Customer Expectations: Pride Cometh Before a Fall

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Customer Expectations: Pride Cometh Before a Fall

Small Business Advice

August 25, 2011

By Robert Brady

Whether you’re selling a product or providing a service, one of the first steps in any business relationship is setting expectations. How you set those expectations can make or break your business relationship.

My Sad Story

A while back I was approached by a client that was looking to improve their online marketing. They had been doing a lot of PPC advertising and weren’t getting the results they wanted. Therefore, they had been getting quotes from numerous Internet marketing agencies for PPC with SEO and social media bundled together. During the process I was told that another agency made the following claim:
“We can get you the same number of conversions on half the spend.”
The reason I learned this was because the client preferred my company, but they wanted to get that half of their spend back. And here is where pride enters the scene.

The Deadliest Sin

In most accounts of the seven deadly sins, pride is the original sin and the most deadly.
Usually, I do not make such bold statements. Perhaps it is my naturally conservative nature or a desire to overdeliver, but I would not have made this type of claim myself. However, I looked at past performance and saw how the other agency had arrived at their claim (there was a lot of spend and a lot of keywords that were not performing). I took the deal without adjusting this expectation.

What Happened?

As you might have guessed from the blog title, I wasn’t able to deliver on the expectation. I did what a good PPC manager should do and plucked out all the best-performing keywords and put them in a shiny new campaign. I used the best ad copy as a baseline and tested new ad copy against it. In theory, it should have worked, but it didn’t.
The client beat me over the head with the expectation over and over. I told them everything I was doing to remedy the problem. I spent hours trying to fix the problem. In the end, I was buried in the grave of unfulfilled expectations.

Setting Proper Expectations

A famous research study by Walter Mischel, a professor of psychology at Stanford, showed that a simple test of delayed gratification was a better predictor of future academic performance than IQ tests. The test? A child was given one marshmallow and told that if he or she could wait until the researcher returned (15 minutes), he or she could have two marshmallows. If they ate the first marshmallow or rang a bell to bring the researcher back early, no second marshmallow.
Expectations are the same way. They may seem like they’re only a small part of the process, but they are powerful predictors of the relationship’s future. Expectations are at the foundation of the relationship. They’re the measuring stick.

What Did I Learn?

Here are a few takeaways I can offer you:

• Know Yourself and Stick to What You Know – If you’re uncomfortable with the initial expectation you’re probably going to be uncomfortable trying to meet it. Save yourself a lot of pain by not letting pride get into the mix.
• Proper Expectations Make Happy Clients/Customers - When people get what they expect, they’re satisfied. If you exceed expectations, they’re ecstatic. Those are the clients that recommend you.
• Own Up to Your Mistakes – If you’ve set expectations too high, reset them as soon as possible. The further along you get, the more trust is lost and the more hard feelings develop. It may cost you the sale, but you have to pay the piper eventually.

About the Author

Robert Brady is the owner and head PPC wizard at Righteous Marketing, a Google AdWord Certified Partner. He can help a small business owner just getting started with Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or a large company that needs to get better results from their PPC management.

Connect with Robert Brady:

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Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 6

August 21, 2011

Peer to Peer Fundraising: Part 6 "Putting the Pieces Together"

The Peer to Peer Fundraising series can help you start revamping the way you traditionally solicited for PAC dollars. What we need to do now is put together a strategic plan to help you begin, and sustain, the "new" way of fundraising; investment in the PAC. 


Just like a jigsaw puzzle, there will be a clear and defined picture once all the pieces are placed together. Its a jumble until then but the effort makes it worth it. How do we go from a jumble to completion?

Part 6 "Putting the Pieces Together"

First, let's recap by laying the pieces out on the table. Based on what we discussed in previous posts we have;

1. What doesn't work.

2. Political synergy.

3. Why you should care.

4. Common roadblocks.

5. What type of fundraiser is best and the type of member the fundraiser will have their best success securing an investment. 

