New phone features highlight the importance of voicemails and follow-up during fundraising calls
More recently, there have been efforts to automatically send suspected incoming robocalls to a recipient’s voicemail, rather than ringing the phone at all. As of September 2020, for example, all Verizon customers have this feature for free and auto-enabled on devices running on iOS 14. And many more people can optionally turn on features that will automatically silence any incoming call from a number not saved in their phones, sending it directly to voicemail.
The goal of these efforts is clear: to isolate people from the barrage of scams, robocalls, and other spam trying to reach them via phone every day. As we discussed in our prior article, the best way to avoid being caught in a spam filter is to avoid acting in a spammy way — and we identify many best practices for engaging your donors and prospective donors in a respectful way that will maintain a “positive phone number reputation” (and ultimately raise more money!).
But as more protective programs are put in place, inevitably more calls will get inadvertently stifled — but there are still things you can do to ensure you reach your intended recipient:
Leave a voicemail
There are some who advise candidates and fundraisers to skip leaving a voicemail, arguing it saves time to do so and suggesting people don’t listen to their voicemails anyway. This is outdated, and somewhat misguided.
It is outdated because technology now empowers you to leave a pre-recorded voicemail with the click of a button, adding almost no time to the process. (Many recipients also are able to quickly consume the content of a voicemail because of auto-transcription services that are standard on many phones.) It is misguided because it misunderstands the core purpose of leaving a voicemail: to indicate to the recipient that you are genuinely trying to reach them and speak with them, and that you are not merely a telemarketer trying to meet a quota for the day.
Send a follow up text message
Following up with someone after you’ve spoken is critical, but too many campaigns forget they need to send a follow-up even after they’ve unsuccessfully attempted to reach someone. Sending a very brief text message immediately after you leave someone a voicemail can significantly increase their likelihood of returning your call.
Remember: you want the recipient to understand that you think of them as a person — not as a transaction or just another name on a list. If you treat them like they are interchangeable with anyone else you are trying to reach, it gives them permission to ignore you as you pursue others.
Sending a quick, personal text message right after you leave someone a voicemail is another way to communicate your authentic desire to connect with them. Again, with the right tools, you can send out this kind of follow-up text with the click of a button (and even personalize it) in almost no time at all. Text messages have a relatively high likelihood of being seen by the recipient fairly soon after it is sent. So- coupled with the voicemail- it can overcome the potential disadvantage of having your call auto-silenced.
Send an advance email that includes your phone number
While emails are also great tools for sending follow-ups, they can be a highly effective way to prepare your recipient for a call. In that email, be sure to let the recipient know that you look forward to reaching them by phone soon, and include your phone number in the email. This could help break through barriers to your call ringing on their phone, because many phones will automatically scan through a user’s emails to try and display the name of an incoming caller, even if they’re not saved in the user’s address book.
In some instances, the recipient may even read the email and any contextual information you provide beforehand and get excited about the forthcoming call, which can only enhance the quality of the conversation and set the relationship up for success. They may even manually save your number from the email you send precisely so they don’t miss your incoming call.
Of course, that’s only likely to happen if you have structured your outreach as an opportunity to build a relationship around a shared vision — not just as a means to a financial end. (You can read more about that here.)
Technology around phone calls will only become more complex. But having a one-on-one conversation with a donor and prospective donors will always be the gold standard for fundraising, because it is the best way to make your fundraising about people and relationships. So don’t be deterred by the changing landscape — subscribe to this blog and we’ll help you adapt and raise the resources you need to power your campaigns.
