Phone a thon

[Galway Eagle]

So boxing doesn't bring in enough to pay tuition (I'm no Mayweather) so I have to work at the phone a thon on campus.  I was wondering if any of you could tell me how you prefer to be talked to when getting hit up for money by MU.  I mean they tell us to ask for $300 right off the bat but I feel like doing that were missing some people who'd donate a smaller sum occasionally.  Thoughts or suggestions? Because with every sale I make I get a dollar bonus

[reinko]

Solid question.  $300 is too high in IMHO.

As for how I liked to be talked too...any information you have about me, and if you can relate that at all to our conversation.  I think being personable, energetic, compliments always play well (thanking for past donations).  The last phone a thon call I got, was a very nice young lady, she opened up the call with something like. 

Hi, I am xxx, I am xxx at MU this year, I am calling to talk you about donating to Marquette tonight, but before all that, I would love to have a few minutes of your time to talk to you how about how MU has and will continue to change my life.  Do you have some time?

Then from there, she talked about community service, her major, the friendships she made...It was a great call.  Not canned, or stale...Understand that not all folks have that type of style, but it was refreshing to hear from someone explain how important MU was for them. 

Good luck.

[mu_hilltopper]

I gotta figure, like me, most people hate being asked over the phone.  Even those who are inclined to give, just hate being put on the spot.

$300 does seem high, unless your list of calls are alums whose kids are already out of college.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Start off with looking at the year we graduated....tailor your message to the Warriors name from there.

Honestly, I don't answer the phone when I see IU, MU, KU etc call.  The only time they call is for $$ and everyone knows it.  I'll donate on my own, otherwise I keep the donations to Juvenile Diabetes, Heart Assoc, Alzheimer's, and Special Olympics.

Good luck, you have a tough job. 

[MarsupialMadness]

I worked at Phon-A-Thon for 2 years while on campus.  It was the worst job I have ever had, and the worst job I will ever have.  Nothing is worse than reading scripts asking people for money.

My advice - be genuine.  Alums can tell when you're reading a script and many of them (us) can be very mean.  Many are also very nice and you can hear some good stories about life on campus.

Don't schedule yourself to work on nights when the Packers are playing - people get very angry when you interupt them watching the Pack.  

And then of course there are the "hot button" issues that the University doesn't want you to talk about.  That abortion professor, name change, etc.  As crazy as it sounds, people still hold grudges.  "I won't donate a dollar until they change the name back to Warriors!"  Those people are a lost cause, just forget about them.

We didn't have the "dollar bonus" when I worked there.  We literally made $6.25/hr working 8 hours a week (this was only 10 years ago).  By my second semester there, I dreaded absolutely every 4-hour shift.  BUT - it's not like there are many "good" campus jobs, and money is money to a student, I get that.

So good luck.  There are many good alums out there that, even if they don't donate, they will still engage in a conversation with you.  A lot will just hang up on you.  Many more will yell at you because they have some sort of grudge with the University dating back 30 years.  

Finally - if you really want to make a 'sale', just talk up the Blue and Gold fund.  That's where all the money comes in.

Good Luck.

[Galway Eagle]

Thanks this is all great.  I mean I've heard of people giving thousands which is why they tell us $300 but my group is the recent (past 5yrs) grads many of which are people I should've graduated with and I know we can't afford that.  

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Thanks this is all great.  I mean I've heard of people giving thousands which is why they tell us $300 but my group is the recent (past 5yrs) grads many of which are people I should've graduated with and I know we can't afford that.  

For recent grads (last 10 years), I'd play up the B&G fund for ticket points, and also look to get a multi-year pledge with smaller amount each year than a $300 donation up front.  When we had our 10 year reunion year a few years back, MU gave us the option to pledge $X over a five year period.  It all counted towards our class gift, but was spread out.  Was a lot less painful to cut those multiple smaller checks than it was to cut 1 big one, especially with young kids.

It's also too bad that MU never followed up after our initial payment, as I don't think we ever finished paying that pledge amount.

[mu_hilltopper]

Seriously?  Asking 22-27 year olds for $300?   Might as well ask them for $3,000.

[MarsupialMadness]

"Would you be able to make a gift of $300 this evening?"

No, I don't have $300 to spare.

"I understand Sir, money is certainly tight for all of us these days.  Would you be able to make a smaller gift of $200 tonight?"

No, I really don't have any money to donate at this time.

"I know where you're coming from Sir, how about a one-time gift of $100?"

::hangs us::

[GGGG]

I gotta figure, like me, most people hate being asked over the phone.  Even those who are inclined to give, just hate being put on the spot.

Hate it or not, it is the most cost-effective way of raising annual fund money.  People ignore e-mail, US Mail, etc.  Not everyone can be asked in person.

I have removed myself from MU's phonathon.  That is the best way to get them not to call you.

[Galway Eagle]

"Would you be able to make a gift of $300 this evening?"

No, I don't have $300 to spare.

"I understand Sir, money is certainly tight for all of us these days.  Would you be able to make a smaller gift of $200 tonight?"

No, I really don't have any money to donate at this time.

"I know where you're coming from Sir, how about a one-time gift of $100?"

::hangs us::

Yeah that about sums it up. 

[melissasmooth]

I guess that is something I can look forward to in the next few years.

[MUfan12]

My favorite phoneathon call came last year...

"We're calling season ticket holders to see if you'd be interested in making a donation to the Blue and Gold fund."

"Alright..."

"Do you go to a lot of basketball games?"

"Yep, every home game."

"Are you aware that the men's basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament?"

"Uh, yeah."

Conversation didn't last much longer after that.

