3 Ways to Connect to Planned Giving Donors
Finding the “A-Ha Moment” in Your Conversations
Three Sides to Every Story
Have you ever heard the saying, “There’s three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth”? Personally, I’ve always found that humorous. But I’ve realized something—it describes some of the conversations we have with planned giving donors.
Think about it: when you talk to planned giving donors about estate gifts, your side is to communicate the tax benefits, legal requirements, and giving options. When planned giving donors and prospects hear your pitch, their side is to run through a list of objections. The third side of the story is the “truth.”
This place–where your opportunity meets their objection–can become an a-ha moment for both of you.
It becomes an a-ha moment for the planned giving donor when he or she realizes you understand their real motivation in leaving a gift, and can show them a way to take care of their responsibilities and still leave a lasting legacy. When we tweak our message with the goal of hitting this harmonious understanding, we can make all our communication—and our marketing—more effective.
Getting to the A-Ha Moment
A few months ago, we overhauled this site (pgmarketing.com). Remodeling our “digital home” is similar to keeping our real homes looking updated and modern. It forces us to ask important questions: does anyone use this? Do we still want this? In asking these questions, we had to evaluate if what we are communicating on our website is helping our clients have an a-ha moment. We had to look at the website from the prospect of the user: what they need and what they want—not just what we want to say. The end result is that it’s easier to get answers, make a connection, and engage. These tactics work with any type of communication.
Talk about the DESTINATION, not the JOURNEY
When a travel company sells a vacation, they don’t show pictures of rush hour traffic or long TSA lines. They show pictures of people relaxing under palm trees. Because they know you aren’t buying the route. You’re buying the destination, and they’re trying to tap into the emotion you’ll feel when you arrive.
It’s tempting to talk about the logistics of planned gifts. The details. The process. But that’s not what inspires your prospect to imagine. That’s just the route they take to get there.
All of the communication with prospects—whether in person or in your marketing—should inspire desire.
- Desire to be philanthropic.
- Desire to be part of a larger, longer, lasting story.
- Desire for stability and security—in their future, and in mission they love.
Talk about the WHO, not the WHAT
When I say talk about the “who” and not the “what,” I want to differentiate between your organization and your mission. Your organization is easy to talk about: the history, the impact, the staff, students, programs, buildings, awards, and etc. That’s the WHAT. The WHO is your mission. Think of who your mission effects: the leaders you’re training, students you’re educating, the marginalized you’re helping. This WHO has the power to tap into the eternal within all of us.
Think in terms of STEPPING STONES, not the LONG JUMP
I remember the original planned giving websites had so much information packed onto the first page that it was hard to know what to read first. Talk about making a big jump! Most of us take small steps toward our destination, learning along the way. It’s the same thing with planned gifts. Before you ever get to the long jump of the how, you have to walk gingerly over the stepping stones to get to the other side of knowledge. A confused mind always says no.
Instead, think in terms of stepping stones. Inspire planned giving donors with stories of people who have been impacted. The only thing your planned giving website needs to do is inspire a planned giving prospect to take the next step, which is to contact you.
Download Our Free Guide
Download our FREE Marketing Guide to discover three proven strategies that always capture the attention of donors and increase their curiosity about planned gifts.
Putting it all together
It’s easy to talk about what we should do when we communicate, but it’s not always easy to implement these tactics. That’s why, in celebration of our new site, we’re offering a very special deal for organizations to get new planned giving website of their own! Our PGMicrosites are streamlined and effective so planned giving prospects linger longer and find what they need.
Get a Modern Planned Giving Website
A new planned giving website gives you everything you need and nothing that you don’t! The clean, modern, responsive design make it easy for your donors and prospects to engage. Call now to get a PGMicrosite.