“Our calendar year end direct mail solicitation was not as successful as we had hoped.”
Was it because the message was ineffective?
Or, was it because too many reviewers delayed the production process and made the piece late arriving in mailboxes?
“I didn’t have as many visits this year with my assigned donors as I had planned.”
Was it because people were just too busy to see you?
Or, was it because you didn’t devote the time (for reasons worthy of defense perhaps) to do the compelling and strategic outreach that would encourage more people to say, “yes” to visiting with you?
“Our giving day last year didn’t meet its dollar goal.”
Was it because the donor who gave the major challenge gift the year before decided not to do so this year?
Or, was it because you didn’t engage the number of social media advocates needed to promote the many messages and giving opportunities to their networks throughout the day?
When an initiative fails to produce, it’s easy to focus outward on things we can’t control. Other people delayed us. People are too busy. The donor decided not to give.
And while context always matters, it also matters to assess the factors we can control.
We can lead a discussion to streamline the approval process for direct mail letters.
We can block out time on our calendar each week (even minimal amounts) to creatively outreach to our assigned prospects and donors.
We can implement a plan to engage more people as social media promoters during our giving day.
When “it didn’t work,” is the assessment, a healthy starting question is, “what could I have done differently.”