Now what? 


Step 1 - "PAC Trustee 'buy in.'" In order for you to begin you have to recruit your current PAC trustees. Peer to Peer starts with them and will end with them if they are not part of the process from the beginning. Your PAC Chair will need to dedicate time at a trustee meeting to go over the material in the series of presentations to see what will work and what may not work. 
Note: If the size of your PAC board of trustees is small, maybe non existent, recruit your HBA board of directors. After all, the primary focus of the HBA is advocacy.


Step 2 - "Engage the members." Once the trustees are on board with the material, each trustee needs to be assigned small groups of members, no more than 10 at a time. The members should be invited by the HBA president and PAC chair through personal invitations to the selected members. 


Step 3 - "100% saturation." Continue until entire membership has been contacted. This process should continue until all your members have been invited. If you have members who didn't attend after the first attempt, phone calls need to be made and have them say to you personally they can or can not participate. 


Step 4 - "Direct members." While 100% of your membership is admirable as a goal your actual target should be 100% of your builder members and 100% of the directly impacted associates, such as suppliers, trade contractors and service providers who have the vast majority of the business derived by the success of homes being built (home owner warranty companies and title companies as examples).


Step 5 - "Continuing education." Demonstrate to your investors your advocacy successes and highlight the approaching threats, keep them aware at all times. Out of sight out of mind. Quarterly PAC newsletters or emails detailing their "return on investment" will make your job easier at retaining them as regular PAC investors.


Step 6 - "Start 'em young." New members should have PAC orientation as part of becoming a new member. Added benefit; this also shows the new member the purpose of the HBA from the beginning.


Putting all the jumbled pieces together will ultimately bring the mythical puzzle of PAC investment to the forefront and build stronger, more engaged components to the political synergy I wrote about in part 2 of this series. 

This process sounds time consuming, and it certainly is, but the road to increasing your membership percentage in PAC investments has to start somewhere. This is the reason you need dedicated trustees to have this effort be a success. 


There are some who will "think they know it all." If they do why aren't they as successful as they could be with raising political awareness along with raising dollars? How many trustees can point to the members they brought in to PAC originally and can say that those same members come back year after year because of what they were taught?


The Peer to Peer Fundraising techniques will one day, if it becomes and remains successful for you, replace events to raise those dollars. Those events can enjoy the net profits being utilized for HBA operating. But until that day happens you will probably still need PAC fundraisers. Sometimes they'll need to be educational, most times for the enjoyment of the members. Just remember to keep the FUN in FUNdraising when you plan. We all could use some fun these days.

Submitted by: Michael Kurpiel, CGA, CGP

2011 NAHB Associate Members Committee Chair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: This article is based on a section from The NAHB Associates presentation "Peer to Peer Fundraising." 
This type of fundraising will work on all of your HBA events or fundraising initiatives you may have; you just have the supply the core reason for the fundraiser and demonstrate a value to the potential investor. 

Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 5

Peer to Peer Fundraising: Part 5 "Two Types of Fundraisers, Two Types of Members"

There are two types of fundraisers and both are identifying two types of members. It is really that black and white. I will explain why one fund raiser gets immediate results while the other builds for continued political investment. We will also discuss the two types of members and I'm not talking about builders and associates. 

Part 5 "Two Types of Fundraisers, Two Types of Members"

"The Hunter" ~ Think about it for a moment. A hunter goes into the woods in search of his prey. Eventually the object of his quest appears....    


Ready...     Aim... Fire... Done. 
One shot, one kill, over.


The hunter in fundraising has a similar approach. The potential PAC contributor (not investor) is targeted, money was asked for and a check was written. One target, one ask, one check, over. The hunter was able to "bag his 1 for the PAC" but did not set up the potential for the future. 


The Farmer ~ The farmer tills his ground, plants the seeds for his crop. He will supply water and nutrients to aid in the growth of his crops. The farmer knows that he will have continued growth of crops by taking the time and care to nurture. 


