When I went back and reviewed my blog postings over the past three years, I found that two of my most popular articles had to do with engaging board members. THIS IS PERFECT! At the end of my last blog posting, I promised to next write about how to use the ELEVATOR PITCH as a user-friendly way to share the story articulated in your professional case statement.
Today, I'm going to teach you how to use alinea's version of the ELEVATOR PITCH to empower your board members to be more active ambassadors for your organization. You know the saying about how focusing on just one or two things can bring more results than trying to implement too many ideas? Well, this is one of those tools that if maximized will make a measurable difference in your results.
Are Your Board Members as Active as You'd Like to See Them?
If the answer is no, the reason isn't what you think. In most cases, the board members of a nonprofit, church council or school or school district are passionate and excited about your organization. If they're not getting the results you want from them, it's because YOU ARE NOT PROVIDING THE DIRECTION, INSPIRATION AND TOOLS they need to confidently share your story with others.
Whenever I do a workshop for board members, I always start by asking attendees if they are comfortable sharing their organization's story. EVERY SINGLE TIME, only about a third of them raise their hands. The first time I did this, I was aghast! These are the people who are supposed to be safeguarding the mission of the organization. These are the people who are responsible for ensuring sustainability of the organization. And most of them aren't even comfortable talking to people about the organization.
Sometimes staff members will get frustrated with board members, but I have come to understand that the best way to maximize the contributions of your board members is to provide clear direction, user-friendly tools, and a little coaching. Board members come to an organization with all kinds of passion, but oftentimes, they quickly begin to feel disappointed in their own contribution. Then they begin to feel guilty about it. Rarely, do board members receive the support they need in order to make a personally meaningful contribution.
The Most Important Job of a Board Member - Tirelessly Promoting the Organization
I'm not sure why staff members assume board members know how to share the story of the organization, but this assumption prevents board members from admitting they are not sure about what to do and they never ask for help. So there ends up being this illusion on the part of staff about what everyone thinks board members are doing and guilt on the part of board members. This situation stands in the way of achieving some really amazing results. I've developed my own version of the old fashioned elevator pitch to to help board members develop the confidence they need to share their organization's story. Ideally, this elevator pitch would be based on your professional case statement. But if you haven't developed your case statement yet, you can still develop an elevator pitch. Just follow these instructions:
Step #1 - Share the big themes of your story.
An elevator pitch isn't about memorizing a script. It's about bringing your organization's story to live in a way that's natural for a volunteer like a board member. What are the big themes in your mission and how you deliver your mission. For example, one of my clients is Interfaith Older Adults - Neighborhood Outreach Program. Their mission and how they achieve it is very compelling, but it's way too long for a volunteer to share. So, here's how they start their elevator pitch:
Interfaith
is about caring people who
volunteer to help older adults stay independent in their homes.
We drive them to important appointments, do minor home chores and help keep them connected to the world outside their homes.
More than 1,000 volunteers help more than 5,000 older adults every
year!
After you've shared the big themes, your goal is to make an emotional connection with the other person, and the best way to do this is to share a story that illustrates the big themes. A good way to begin is to say, "You know how . . ." Here are two of the common examples an Interfaith volunteer uses: You know how . . . so many people are looking for ways to volunteer and do something meaningful? In fact, in the United States, there has been an increase in volunteering in just the past few years – even during this difficult economy. Well, the volunteers at the Interfaith Neighborhood Outreach program are always talking about how much they love helping older adults because they find them to be a fascinating group of people. They love to hear the stories of the places they've been and the interesting lives that they've led. They've all led such incredible lives and it's hard to see that now they're no longer independent. The volunteers believe that it's very important to be there for them at the end of their lives and make sure that there's someone there to help and to listen.
You know how . . . hard it would be if
you suddenly couldn't drive or walk to public transportation anymore? How it would feel to lose your independence? You wouldn't be able to go to appointments,
run errands, or even visit anyone. Well, that is a reality for many older
adults who live at home, throughout Milwaukee. But because of Interfaith
Neighborhood Outreach Program and their dedicated volunteers, older adults in
Milwaukee have the help and support they need. Volunteers take them to run errands, to
appointments, and even out for a trip to the museum or movies! Thanks to Interfaith, older adults receive
support at home, as well as connected to their communities!
