eventually leave for a place where they feel valued.

One final thought: If a nonprofit organization is to survive over the long term, there must be a cadre of younger staffers in the learning/growth process who will be able to effectively replace the older staffers when they move on !!

Next Week Tony Poderis offers the first of a two-part impassioned discussion as to, “Who should be raising the money for nonprofit organizations.”

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K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder of Fearless-Fundraising.com .
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
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Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
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If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

Many Millennials don’t love talking on the phone … especially with people whose numbers aren’t already programmed into our phones; and, many of us are terrible at it. In fundraising, however, phone skills are a must.

This is a continuation of my posting on how to make more and better outreach calls – specifically, introductory calls requesting face-to-face meetings with prospects we’ve never met.

4. Ask questions. As you’re writing your script (see last week’s posting), remember that your job is to build a relationship with your prospect, not lecture them. Build in a few easy-to-answer questions near the beginning: “Did you survive the storm last week?”, “Is your summer off to a good start?” Ask about the last event they attended. Ask if they received the last newsletter – “Did you see the item about _______?” Ask about their feelings regarding one or more of your organization’s  programs, programs that you know they support. But, avoid questions that can evoke negative answers.

5. Practice and find your “guru voice.” Here’s what I mean. You represent an amazing organization that’s doing amazing work. You’re an expert in the issues your organization addresses and you have the potential to help connect your prospect to your organization in a meaningful way.

Gurus are confident in their abilities, yet still inquisitive, calm in their demeanor, but never apathetic, and they are clear in their delivery, yet not heavy-handed. Gurus have a child-like mastery.

You don’t need to be apologetic, you don’t need to worry about whether or not you’re bothering the prospect, and you don’t need to try and muster up false enthusiasm. Practice aloud and find your warmest, most inquisitive, most confident self. Speak from there.

6. Leave messages. Play to your strengths by using the phone to get people to email you. The odds are good you’ll need to leave a message for your prospect. Do leave your call back number, but also, let the prospect know you’ll follow up via email. Send that note shortly after the call. I get far more replies to my follow-up emails than return calls.

You don’t have to love your phone. But if you want to be a top performer, you do have to use it. Thankfully this skill can be learned, and improved over time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Was/is getting comfortable on the phone a hurdle for you? What would you add/delete from my list above?

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Next Week, Two short pieces by Tony Poderis, offering his views on:
1. The Age-Old Question About the Role of Staff in the Strategic Planning
Process, and 2. Really Staying In-Touch With Your Donors.

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K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder of Fearless-Fundraising.com,
where he discusses the inner game of deeper relationships and bigger asks.
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, click on the title of this posting, then go to the bottom of the on-line version to offer your thoughts.

Confession: I don’t love making phone calls.

In fact, there was a time when I’d do anything to avoid calling prospects. Like many in my generation, I was far more comfortable emailing or texting, or even sending them messages through LinkedIn.

Digital tools are great, but it didn’t take me long to realize that the top performers in our line of work are good on the phone. It’s better for building rapport, and it creates a sense of urgency that email and other tools simply do not.

Now, I make at least four outbound calls daily. I still don’t always love it, but I’ve come a long way.

In this post, I want to begin to focus on the type of call that is among the hardest to make: an introductory call requesting a face-to-face meeting with someone you’ve never met.

For my fellow phone-averse Millennials, there are six perspectives that have helped me:

1. Divide and conquer. Making outreach calls requires mental and emotional energy; and, let’s face it, our supply of those is limited… so is our willpower. But I’m able to make more calls if break up the process and make each step a separate activity:
a. Deciding whom to call, what I want to talk about, and when to call
b. Preparing for each call I’m planning to make in a given session (see #4 – next week)
c. Calling
d. Following up, if needed

This approach gives me the least opportunity to talk myself out of picking up the phone. By the time I’m ready to make calls, the decisions are all made; the preparation is done; and all I have to do is pick up the phone and “dial.” ☺

I’ve learned the hard way that, if don’t frontload most of the work, I’m just not going to get through as many calls.

2. Call when you’re fresh. I like to do A and B (above) at the end the workday, and then C and D the next morning. I know that I’m freshest (read: most caffeinated) between 9:30 am and 11:30 am.

3. Write a script. Yes, I know you’re not a sleazy telemarketer, but having a script, or at least an outline, will keep you on track, reduce your fear of the unknown, and boost your confidence. And sketch out the message (see #6 – next week) you’ll leave (under 30 seconds) if you don’t get the prospect on the phone. A script is also a handy tool to help you remember specific, phrases that have proven effective.

Be sure to come back next week, when
K. Michael Johnson lays out the rest of the list!

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K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder of Fearless-Fundraising.com,
where he discusses the inner game of deeper relationships and bigger asks.
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, click on the title of this posting, then go to the bottom of the on-line version to offer your thoughts.

In my last post, I shared a few thoughts with fundraising managers about supervising “digital natives.” Today, I have some tech-related advice for my fellow Millennials.

1. Stay open to the possibility that the internet may not be the solution every time.

Sometimes, for example, emailing your prospect just won’t get it done. You may need to pick up the phone or meet face-to-face to move the conversation forward. I’ll talk more about this in the weeks ahead.

2. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from your older colleagues.