The farmer in fundraising will "plant the seeds" of political synergy into the member's mind. He will carefully supply the member with the nutrients which I'll describe as visions of business opportunities. This will almost guarantee that the member being tended to will continue, just like crops, to invest (not contribute) to the PAC.


The differences between the hunter and the farmer, when it comes to fundraising, are very simple and they apply to what we experience within the HBA. The hunter gets one contribution while the farmer has "sown the seeds" for a continuous investment in the building industry. 


Any PAC, local, state or NAHB's, has to have our members understand the importance of the PAC. To give and not understand is pointless. To give because you want to make a difference is the strength of our Federation, our industry.


A farmer knows what ground is fertile and what ground is not even though both look the same. Which brings us to the two types of members I mentioned in the beginning. 


When we think of members within the HBA we think "builder" and we think "associate." Those are the only two classifications of members we have. What I'm talking about is to identify the two types of members that are "fertile" and who are "not so fertile." Those members are classified as DIRECT and INDIRECT.

Direct ~ A direct member is a member who is directly affected by issues affecting the home building industry. 
1. Builders and remodelers.
2. Supplier of product that goes into a new home or renovation.
3. A trade that is needed to help construct a new home or renovation.
4. Any service that solely handles the construction of a new home or renovation.


This group has one purpose when it comes to our industry and that purpose is the start and completion of a new home or remodel.


Indirect ~ is any member who can sell his or her product outside the home building and remodeling industry.
Examples:
1. Insurance companies.
2. Financial services
3. Lending institutions.
4. Law firms
5. Advertising agencies


The list is long so I'll stop with 5 examples but hopefully you will understand that the indirect member is diversified and can work with many industries, not just housing. 




How are the direct member and indirect member different when it comes to political fundraising? The direct has a need for the housing industry to be protected while the indirect member, not so much. Understanding this will help you cultivate a list of potential PAC investors (direct) who will continue to invest or hunt for contributors (indirect) who will sponsor a PAC event when times are better. Indirect members will not invest in our industry's defense on a regular basis because housing is not their primary focus.


Knowing whether or not the member is affected by positive or negative initiatives in our nation's capitol, or in your state capitol, will go along way with becoming successful with Peer to Peer fundraising by streamlining your efforts based on the potential PAC investor's need.
                                  
Next week's blog we will tie all of the Peer to Peer blogs together and develop a strategic plan for your fundraising efforts. 


Submitted by: Michael Kurpiel, CGA, CGP

2011 NAHB Associate Members Committee Chair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: This article is based on a section from The NAHB Associates presentation "Peer to Peer Fundraising." 
This type of fundraising will work on all of your HBA events or fundraising initiatives you may have; you just have the supply the core reason for the fundraiser and demonstrate a value to the potential investor. 

Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 5

This blog is for thoughts regarding the National Association of Home Builders, which includes local and state HBAs. The opinions posted in this blog are NOT OFFICIAL NAHB opinions nor is this blog owned by NAHB but it is intended for NAHB members and staff use.

August 14, 2011

Peer to Peer Fundraising: Part 5 "Two Types of Fundraisers, Two Types of Members"

There are two types of fundraisers and both are identifying two types of members. It is really that black and white. I will explain why one fund raiser gets immediate results while the other builds for continued political investment. We will also discuss the two types of members and I'm not talking about builders and associates. 

Part 5 "Two Types of Fundraisers, Two Types of Members"

"The Hunter" ~ Think about it for a moment. A hunter goes into the woods in search of his prey. Eventually the object of his quest appears....    


Ready...     Aim... Fire... Done. 
One shot, one kill, over.


The hunter in fundraising has a similar approach. The potential PAC contributor (not investor) is targeted, money was asked for and a check was written. One target, one ask, one check, over. The hunter was able to "bag his 1 for the PAC" but did not set up the potential for the future. 