[melissasmooth]

yeah, roommate did the calling thing last year, hated it

[Galway Eagle]

yeah, roommate did the calling thing last year, hated it

It's not terrible and as far as campus jobs go its better on your resume than being a glorified cab driver or person sitting around at a desk swiping IDs

[Jay Bee]

yeah, roommate did the calling thing last year, hated it

pics?

[melissasmooth]

It's not terrible and as far as campus jobs go its better on your resume than being a glorified cab driver or person sitting around at a desk swiping IDs

I agree. I think it's all about having the right frame of mind going into a job like that.

[melissasmooth]

pics?

haha, I was warned about this site

[Coleman]

haha, I was warned about this site

Oh just wait. Welcome, by the way.

[Eldon]

Great question.  $300 is a bit much for new grads.  It's been a while since I got a call, but I don't remember them suggesting a particular figure, I only recall them asking for money.

I'm surprised that they suggest any dollar amount at all.  It seems more marketing-savvy to implicitly assume that the person will in fact donate and let the donor decide how much to give, say, by asking "how much are you able to give today."  This question assumes you already will be giving at least some amount.  Or, perhaps an even better strategy, is to suggest two donations--say, either $300 or $65.  Let them know that it goes directly toward scholarships.  Now the person won't feel bad about saying 'no' to donating $300 because he can still give the suggested amount of $65. 

I believe that in marketing research this is called 'independence of irrelevant alternatives', though this has a slightly different meaning in economics.  Theory and data both show that people are more willing to buy, say, a $175 digital camera if it is placed next to one that costs a lot more money than when the same camera is isolated from the other, more expensive cameras.

Recently, I got a little card in the mail asking me to donate a small amount.  It had checkboxes for $10 $25 and $100, if I remember correctly.  I know people generally ignore mail relative to a direct phone call, but it's a step in the right direction, in my opinion.

I think asking for smaller donations from more people sounds more promising than hoping for bigger donations from fewer people.  I attend the Philadelphia alum club/chapter events and we always have raffles where we basically willingly overpay for some MU item (eg key chain, tshirt, etc).  That usually raises a couple hundred bucks or so, which we're told goes to scholarships for current and/or potential MU students.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Hate it or not, it is the most cost-effective way of raising annual fund money.  People ignore e-mail, US Mail, etc.  Not everyone can be asked in person.

I have removed myself from MU's phonathon.  That is the best way to get them not to call you.

You are correct.  I use telemarketing to this day as a major tactic for our business.  Many people hate it, but I can prove out a positive ROI.  That being said, as much as we use the tactic and call 100's of thousands of customers a month, I don't like getting the calls myself.  The difference also is that we're usually pitching a deal (free for 3 months, etc) where these types of programs MU is doing are straight PLEASE DONATE.

Tough jobs. 

In 1999 when we hired Crean, one of the first things I had him do was get him, his staff and all the players on the phone and call every single season ticket holder, single game purchaser (if we had their info).  He didn't bat an eye, they got right to it and did it.  No asking of money, just a straight call to say thank you, new sheriff in town, we would love for you to come out to the games.  An expensive tactic, but the right thing to do....I doubt MU has the resources to do that where students just call to say thank you and nothing else.  Calling "just because".  If they have the resources (maybe they already do it), I think it could score some points for when the pitch comes later on.  IMO

[Jay Bee]

In 1999 when we hired Crean, one of the first things I had him do was get him, his staff and all the players on the phone and call every single season ticket holder, single game purchaser (if we had their info).  He didn't bat an eye, they got right to it and did it.  No asking of money, just a straight call to say thank you, new sheriff in town, we would love for you to come out to the games.  An expensive tactic, but the right thing to do....I doubt MU has the resources to do that where students just call to say thank you and nothing else.  Calling "just because".  If they have the resources (maybe they already do it), I think it could score some points for when the pitch comes later on.  IMO

Wonder if he did this at Indiana? Maybe it worked well and that's part of the reason the school was cool with giving him a massive, amortizing $16 million buyout (reported to and by the masses as a max of $8 million).

Nonetheless, I think it's a good idea to have student-athletes make some calls.. when I've had season tickets at other schools I think I've always gotten such a call.. each year.. not a player from the specific sport, but a scholarship athlete.. "hi, just calling to say thanks for supporting our athletics programs, really appreciate it.. have a great day"

Of course, I look at it more as, "cripes, why are you wasting my time.. calling for no reason", but I think the average person does appreciate it.

For some of us weirdos, calling right after a big win would be smart. If some dork would have called me after Jimmy Butler's shot at St. John's and said, "hey! did you see that shot?!!!! Can you spare a little cheddar to help student-athletes like JFB?" I might have wired a small fortune over to MU.

[melissasmooth]

Oh just wait. Welcome, by the way.

thanks!

[GGGG]

Great question.  $300 is a bit much for new grads.  It's been a while since I got a call, but I don't remember them suggesting a particular figure, I only recall them asking for money.

I'm surprised that they suggest any dollar amount at all.  It seems more marketing-savvy to implicitly assume that the person will in fact donate and let the donor decide how much to give, say, by asking "how much are you able to give today."  This question assumes you already will be giving at least some amount.  Or, perhaps an even better strategy, is to suggest two donations--say, either $300 or $65.  Let them know that it goes directly toward scholarships.  Now the person won't feel bad about saying 'no' to donating $300 because he can still give the suggested amount of $65.

I think what they should do is base it upon what they gave previously plus about a 10% upgrade.  Very easy to calculate.

The worry when they do something like that is that you might be leaving money on the table, and while that might be true, you also have to worry about coming off like you are unsympathetic to their actual capabilities.  Also you want to have callers that have had some success because it builds up their confidence, etc.

[melissasmooth]

call me a few years after graduation