How to win friends and influence people was one of the first self-help books ever published. Written by Dale Carnegie in 1936, it has been constantly in print and sold millions of copies world-wide.
I don't know if Dale ever turned his hand to fundraising, but when he laid out his views on how you can make people like you, he might well have had our profession in mind.
Follow these principles in your communications with donors and you won't go far wrong...
- Be genuinely interested in your donors.
- Smile (be nice to them).
- Remember that a person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
- Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
- Talk in terms of the other person's interests,
- Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.
If you are interested in learning a little more, this video might be of help...
Thank you for this post Mark! I first read Dale Carnegie's classic back in my first (and only) actual "sales" position, selling newspaper advertising. It made a huge difference to how I approached my work. It's interesting, too, that a colleague and I were recently discussing the fact that "sales is a dirty word to some fundraisers." It shouldn't be! And "How to Win Friends and Influence People" should be on every fundraiser's bookshelf.
Posted by: Pamela Grow | Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 11:52 AM