Fundraising is the lifeblood of most nonprofit organizations. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to have an impact on the problem we see. Or serve the communities that need us most. Yet, while the world has spun on its axis to accommodate virtual interactions, email marketing just isn’t cutting it when it comes to conversion rates. From dealing with overloaded inboxes, strict spam filters and impersonal interactions, telemarketing for nonprofits is rapidly becoming the best strategy. Discover how to use telemarketing to increase your nonprofit support by maximizing your nonprofit membership renewal rates with a personal touch.
Also read:
- 7 Ways to Increase Association Membership
- 10 Best Practices For Nonprofit Membership Retention
- The Best Membership Management Software for Nonprofits
Why is nonprofit membership retention so important?
Maintaining a healthy membership renewal rate is vital to your organization’s financial security and, ultimately, its longevity. Yet, the benefits go well past this. For example, it helps build better member-member relationships because many people join organizations to connect with like-minded people and take advantage of networking opportunities.
A healthy membership renewal rate will ensure that your organization is still engaging those same industry professionals and experts, thus providing more benefits to your current members.
It also frees up time for your organization that you would spend focusing on how to source revenue. Now you can spend that time deciding how to diversify revenue best to make the most impact for members and communities alike.
Why use telemarketing for increasing nonprofit membership renewal rates?
The fact is, if a member has lapsed their membership, it’s likely a reason why. It could simply be that they forgot, but in this case, they’ll probably renew within 30 days by themselves. However, if they still haven’t renewed after this time, it signals that they need more from your organization. You need to provide them with personal interaction which resonates with them. That’s where telemarketing for nonprofits comes into increasing membership renewal rates.
How to use telemarketing to increase membership renewals
Want to increase your membership renewal rate like The New York State Bar Association, which achieved an impressive ROI of 450% using a telemarketing campaign? Discover how to get use telemarketing below to increase your support:
Prepare for questions & objections
Whether you choose to operate your membership renewal telemarketing campaign with the help of external or internal staff, you need to prepare them to answer the same questions and, unfortunately, objections.
To ensure your campaign is effective, spend some time preparing your team with the information they’ll need to make successful calls. No one wants to feel ill-equipped to place a call, especially one with such a big ask. So be ready to overcome potential roadblocks by brainstorming the common questions and objections members have when renewing their membership.
Start each call with a smile
Don’t dial until you are in a positive state of mind. Rejection is a part of increasing membership renewal rates, and you are likely to hear a lot of “no” before you hear a “yes.” You can’t let it get you down because it is easy for the member to listen to self-doubt and desperation in your voice. So, do what you need to get pumped before each call, whether it is power posing, reading a few inspirational quotes, or simply smiling.
Be clear and concise with intentions
Remember, calling members will take time out of their probably busy day. To immediately relay respect and gratitude, ask the member if they have time to talk to you. Then, set out your intentions for the call in a clear, concise, and easy-to-understand way. That way, they’ll be more receptive to what you have to say, or if it’s not the right time, they may schedule a time to call you back.
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Whether you have a specific goal, troublesome problem or a new exciting opportunity you need assistance navigating -AMC’s customized strategic planning sessions will help.
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