Fundraising is about people – other people, specifically.

I mentioned earlier that many of the best frontline fundraisers I know have been at it for decades. These gift officers are beloved by whoever they meet and can build trust quickly with just about anybody. And a little secret: some of them don’t use a computer. Ever.

If anyone like that works at your organization, get to know them … in as great a depth as you can. Ask if you can listen in when they call prospects, or if you can tag along on donor visits.

In particular, focus on how they establish rapport and nurture relationships. What language do they use when speaking to prospects? Listen to their tone of voice, and watch their body language and mannerisms. It will be an education in people skills, I promise.

3. Be skeptical of your multi-tasking abilities.

A growing body of research shows that multi-tasking doesn’t lead to higher productivity. Why? There’s a small cognitive “cost” to switching between tasks – these add up over time. Moreover, Stanford professor Dr. Clifford Nass has shown that multi-taskers have a harder time tuning out distractions.

So, my recommendation is to test it. Schedule a few 45-minute windows in your day where you focus exclusively on your highest priority tasks. Put your phone on silent and place it out of reach. Close down your email program, along with unnecessary web pages.

Whether you’re making outreach calls, writing an appeal letter, or developing a project strategy, commit to focusing on nothing else for those 45 minutes. Try this for a few days and see if you don’t find yourself getting more of the most important things done.

That’s it for this topic, but keep coming back. In my next posting, I’ll talk about something most Millennials would rather avoid: phone calls.

In the meantime, leave a comment and share your funniest story about generational differences in the workplace.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder ofFearless-Fundraising.com ,
where he discusses the inner game of deeper relationships and bigger asks.
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

1. A Love Note From Your Millennials

Dear Boss,

The Internet, The Internet, The Internet.

Love, Your Millennial.

I had a boss who would yell questions at us from his desk chair. Didn’t matter what people were doing, or who was around. If he wanted to know something, he’d just blurt it out and expect an answer.

Now, we, his mostly-Millennial staff, weren’t really bothered by his gregarious personality. But his questions tended to be the type that could be easily answered with a quick internet search. This we found a little annoying.

So, our running-joke response became, “Did you Google it?” Which, of course, he found annoying.

As the first generation to grow up online, Millennials have an internet-first mindset when it comes to communication, problem solving, shopping, you name it. Now, contrast that with the network-first mindset (“Who do I know who can help?”) of many in older generations. These different approaches are a recipe for tension in the workplace.

Well, the internet isn’t going away. As it evolves, so must the business of fundraising. Good leaders will help their organizations adapt and move forward. They will align strategy with mission and talent with strategy. And, given that roughly 40% of their talent will be Millennials, they’ll need to leverage the techy know-how of younger staffers and position them for growth and success.

On the other hand, there are things the internet has not, and never will change about fundraising. A person’s motivation for making a major gift is a great example.

Philanthropy is very personal and very emotional. And at its best and most impactful, it is worked out within the context of relationships: donor to organization, donor to executive director, to volunteer, to development officer, etc.

Building trust relationships takes face-to-face interaction, shared experience, and time. Pretty un-digital stuff. And the best fundraisers I know have been doing it for decades. Millennials must be prepared to learn a lot from these folks.

2. A Few Things That Fundraising Managers Need to Keep in Mind When Working With Tech-Savvy Millennials:

a. Stay open to the possibility that technology has enabled a better way to do something.

Technology has completely changed the game in some areas of fundraising. New research tools have made it easier to find information about prospects; there are more ways to communicate with donors, including texting and social media; and there are new ways to solicit and receive gifts … internet crowd-funding is just one example.

Don’t ignore these trends. The Millennials on your staff certainly aren’t. Why not task one or two of them with investigating and developing recommendations for you?

b. Stay open to learning about that better way from someone younger than you.

According to MTV’s No Collar Worker study on Millennials in the workplace, 76% believe “my boss could learn a lot from me,” and 65% say they could be a technology mentor for older workers.

Perhaps this is nothing more than hubris, but keep in mind that Millennials tend to pair technological know-how with an entrepreneurial spirit. We don’t want to work for organizations stuck in the past and we love the idea of being part of new, innovative solutions.

Engaging Millennial employees in the process (yes, even at the strategic level) will keep them energized. And it will prevent the best ones from jumping ship as soon as the next opportunity comes along.

c. Yes, they’re checking Facebook at work. And it’s not the end of the world.

Millennials are indeed chronic multi-taskers. In an always- connected world, it’s not uncommon for us to text with friends, check our Facebook feeds, and stay on top of the day’s news, all during business hours.

Yes, there are potential productivity issues here (more on this below), but my advice for you is to not go there. If you’re worriedabout how your Millennial employees are spending every minute of their time between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, then you’ve got bigger problems.

When evaluating performance, focus on real, measurable outcomes that matter: dollars raised, prospect visits per month, etc. If your employees are making it happen in these areas, who cares if they’re multi-tasking during business hours? Stay focused on the main objectives and your employees will too.

Millennials, be sure to watch for my posting on October 15,
That one is for you!

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Next week, watch for Bill Huddleston’s second piece on
The Use of Checklists to Ensure Better Outcomes
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K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder of Fearless-Fundraising.com,
where he discusses the inner game of deeper relationships and bigger asks.
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=