What to do if you don’t know…
I had an interesting comment from a seminar attendee. I asked, “What is it you fear about asking for money?” She said, “I’m afraid they’ll ask a question and I won’t know the answer.”
It’s a common fear: after all, we work for the organization, shouldn’t we know everything? The answer is no, that no one really expects us to know everything.
Here’s how to handle a question when you don’t know the answser:
1) First, say simply, “I don’t know, but I will find out for you.”
2) Then say, “Is that something you need to make a decision?” Ideally, they will decide to donate without the answer. Many times, the question is just to fill a space while they’re deciding. They may not really care about the answer. If you can get them to close the deal without the answer, that’s best for you.
3) If they say they need the answer to make a decision, commit again to getting the answer, but also ask them what it means. So, let’s say they asked, “What percentage of your money goes to administrative costs?” Ask them, “What would be an acceptable answer? What would be unacceptable?” If they say, “20% is acceptable (it should be) and 50% is unacceptable (that should also be the case)” then you could say, “So if our percent spent on administration is acceptable, will you make a gift?” Try to get a ‘yes’ from them.
4) Try to commit to a date when you will get back to them with the information. Say, “I will ask tomorrow and call you back by Thursday.” If you don’t have the answer by the time you committed to, call back anyway and say you’re still working on it.
5) Renew asking for their commitment. If their gift is important to your cause, you don’t want to let it go because of a single question.
I hope this is helpful to you. You can post any questions you have in the comments field. I regularly teach seminars on how to ask for money: please contact me at katherine@werth-it.com if you would like more information on my fundraising seminars.