Streamlining donor qualification: Utilize this powerful discovery visit question…
If you are struggling to quickly qualify who your true prospective major gift donors are from your first visit with them, all you really need to ask is one essential high-impact question… the “continuum question.”
Allow me to break down my widely successful “continuum question” that I honed in on after years of discovery visits serving various frontline fundraiser roles so you can make it your own and put it into practice to qualify your true major gift prospects today.
Here’s how it goes…
After establishing trust and building rapport with a prospective donor I (almost) never leave a first/discovery visit together without respectfully asking the following:
“In my role as [job title] for [organization] I always want to meet each person based on their own interests and needs and there is definitely a continuum.
On one end of the continuum: Some people I meet with just want to learn more information about [the organization] or a specific program or have a specific issue or question they would like to know more about. I am happy to connect you with either information or people who could provide the info you are interested in.
In the middle of the continuum: Some people I meet with want to find out how to get involved or volunteer in meaningful ways with [the organization.] I am happy to work together to potentially find a great fit through engagement opportunities.
Ultimately, the majority of people I work most closely with end up making significant charitable investments in [the organization] and, if so, I would love to have a conversation about opportunities to make a meaningful difference for [the population we serve.]
Where do you see yourself falling on this continuum?”
Then what…
After you ask the continuum question the most important thing is to stop talking. Silence on your part lets them think and earnestly respond.
Based on their reaction and response, you will instantly know if they are a qualified potential major gift donor or not and they tell you the game plan for engaging them (or not) going forward.
Often potential donors will follow up with a question to me: “What does a significant gift look like or mean?” I love that question because it becomes an open door where you are invited in to talk about any number of opportunities - including giving societies, impact opportunities, endowed gift minimums.
Keep in mind…
I have found that asking “where do you see yourself fitting on this continuum” has been received as a polite, disarming and thought-provoking question that gets to the heart of people’s wishes in a non-confrontational way. It is a gentle way for people to take an “out” and tell you that they are not interested in giving to your organization anytime soon.
While the question is designed to be polite, there are a handful of donors who may find it too direct or transactional. Use your best judgement. There are certain discovery meetings that are spent talking through sensitive issues and/or you are struggling to build genuine rapport. If that is the case, you probably don’t want to ask a question like that at that time.
The lesson learned with this question…
Before I stumbled upon the continuum question and made sure I asked it during discovery visits I ended up making a lot of assumptions. Without asking someone outright where they saw themselves on this continuum, I assumed so many of the prospects in my portfolio were actual major gift prospects in the near future when they did not see themselves that way. I spent a lot of time cultivating prospects through multiple visits and engagement opportunities who, when I finally got to the gift conversation, declined to make a significant gift. I learned the hard way how important it is to find out donor interest and intent to give from the beginning.
Why does qualifying (and disqualifying) potential donors matter?
As the Veritus Group smartly points out:
Only 1 of 3 (or 4 or 5) prospective donors you outreach to will actually want to relate to you.
You only have 18 days a month to talk to donors, and you want to manage that time wisely.
Your organization (and you) need to be a good steward of the funds that have been invested in you. Each caseload donor has a real cost, so major gift officers can’t be spending a lot of your time with people who are not interested in ever making a significant gift to your organization.
If you are a frontline fundraiser or someone else who works closely with potential donors, try the continuum question out for yourself. I would love to hear how it goes. I have had teams of fundraisers try it out and make the question their own with wildly successful results. If you have your own way of asking a similar question, I’d love to hear that too. It is fantastic learning from each other!
If you have any questions or need further guidance, connect with me.
I’m here to support you!
Good luck — you got this!
Jen Stirling
Principal Consultant, Brighter Philanthropy —
Fundraising consulting for higher ed and K-12
As your partner, I’ll bring my considerable expertise, high-energy efficiency, optimistic realism, relational approach, and fresh perspective to guide your team and help your institution reach its goals, enabling more students to thrive. I offer support for campaign services, development organization assessments, staff coaching and board development.