You know how . . . stressful it is when you can’t care for an
older family member because you live
out of town? On top of that, the costs
to hire extra help are often unaffordable. Well, Interfaith Neighborhood Outreach program helps
older adults stay in their homes by linking older adults to caring volunteers
who help them with rides, chores, and more. The clients' families
are so grateful for this help, and they just don't know what they would do
without Interfaith.
Step #3 - Wait and Listen for a Reaction.
Your elevator pitch is successful so far, if the response is something
like, “That makes sense, but how do you do that?” or “That’s interesting, but do they lose
touch with their friends?” or “WOW,
that’s cool!”
If you take a breath and just wait for a response, you'll be amazed at what the other person may share with you. Think about how you would respond so far if someone was sharing the Interfaith story with you. Personally, I think back to when my grandmother had no choice but to go into a nursing home. It wasn't the right place for her though, because she wasn't sick enough to be there. The lack of stimulation and interaction with other healthy people ended up causing her to just sort of give up on life. She died, but she didn't die of anything really. This is an emotional connection.
So, if you really pause and listen to to what the other person shares, then your job is just to engage in the conversation. Ask them more questions, learn more about their perspective so you know what to share next.
Step #4 - Share Your Vision for
the Future and What You Need to Achieve it.
Don't stop here though. Many people who are very natural about sharing their organization's story DON'T do the next critical step, which is sharing what the major priorities are so people can start thinking about how they might fit in. You need a call to action, otherwise people actually can become frustrated that there's nothing for them to do.
Remember my formula: Story + Direction + Relationships? This is the direction piece. You've brought your story to life by sharing the themes in your mission and then illustrated this through a story. Then you made an emotional connection with the other person by listening to them tell you what part of your story resonated with them. They're interested and probably excited. Don't leave them hanging. Share your vision and goals with them.
Here's how the board members of my client Interfaith share their priorities:
The older adult population is quickly growing, but programs that help
especially with transportation are shrinking.
Interfaith has decided to STEP IN
AND FILL THE GAP. We have three big goals right
now that we want to reach by the end of the year:
- Recruit 100 more caring volunteers
- Set a new record for our annual Chair event of $75,000 for transportation costs – it’s coming up on November 7th (have your flyer with you)
- Get donations of basic office supplies, like paper and stamps
Step #5 - If they’re
Super Interested, ask alinea’s 3 Magic Questions
After you've shared your big priorities, if the conversation is going well and you can see that the person is interested, ask my magic questions and see what they say. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you might hear back. Here are the questions:
- What do you think? Really listen to what they have to say and take notes if you can. They are providing valuable insights that we may use to evolve the story and the big bold goals.
- How do you see yourself getting involved? DO NOT BE AFRAID to ask this question. If they’re already interested, their wheels are turning about how they fit in, so just ask the question and see what happens. If they saying, nothing right now, SO WHAT. That’s one more person that knows your story.
- Who else needs to know about what we’re doing? They are probably already thinking of people who might be interested either in services, coming to the Chair event, could donate stamps or some other way. JUST ASK THE QUESTION AND BE READY TO BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AT WHAT THEY SAY.
Be sure to report your results to the group or update your tracking document so you take next steps. Don't be surprised if someone is ready to help or offers the names of others who may be interested. That means you've gotta take some notes and make sure someone follow up. That's where most organizations fall down - on the followup of these golden opportunities.
Step #6 – Always Leave the Door Open
Always
ask if you can have someone send follow-up information, schedule a tour or
put them on the email list to stay in touch.
Make sure you follow up with your local director so she or he can be
sure to continue to cultivate the relationship with this interested person.
That's all there is to it. I put all of this in a document for board members and volunteers - and even staff people and I have them practice at board meetings, with their spouses, neighbors. The next step is to help your board members develop a NEW HABIT of actively sharing your organization's story.
I love to hear success stories from people who try out my tools. Please feel free to comment on my posting, sharing and promoting your own story.
Deb
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