Finding Your Partners
When it comes to building relationships that can result in truly transformational gifts, you cannot do it alone. I know that when you work in the development office, and especially as the leader of that office or as a Gifts Officer, the perception is: "this is your job to do, not mine, right?" But if we've been in this field for a while or have had the chance to close some gifts, we know that our work just can't happen without partners.
Having someone complement you in the relationships you are managing is imperative -- not only will you learn a lot more about your institution, you will show the prospect that they are important enough to warrant the time of people who are critical to your organization. I'm talking here about the Dean of the business school, a physician spearheading a new cardiac initiative, a program director who spends most of her time actually out in the community, a curator. The people who know the work really well.
We encourage everyone to take a very comfortable approach to this, knowing that there is only so much time in everyone's day and most of us are already stretched thin. Asking your partner how YOU can be helpful to him or her will open up a lot of doors. They might even surprise you. We can learn things that are on their minds (which might be truly important to the organization we are serving) that help us tremendously in our jobs. Knowing everything we can about what could make our institutions even better equips us with wonderfully effective talking points in prospect meetings.
Ask several people at your organization for a meeting -- buy them coffee or lunch, or offer to come to their office at a time that is best for them. Educate them on the development arm of your organization if you think there is more they could know. Do you believe they understand all of what is funded through your side of the operation? Share it! Some potentially great partners are scared away by the thought of asking people for money. Remind them that you are there because you are comfortable doing that, and why you're approaching them is to help with the cultivation. No one who feels uncomfortable asking for support should have to, and if we can get our partners in the room to talk passionately about what they know and do best, it won't feel uncomfortable for anyone to make the solicitation. I like to offer my partners specific talking points that would be great and formulate a "loose plan" going in to any meetings so they feel just as prepared as I always do.
In summary: figure out who you would be best suited next to in conversation and who is respected in the field; build the relationship consistently but comfortably over time; learn everything you can from these expert partners, and always offer to help them with their needs; give them a head's up on how a conversation could progress and what would be best to hear from them if they join you.
Let them do some of the heavy lifting and always make the connection back to support that will positively impact their job!
