Avoiding the Development Directors’ Top Ten Common Mistakes

If you will go to youtube.com and search for “Bob Newhart Counselor,” the first item will be a six-minute-long Mad TV segment of this great, clean comedian portraying a counselor who operates very efficiently. He charges $5 for the first five minutes and is free after that. The patient is delighted to hear that. Bob tells her his counseling sessions rarely last even the five minutes. She proceeds to share her problem—that she has a fear of being buried alive in a box. Bob’s superb counseling technique is to yell at her, “Stop it!” Do go watch it because it is hilarious. And, honestly, there might even be a little truth in his simple approach. I’m going to take that same approach here.

Development directors want to make a difference for the benefactors who support their organization and for the clientele served by their organization. When we do are jobs or ministries well, life is good, people are helped and we smile a lot! But there are common mistakes development directors make that lessen the joy in our work and decrease our effectiveness for everyone we serve. I offer here a few avoidable mistakes, gleaned from the experiences of several Petrus development directors. They are in no particular order. I think you will recognize them in your own behavior. “STOP IT!”

1.  Fear of Failure: We don’t act because we fear failure, or perhaps we fear success? Stop it! Be fearless! Lift up your benefactor and your cause in prayer and take well-planned action now.
2.  Fear of Asking: We don’t ask because we are afraid they will say, “No.” Or because they “aren’t ready for an ask yet.” Or, because we take, “No,” personally. Stop it! If a benefactor says no, it is directed to the organization you represent, not to you. Know the reasons people say yes, cultivate them well and then ask. A no is a slow yes. Find out why they are saying no, respond accordingly and ask again.
3.  Poor time management: focusing on mailings, e-newsletters and other “busy work” and allowing these activities to prevent you from making face-to-face visits. Stop it! We have to accomplish all those responsibilities, but prioritize your activity and do first things first. Setting appointments and making face-to-face visits are the first things.
4.  Ignoring your plan: Petrus helped you create a development plan, but you only look at it when your consultant is scheduled to arrive. Stop it! Post your plan over your desk and arrange for it to pop-up when you start your computer. Remind yourself of the steps you set forth for success and do it daily. Make sure the details are there to help you achieve your goals.
5.  Sitting in front of your computer: I know. You were just updating your ministry’s Facebook page. That was an hour ago. Stop it! Use your computer for scheduling appointments, writing call reports and using your database. Save the rest for home. Go see people.
6.  Investing too much time on low capacity prospects: Everyone’s gift matters. But you only have so much time. Invest it with prospects who can afford to make a more significant gift. Spending a lot of time with that person who loves your ministry, your agency and loves you, but can’t write a check larger than $50.00, is a mistake. Stop it! Your responsibility is to invest your time where it will yield the greatest results in achieving your institution’s development goals.
7.  Ignoring Planned Giving: Planned gifts do not produce immediate cash flow, usually, so it is easy to neglect. But, as I was touring the planned giving office of a large Dallas medical center, the director mentioned that they had 20 planned giving officers working full-time and, yet, eighty percent of their bequests came in as a surprise. It is easy to forget to ask people to include our organization their will. Stop it! Include a planned giving prompt in every communication piece you produce. Include it in the signature for your emails. Here is a sample: “Leave a legacy that will advance Catholic life at Minnesota State University-Mankato for years to come.  A gift to the Saint Thomas More Catholic Newman Center in your Will is a simple yet powerful way to impact generations of Catholic young adults here on campus. For more information on making a gift and how it will be used, please call (507) 387-4154 or visit http://www.catholicmavs.org.”
8.  Doing it all yourself: You are responsible for all development effort in your organization and you think you have to do all the work. Stop it! Your job is to involve as many people as is possible in creating a culture of philanthropy. Recruit and utilize volunteers, board members and others. Be the conductor of the symphony, not a one-person band.
9.  Rehearsing instead of listening: When you are on a face-to-face visit, cultivating a prospect, you sit there planning what you are going to say next instead of listening to them talk. Stop it! Development is about relationships. Conversation is the fundamental tool that creates relationships, so devote your energy to listening to the prospect as they share what is important to them.
10.  Mistaking your passion for their passion: We LOVE the mission our organization serves and we want to represent that mission enthusiastically. But, as Simone Joyeux says, “It’s not what you’re selling that matters; it’s what I’m buying.” Stop drowning your prospect in a barrage of verbiage about how munch you love what your organization accomplishes. Listen for your prospect’s passion and invite them to fulfill that passion through your organization’s mission.

Work hard but work smart. Take action to avoid these Top Ten Common Mistakes and you will find many benefactors who will lock arms with you to achieve great things together. And you will all laugh joyfully.