The Farmer ~ The farmer tills his ground, plants the seeds for his crop. He will supply water and nutrients to aid in the growth of his crops. The farmer knows that he will have continued growth of crops by taking the time and care to nurture. 


The farmer in fundraising will "plant the seeds" of political synergy into the member's mind. He will carefully supply the member with the nutrients which I'll describe as visions of business opportunities. This will almost guarantee that the member being tended to will continue, just like crops, to invest (not contribute) to the PAC.


The differences between the hunter and the farmer, when it comes to fundraising, are very simple and they apply to what we experience within the HBA. The hunter gets one contribution while the farmer has "sown the seeds" for a continuous investment in the building industry. 


Any PAC, local, state or NAHB's, has to have our members understand the importance of the PAC. To give and not understand is pointless. To give because you want to make a difference is the strength of our Federation, our industry.


A farmer knows what ground is fertile and what ground is not even though both look the same. Which brings us to the two types of members I mentioned in the beginning. 


When we think of members within the HBA we think "builder" and we think "associate." Those are the only two classifications of members we have. What I'm talking about is to identify the two types of members that are "fertile" and who are "not so fertile." Those members are classified as DIRECT and INDIRECT.

Direct ~ A direct member is a member who is directly affected by issues affecting the home building industry. 
1. Builders and remodelers.
2. Supplier of product that goes into a new home or renovation.
3. A trade that is needed to help construct a new home or renovation.
4. Any service that solely handles the construction of a new home or renovation.


This group has one purpose when it comes to our industry and that purpose is the start and completion of a new home or remodel.


Indirect ~ is any member who can sell his or her product outside the home building and remodeling industry.
Examples:
1. Insurance companies.
2. Financial services
3. Lending institutions.
4. Law firms
5. Advertising agencies


The list is long so I'll stop with 5 examples but hopefully you will understand that the indirect member is diversified and can work with many industries, not just housing. 




How are the direct member and indirect member different when it comes to political fundraising? The direct has a need for the housing industry to be protected while the indirect member, not so much. Understanding this will help you cultivate a list of potential PAC investors (direct) who will continue to invest or hunt for contributors (indirect) who will sponsor a PAC event when times are better. Indirect members will not invest in our industry's defense on a regular basis because housing is not their primary focus.


Knowing whether or not the member is affected by positive or negative initiatives in our nation's capitol, or in your state capitol, will go along way with becoming successful with Peer to Peer fundraising by streamlining your efforts based on the potential PAC investor's need.
                                  
Next week's blog we will tie all of the Peer to Peer blogs together and develop a strategic plan for your fundraising efforts. 


Submitted by: Michael Kurpiel, CGA, CGP

2011 NAHB Associate Members Committee Chair

Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 4: Common Road Blocks

This blog is for thoughts regarding the National Association of Home Builders, which includes local and state HBAs. The opinions posted in this blog are NOT OFFICIAL NAHB opinions nor is this blog owned by NAHB but it is intended for NAHB members and staff use.

August 7, 2011

Peer to Peer Fundraising: Part 4 "Common Road Blocks"

Road blocks are really just excuses in disguise. When some one wants to evade a question there are may ways to avoid the financial ask. It's the old "I can't hear you because I'm going through a tunnel" tactic. It's tough, I won't deny it; overcoming peoples objections to taking money from their wallet and handing it over to you is the ultimate test in persuasion. To clear the roadblock and not get detoured I am going to give you the most common objections, as well as mistakes and misconceptions, with possible ways to persuade the potential political investor that maybe they just don't have any objections at all. Knowing what makes up the HBA's political synergy (described in Part 2 from this series) can really help you to engage the prospective PAC investor. Understanding possible responses to objections may not get you a "yes" but if you don't engage at all the answer will always be "no."

