Learn
how to use
alinea’s 3 Magic Questions
alinea's formula for attracting resources
Many of you have already
read about alinea’s formula for effective community engagement = STORY + DIRECTION + RELATIONSHIPS.
If you haven’t, you may want
to visit some of our previous blogs; or in a nutshell, here it is:
To ATTRACT (not ask for) resources, you need to share your story in a
way that inspires people to want to help, clearly articulate your top three
priorities so people know how to help, and genuinely build relationships with
people.
If you’re doing a good job
inspiring people to want to help, you may be stuck here, because you don’t know
what to do next.
Do you get stuck after Story + Direction?
Do you let people walk out the door after a tour
of your school or nonprofit? If YES,
you’re missing a huge opportunity.
If your friends,
family and colleagues have expressed support for the organization you volunteer
or work for, have you asked for their
feedback, willingness to help or the names of other people who might be
interested? If NO, you’re missing a
huge opportunity.
These moments are the GOLDMINE of potential resources, whether it be money, time, expertise,
internships, technology equipment, PR or more people with which to share your
amazing story.
TRY THIS! We call them alinea’s 3 magic questions,
because amazing things happen when you have the confidence to take the next
step after you inspire someone with your organization’s or school’s story.
Question #1 - What do you think?
After you have had a chance
to share your passion, ask the other person for their thoughts and really
listen to what they have to say. They
will likely share a story with you about something that resonates with them.
Here’s an example of how
powerful this could be.
After my parents
divorced, and my mom and stepfather moved my two sisters and I to West Bend, I
attended Holy Angels Grade School for 6th through 8th grade. Years later, I realized that
these were the three most impactful and important years of my entire
education. I felt loved, accepted and
encouraged. I was super shy – I couldn’t
even look people in the eye – but I felt like I had lots of friends and my
teachers really knew me.
I can still picture in my
head the last formal gathering of us as eighth graders for a program our
teachers put on for us. A teacher would
get up and talk about one student at a time – this happened for every single
student – and they shared what they thought was unique about that student and
what they felt the future held for them.
My jaw literally dropped when my English teacher Mrs. Osol – I loved her fingernails – got
up and told the whole group that she thought I was going to become a cover
model.
Now, I did actually go to
modeling school and briefly gave modeling a try, but that’s not the point. Having your teachers really know you and
express their belief that you will achieve great things in your future is very
empowering at that age.
25 years later, our class
had an eighth grade reunion, and that feeling of acceptance came back like
it was yesterday.
My point in sharing this
with you is this: If you are the
principal of a middle school, and you are giving a tour to someone who may
become a donor or supporter – or anyone for that matter – wouldn’t it be good
to know that middle school had that kind of impact on him or her?
Simply asking WHAT DO YOU
THINK? Will open the door to the other person sharing something potentially
powerful with you, and is the start to building a genuine relationship that
could result in resources.
Question #2 – How do you see yourself getting involved?
SECOND, after you have
allowed the other person to lead the conversation in a way that gives you
insight into what is important to them and what about your school (or
nonprofit) is resonating with them, ask this question.
This might be hard for
you. It’s where a lot of people get
stuck. Why? Because we value relationships and we don’t
want to make people feel uncomfortable.
Plus, we’re afraid of rejection.
This is where you need to
think about this in a different way.
This is NOT about asking for money, or anything for that matter. This is about moving a relationship along in
a natural way after they have expressed genuine interest for something you are
passionate about. I can’t believe how
many people share stories about how they were waiting to be asked for
help. Being asked makes you feel valued.
Anyway, just try this. Ask, “How do you see yourself getting
involved?” Think about what the answers
could be. Let’s start with worst-case
scenario. You’ve had a wonderful
conversation with someone who has expressed his or her interest. Let’s say they say, “Well, I already sit on
the board of another organization, and it’s taking up a lot of time.” Are you worse off than the day before? No.
Will they feel offended? No. Should you feel disappointed? ABSOLUTELY NOT! This is one more person who has learned about
your story and could pass it along in the future. That’s a success.
They could say they have to
think about it, or they may ask more questions about certain initiatives to
figure out how they’d like to help. Best
case scenario, they offer specific ways they can help.
THERE IS NO REJECTION IN
RELATIONSHIP FUNDRAISING!
Question #3 – Who else needs to know about what we’re doing here?
THIRD, our starting point is
a person who is already supportive of the organization and has shared personal
information with you about their interests and how your mission resonates with
them.
When you ask them “Who else
needs to know,” they will immediately begin thinking of people who would be
very interested in the mission of your organization or school. They might think of families for whom your
school’s approach is a perfect match.
They may work for a company with a foundation who is focused on the same
mission. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW. Worst-case scenario is they can’t think of
anyone. It just doesn’t matter. The key is not to expect anything, and then
you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
What to do next
After this 20 minute
discussion (after a tour or other conversation), you’ll have lots of “stuff” to
follow up on.
- Provide a packet for the person to take home that includes your case statement, recent newsletter, materials of specific interest and flyers for any upcoming events.
- Send a hand-written thank you note right away – or you’ll forget. You can send an email too, but the hand-written note is a must.
- Make sure this person is in your tracking and there is a next step and a due date. It doesn’t matter as much what the next step is except that you will “touch” the person in some way in four weeks or sooner. You could send an email sharing a student success or other success story. You could personally invite them to an upcoming event.
- Add them to your email distribution list.
- After the due date comes and you complete the next step, now you need another next step, and then another, etc.
- When the relationship begins to develop more, think about another meeting where you will talk more in detail about an initiative that you think the person might find interesting. Here, be ready to talk about what’s needed to accomplish this initiative, so this person knows exactly how they can help. You just never know. He or she may want to “own the whole thing,” because you really found how they want to make a difference.
PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUT ALINEA’S 3 MAGIC QUESTIONS TO WORK. COME BACK AND SHARE ON THIS BLOG POSTING.
I promise you’ll see a
little magic happen if you do this right! Learn more at www.alineaconnect.com or www.facebook.com/alineallc.
Deb
 |
| Deborah Lukovich CEO & Founder alinea, LLC |
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