This training is for advancement professionals, particularly frontline fundraisers and donor relations staff who want to learn how to respond to objections in meaningful ways that move conversations forward. If you manage frontline fundraisers, invite your team to this training. Leadership annual giving directors, officers, and advancement services and support staff will also benefit by attending this training.

February 24, 2022

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern

This webcast will prepare you to overcome objections in the two most common stages of the fundraising cycle:

Qualification and Discovery

As you build a relationship with a prospect, comfort and confidence to respond to objections are required to further, and deepen, the conversation. In fact, when you listen to objections at this stage of the fundraising cycle, it shows that you’re attentively listening to the conversation. Whether these initial objections are focused on social justice issues, COVID-19 research, or leadership decisions made at the institution, you will learn the importance of being prepared by using probing questions to better understand your prospect’s hesitation to give.

Solicitation

At this stage of the fundraising cycle, it is common for others to be present in the conversation or nearby when you ask for the gift. As a result, it’s important that everyone on your team is comfortable with overcoming objections. To prevent failure for the work that has been done up to this point in the conversation with the prospective donor, having the confidence and energy to turn objections into a gift is essential. You will learn how to prepare to overcome objections in the solicitation stage by practicing how to respond to concerns regarding gift details, such as fees or purpose, or a concern specific to a current campus issue.