Part 4 "Common Road Blocks"

There really is only one mistake when asking for PAC investments; you need  to understand when asking for the investment do not preach. You may have all this new or refreshed information about political synergy but who you are speaking with (not to) most likely doesn't. It's very easy for those in the "absolute know" to become frustrated that others don't invest already. No one likes being lectured and people will have a tendency to shut down your words in their mind and regard your attempt as "wasting your time." 

Don't get on your soap box and preach just because you understand the message. By utilizing the information you know, you are able to teach the potential investor the reasons why and then you can handle the objections in an easier way. Sales 101 clearly states "ask open ended question." Ask them questions about political synergy such as "how do you think the HBA protects the building industry?" By engaging them in conversation they will feel that you are not just looking for money; you are helping them understand.

Don't Preach, Teach!

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn" a quote from Benjamin Franklin that rings true in any time. 

Let’s go over two of the most common objections you will be given. We are all sales professionals, whether it's selling homes or selling products and services. The reason you receive a "no" is because you didn't supply a "need" or a reason to commit. 

“Low on Funds, No Business!”

Low on funds, particularly in today's economic climate, is a valid concern. When you take an investment dollar amount, let's call it $100, you can't just say $100 dollars. That is looked at as a whole. Break it down into manageable dollar amounts such as $1.93 per week. $100.00 divided by 52 weeks is $1.93. A large cup of coffee is $2.75. An iTunes download is .99 cents. A 16 ounce bottle of water is $1.50.

In other words, you need to demonstrate how low the asking investment cost truly is in the (pardon the over used phrase) grand scheme of things.
No business is an easier road block to navigate. No business is the primary reason to invest in the PAC. HBAs are fighting everyday, on everyone's behalf, to bring relief to the home building industry. If you plan on being in business in a year, and beyond, a continued yearly investment helps to insure that you will have the opportunity to stay in business. 

"Conservatives v Liberals, Republican v Democrats"

"I don't contribute to PACs. They tend to contribute to candidates I don't support because I oppose them on issues that are unrelated to the housing industry. My personal contributions are candidate specific." 


How's that for a "NO?"  The process within political synergy is to identify legislators or candidates that support housing as well as political leaders that are in prominent "seats of persuasion." I am not saying to ignore each potential investor's political views. I'm explaining that being employed is better than being an R or a  D. I have my own political views, and while it feels great to stand on my moral high ground, it feels better to be employed and providing for my family. The housing industry doesn't support one party or another. They support the candidates who are for our industry's recovery and stability. If the potential investor truly earns a living for home building teaching them about the HBA political synergy will demonstrate that HBA staff is doing a fantastic job identifying who support us and who are not interested in helping the home building industry. When you invest you invest for a return. What better return than pro housing legislation which in turn helps you to keep earning?

Now let's talk about BUILD-PAC and the objections, or misconceptions, for investing nationally. Understand that the two previous objections are given on all levels of PAC as well but now we have the objection to contributing federally. 

"Which PAC is more important; local & state or NAHB's?"

Builders are most directly affected by local and state governments. Federal politics affect builders all over the country. The United States Congress is the only government entity that has the power to help our industry right now. Contrary to Tip O'Neill's popular belief not all politics are local. We live in a new world, "global housing" economy. A balance has to be achieved when investing in PACs, within a particular state and NAHB. When people invest they generally invest dollars in multiple areas. The same holds true for our industry's PACs. The available dollar is a lot smaller today and members will want to feel that their investment is helping. Demonstrate examples of  national victories as well as state victories and what affect it has on homes being built, in turn, products and services being sold.

One last road block that has nothing to do with asking for a dollar investment is asking other members to invest time, volunteering within the political synergy.

"Time is short, I can't volunteer"

I only have one answer for that statement and it is a bit harsh but it is reality. If you aren't working you'll have all the time you'll need. Don't rely on others to "handle it."  Become a part of the association that takes positive action which benefits everyone's livelihoods.

Next week we will discuss the two types of fundraisers and which style is best. We will also take a look at the two types of members we ask to invest, and no, I'm not talking about builders and associates. 

