Improving fundraising
At Sterling, we believe Call Time is the most important part of a fundraising plan. It’s why we work to make it easier and more efficient by offering call lists with donors actually motivated to donate, accurate contact information, and helpful background on donors to make better pitches and form longer lasting relationships.
Most campaigns— no matter the budget —can use Call Time as their primary method of political fundraising. In Call Time, candidates (or sometimes, volunteers doing “non-principal Call Time”) call targeted prospects to solicit donations over the phone. This is fundraising that can be done quickly and almost anywhere, as long as there’s a phone and a WiFi connection.
Components of Call Time
You need a few components for a successful Call Time session:
● A vetted list of targeted donors with accurate contact information (mobile & email)
● A planned call
● An informed ask
● The right tools
Targeted Donor Lists
Candidates call either the personal contacts in their Rolodex or targeted donor lists (prospects). While a candidate’s personal network makes the easiest money, a Rolodex can run out early. Targeted donor lists can be customized to a candidate and these prospects have the greatest potential to give.
Making the Call
Having a targeted donor list is only half of the Call Time process. To make the most efficient use of time, calls should be short (around 6 minutes) and always include an “ask.” Since prospects have the potential to become long-term donors, relationship building is key. Even though candidates have limited time, it’s important that they do not rush a prospect.
A successful call to a prospect should introduce the candidate, establish a rapport with the prospect, and only then, include an ask based on the donor’s previous giving history–all accomplished in 6 minutes or less.
Importance of an Ask
The most important part of the call is asking for a contribution. In fundraising, this is called making an ask.
There is a vital anatomy to an ask: context, exact number, and silence. In a Call Time session, an ask could go like this:
“This race is getting close; we need $50,000 more by the end of the month for our digital campaign (context). Can you donate $1,000 (exact number) today to help reach that goal?
(SILENCE)”
Context
Context helps with both relationship building and creating a sense of urgency. We want our donors to feel like investors. By giving them context and putting a specific number to the ask, we help make them feel involved in the campaign’s success.
Ask
If prospects are allowed to decide how much a candidate deserves, the contribution will often be less than their potential. An ask should be made in the form of a yes or no question, giving them less of an opportunity to waiver.
Silence
Finally, it’s crucial to maintain silence after making an ask. The silence at the other end of the phone could be your prospects deciding if they will contribute, or even better, writing out a check.
Better Tools for Better Results
Some campaigns are plagued by outdated methods—using paper printouts, manually dialing phone numbers, and writing cumbersome notes with no organization. On the other hand, some campaigns have achieved great success when using newer fundraising tools that save time and money.
At Sterling, we’ve worked with hundreds of candidates to streamline their Call Time process. We use every tool available to make Call Time more efficient and less costly. Dialers, CRMs,
automated emails and texts keep dials per hour up and dollars per dial high. They also allow candidates to focus on the call itself rather than on getting digits right or picking the best prospect for the day.
Our Call Time Lists can help any campaign raise more by spending less time on getting the digits right or picking the best prospect, and more time on calls.
