As a follow up to our webinar about remote gift officers and continuing our remote work-themed content, we wanted to give you some insight into the different sales tools and products that we use here at EverTrue to keep us connected with our customers and prospects. This way, we can build strong relationships without leaving our desks! Or in this case, our houses.
Even beyond the scope of COVID-19, remote work is becoming increasingly more common, and we know that frontline fundraisers can’t be everywhere at once. These sales tools will help your team build stronger relationships with more constituents without the added burden of travel:
1. Vidyard
Let’s face it. Emails are not the most personalized or engaging way to get the attention of a prospective donor. That’s where Vidyard comes in. We use this online video platform to create personalized emails for the folks on the other end of our outreach. It’s super easy to record, upload and embed the videos into emails.
In a world that has been dominated by automation, asking people for thousands of dollars shouldn’t be done through generic templates and automated emails. Let your donors know that you a) aren’t a robot and b) have done your research and know what they care about.
Pro Tip: As you can see below in a recent campaign, Brent
knows that some thoughtful humor can go a long way.
2. Calendly
Sometimes the hardest part about getting a meeting is actually scheduling it. That’s why we streamline the process with Calendly. This online appointment scheduling software is a personal favorite of mine because of how simple it is to use. Just sync your calendar and copy your personalized link as a hyperlink and VOILA!
Potential donors that want to book time on your calendar can do it directly in your email, and you can even link specific meeting times so that contacts can pick the time that works the best for them in only two clicks!
The best part? Calendly creates the calendar invite for both you and the attendee and you can adjust your personal settings to send them reminders when the meeting is approaching. Like magic.
An example of an email from Brent using Calendly to schedule a meeting.
3. Zoom
Have you ever landed a meeting with a donor you had been trying to connect with forever but the flight across the country just isn’t justifiable? Or maybe you’re grounded to do COVID-19 concerns? What did you do next?
At EverTrue we ALWAYS prefer video calls to a phone call. Video calls do more than put a face to the name – they allow you to connect more deeply with your donors. Zoom is our favorite video conferencing software. You might have even used it talking with your customer success manager or on one of our recent webinars!
In addition to hosting high definition video and conference calls, Zoom has easy to use chat and screen sharing features. You can even record and save all of your meetings for you to reference after the call. We’ve found that video meetings are often just as productive as in-person meetings and are significantly more cost- and time-effective.
4. Slack
Internal communication is crucial for working together on projects, getting quick questions answered, and most importantly, looking at pictures of each other’s dogs. While most of this post is focused on external communications, effective communication within your shop is arguably more important.
Slack allows users to have both private and group conversions without sending countless emails back and forth. In a time where COVID-19 has forced more companies to operate remotely, it is more important than ever to stay in touch with colleagues throughout the day, even if you’re not physically present in the office.
Molly Hall, Senior Sales Executive shares photos of her puppy Mabel in Slack.
5. LinkedIn
We all have social media? Right?
While we love our friends on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, we’ve found that we get the most accomplished on LinkedIn.
Being able to ‘like’ or ‘comment’ on a recent job change or published article is a quick touchpoint to donors that can go a long way. See someone in your university’s network that could be helpful to your prospect? Message them the profile URL.
LinkedIn is all about networking and just one way to connect with prospects is to deliver value by helping them grow their professional network. By connecting with folks in your portfolio, your LinkedIn feed will automatically keep you up-to-date on what they are up to, articles they are interested in, and job updates.
Brent and Regan Holt, Senior Director of Product, interact with contacts on LinkedIn.
Learn more about remote work or advancement during the COVID-19 outbreak.