Submitted by: Michael Kurpiel, CGA, CGP

2011 NAHB Associate Members Committee Chair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 3

This blog is for thoughts regarding the National Association of Home Builders, which includes local and state HBAs. The opinions posted in this blog are NOT OFFICIAL NAHB opinions nor is this blog owned by NAHB but it is intended for NAHB members and staff use.

 

Peer to Peer Fundraising: Part 3 "Why Should YOU Care?"

"The Great Housing Industry Depression" has taught us quite a lot but the most important lesson will help us deliver a better explanation on why members should care about political investing. That lesson is what happens when some initiative tries to slow down or stop housing.                                                

This post, which will be short but extremely to the point, should help the general member clearly understand the reasons why they should care as we hope to stop the apathy attached to investing in our PAC.

Part 3 "Why Should You Care?"

In our last post we brought political synergy to the forefront and explained the working parts of a cohesive effort. Now we will show you exactly why you, the builder member should care.

Let's list for the builder the "problem" areas:

1. Government legislation

2. EPA regulations
3. Environmental organizations
4. The N.I.M.B.Y. (not in my back yard) mentality
5. Or any other anti-housing group

Pick anyone, combine a few or just add them all together. They have one thing in common; the desire, obsession in some cases,  to slow down or completely shut down home building. 

What we are experiencing right now is not necessarily the affects of any of the 5 listed items, but number 1 can most certainly HELP our efforts to get back to work sooner rather than later. 

Quite a few builders have been in this business most of their adult lives. Some are second or third generation builders. That is a testament to their love of home building.


The affects of legislation or regulation certainly can hurt us at any time if we are not a sturdy Three-Legged Stool (see Political Synergy post). Builders pay for many types of insurance but the majority seem to have an "I could care less" attitude about investing in the PAC which is like a political insurance. 

Why should associate members care? 

Take a really hard look at the picture above with the "sorry, we're closed" sign. Exactly what our industry has been experiencing.

Now take a look at this picture below:

Dramatic? Yes. Is it realistic? Unfortunately for quite a few, yes.


We have stressed in multiple posts before this; "if 'it' affects a builder 'it' will affect associates." We stressed this for a reason and we are all living it right now with lack of sales. "Why SHOULDN'T you care" is the question I have for you. This is harsh, I know. I fully expect some members to be taken aback by the "out of work associate" picture. However, if I turned one associate around by this by lifting the political apathy, well then I have brought one more passionate member into our grass roots efforts. I'm quite positive that I have more than one associate thinking about all of this.

Finally the ULTIMATE reason why you, the member, should care:

There are 4 types of members in our Federation:

1. Those who make things happen

2. Those who watch things happen

3. Those who wonder what happened

4. And the worst of all; those who sit back and watch things happen and then complain the loudest when those things do happen.

Which type of member do you want to be? Do you care?

Next week’s blog post will be about common objections to investing and how to turn those objections into non issues.

Submitted by: Michael Kurpiel, CGA, CGP

2011 NAHB Associate Members Committee Chair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE: This article is based on a section from The NAHB Associates presentation "Peer to Peer Fundraising." 
This type of fundraising will work on all of your HBA events or fundraising initiatives you may have; you just have the supply the core reason for the fundraiser and demonstrate

Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 2

Peer to Peer Fundraising, Part 1

This blog is for thoughts regarding the National Association of Home Builders, which includes local and state HBAs. The opinions posted in this blog are NOT OFFICIAL NAHB opinions nor is this blog owned by NAHB but it is intended for NAHB members and staff use.

This is part 1 in an effort to give you some good reasons and ammunition for political fund raising

 

 

Peer to Peer Fundraising: Part 1 "What Doesn't Work?"

