Why your prospects won’t work...

February has bloody flown by, eh? If I had a pound for every time I’d heard ‘January lasted forever, but February disappeared in a blink’ then I’d have enough money to get you to your fundraising target in a single donation…

February was full of excitement for Fireside - and for me personally. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my sister was due to give birth (the first child in my immediate family) and the last fortnight has been spent doting on Baby Charlie between occasional workshops and inbox cleaning sprees. If we’ve been slow to get back to you, know it was for a good reason…

…Because I’ve had my hands full (literally!), I asked our Research Lead Lucy for an idea as to what we should be speaking about this week, and she said that she was having the same conversation a lot at the moment - the basic reasons a prospect won’t work.

1. You only think they’re a good fit because they have lots of money.

It can be tempting to look at a prospect and see pound signs… But just because a company has lots of money doesn’t mean they’re going to give you any. You need to have a reason that the partnership makes sense. An explanation that means shareholders, colleagues and customers will look at the partnership and think ‘oh, yeah, that makes sense’. This fit can be a shared audience like Cadburys and Age UK, a shared ambition like Dove and UNICEF or a shared problem like Ring Doorbells and Dogs Trust - but there needs to be something shared.

2. The company doesn’t have an obvious need.

If you can’t see something in it for the company, there’s no reason for them to take your meeting. Corporate workers are being bombarded by requests on a daily basis - from sales people, from their managers, from their partners back at home… they simply can’t keep up.

If you don’t have an obvious reason to prioritise your request, they simply won’t. It could be that you make their brand stand out from a particular competitor, it could be that you give them a reason to bring colleagues back to the office… but you need to be offering something.

3. The timing isn’t right.

This is probably the biggest killer of good prospect approaches. If they’ve just announced a new charity partnership, or they’ve just announced a major restructure… it might not be the moment. You might burn the lead just by showing you haven’t paid any attention. In these cases, it’s worth coming back in six months rather than getting frustrated that they’re not prioritising you - even though they literally can’t. 

It’s worth looking back through your pipeline and asking yourself: is there an obvious fit? Is there something in it for them? Is now the right time?

If you’re struggling to say ‘yes’ and you need to top up your pipeline with better leads, get in touch. Whether you want a ‘here’s how to do it’ training or a ‘we’ll do it for you’ service… we can give your pipeline the glow-up it needs.