“Always Be Closing” is DEAD

It’s icky, it’s transactional, it doesn’t work.

When I was in theater school, the play Glengarry Glen Ross was mandatory. Maybe you’ve seen the movie? (Alec Baldwin yelling “Coffee is for closers!” at a room full of other white guys–I did NOT like watching him be mean to Jack Lemmon 😢.) Here’s the deal: these days we’re all  “marketed” to (thousands of times a day). Your community members have a SPIDEY SENSE for “hard sell” tactics. 🕸️

Don’t. Ever. Go. There. Instead, adopt a new ABC (here are my two favorites!):

1. ABC: ”ALWAYS BE CANDID”
   
   When I’m coaching clients on how to make authentic, successful 5-Minute Fundraising Asks, they frequently share that they have the IMPULSE to be HONEST, but don’t follow it. Why does this happen? Most times it’s because the client is AFRAID TO BE VULNERABLE. Go ahead & level with the community member: admit that you’re only a two-person staff, or that there’s a deficit you’re working to reduce, or that the last production didn’t sell as many single tickets as you’d anticipated.
   
   Your vulnerable candor will lead to the community member being honest & open with you, too. You’ll deepen the relationship–not just for the duration of this conversation, but in the long run as well.
   

2. ABC: ALWAYS BE CURIOUS
   
   Stop looking for a binary “yes or no” answer and start exploring the “why.” Clients frequently tell me that they’re afraid to OVERSTEP in a fundraising conversation, but this desire to be polite/unobtrusive actually leads to their community members perceiving them as cold & impersonal. Focus on the “forest” of building a strong relationship with this person, as opposed to the “tree” of whether or not they agree to make a donation during this chat. Treat your community member as you would a friend of a friend at a dinner party and
   

   PRACTICE INTENTIONAL LISTENING.
   
   Ask them WHY they haven’t been attending your events, WHAT they’re doing with their time instead, HOW they’d like to engage with your org.
   
   Bonus: genuinely connecting with your community member will make the conversation much more pleasant & rewarding for BOTH of you.

   Does anyone else have thoughts on uprooting “ALWAYS BE CLOSING” & what we should plant in its place? 🌱