Christian Leadership Alliance

Worth the Time

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More to "The Ask" Than Meets the Eye

So you really want to be successful when you ask for a gift?

Practice makes perfect.

A friend of mine was hiring a national sales manager for a $3 billion division of his company. I asked him if the person he was hiring would ever approach a major sales presentation with an attitude of, "Listen, I'm just going to go out on a wing and a prayer and see what happens."

My friend was aghast.

"Are you kidding?" he said. "We get one shot at these deals. We practice, we rehearse, we role play, practice again, role play, talk about the possible objections, discuss every single angle of our response, practice some more, videotape the role play, ask questions about body language and response—and after all that's done, we really start practicing."

"So you take these things pretty seriously?" I remarked, tongue in cheek.

"Bob, we get one shot, my friend, just one."

I've never forgotten that.

Then I think back on all the fundraising presentations I've witnessed, and I chuckle—or cry. How many of those fundraisers or CEOs or Board members really took the time to prepare for an ask? I don't mean a loose conversation 30 minutes beforehand, but how many took the stewardship of the opportunity as seriously as my friend's company does? Granted, my friend works for a publicly-traded company that doesn't give a rip about advancing the Kingdom of God. They have a vision, all right—to grow their business aggressively and, pardon the inference here, to take their sales very, very seriously.

So how about us? How about those of us in the most important industry in the world—advancing the Kingdom of God? How seriously do we take the one shot we have to "ask?" What kind of stewards are we? I'm afraid to report that, often, we approach such monumental moments haphazardly, without practice, without rehearsal, without role play, and without much thought.

If we've got one shot, and one shot only, let me invite you to consider approaching such an opportunity with more intentionality, more concern, more preparation, and a bit more Christ-likeness. How do I mean?

Moves Strategy

Here are some questions to ask as you build up to the strategic and vital invitation or "ask" of your donors.

• Do we plan the necessary steps to the actual invitation? Have we considered every dimension of the invitation that sets us up to be successful?

• Have we "ordered our steps" to include research that helps us ensure we are asking for the right amount?

I know of a man who was asked to consider a gift of $250,000 to a very special project. The total project would cost $2 million. "You obviously don't know me too well," the donor said to the fundraiser. "Go back to your office, spend some time really understanding me and my family. Do some research and call me back." The fundraiser researched, studied, and confirmed that the project was an ideal fit for the donor, so he returned, but this time he asked for the whole $2 million. He also suggested to the donor that they name the building after the founder. The donor replied, "Excellent job! This project is exactly what our family would purpose to invest in."

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