"What Doesn't Work" is the title of this post and, I know, this is supposed to HELP you with your fundraising efforts, not criticize. If this series of articles is going to help you understand how to effectively fund-raise we have to start off with things that really do not work to the degree we would all hope. Please take my comments regarding what each and every HBA does for member contact as it pertains to fundraising as "tongue in cheek" but with some truths in the observations.

Part 1 "What Doesn't Work?" 

The need for political fundraising occurs and the usual group of members gather and come up with an idea for a fundraiser. Now most ideas are worthwhile while some are just not going to produce interest from the members. I'm not going to tell you what are good ideas and what are bad ideas. Each area of the country decides that based on demographics and regional make up. However what I will tell you is that all the HBAs go about it the same way:

1. Need for dollars.

2. A meeting to discuss fundraising event.

3. Decision on the event is made.

4. The usual process for "the chasing of dollars" begins:

Mass mailing to general membership

Yes, the old tried and beaten method is up and running again. The idea for a PAC event is sent out to the entire membership with the hopes that the envelope was attractive enough to gain the recipient's attention long enough so that your PAC mailing is opened. 

What we don't know is how much mail the general member receives on a daily basis. Your mailing could very well end up here:

You just might have some success in getting the member to really give your mailing enough attention that they will sign up for the event. But then again, when they see the dollar amount that you're asking for the mailing maybe left on that cluttered desk or it may be filed below in the circular filing cabinet:

Next?

Advertised and announced in your HBA publication

It look good, doesn't it? Your event in color and for all to see. It explains the particulars and, of course, there is probably a registration piece and the dollar amount. Most newsletters that are sent to members offices usually end up go to their "library:"

Think about it and be very honest; am I right or am I right?? I don't mean to be graphic but when you are in "read mode" the chances of you calling your HBA to sign up for the event, and are also ready to write a check or give your credit card number over your cell phone at that precise moment, is slim to none. The chances you may bring the publication with you from the "library" may be slightly better. Mostly likely your publication will be placed with a three year old Readers Digest and The Bathroom Game Book.

Next?

Blast emails to your membership distribution list

.

The email is drafted and approved. The distribution list is selected, BCC of course, and you click send. That was extremely easy. Your email is now going to quite a few members and we know that the internet is fast and reliable. How could your members not sign up now?

Along the way your email hit a few snags..... 

I think you're getting the message. Mass mailings, publications and distribution list email blasts just are not that effective. But all hope is not lost, you have a general membership meeting between now and the PAC event. 

Here's probably what you'll do:

1. HBA president will speak to the audience or

2. the PAC chairman will speak to the audience or
3. the executive officer will speak to the audience or

4. SOMEBODY from the event planning committee will speak to the audience.

The audience, if they are like the average general membership meeting audiences, will be engaged in conversations at their tables and not really focused on the speaker explaining the event, talking about "how much fun you will have and please fill out the forms that are in front of you on the table." The forms generally stay on the table after the event.

Let's face it, if any of the above methods worked there would really not be a need to use the remaining methods. Now, what do all four of these commonly used methods have in common? There is no member to member contact, no peer to peer. It's all done in blocks of many members with each method given the singular member of the multiple members an opportunity to ignore the PAC event because the bottom line is the perceived view on how this affects their own bottom line. You've given each member a chance not to participate. 

Would an associate, as an example, stand up in front of a large group of builders, or use any of the other methods, and hope for a sale? Not if they truly want to be successful persuading the builder to buy their product or service.

In order for PAC fundraising to be successful you have to speak to members one on one or, at the most, in a manageable group, where intimate discussions can take place. In order for you to persuade members to invest in the PAC and\or a general event, you have to explain how the political process as well as how the synergy of the HBA staff and members work within that political process. 

Next week I will write about the legislative process and how HBA staff and active members blend their efforts to work within that process. This will help you with the structure of what the general member doesn't see but certainly feels. If you understand it will help you become more persuasive in your ask for an investment.

Submitted by: Michael Kurpiel, CGA, CGP

2011 NAHB Associate Members Committee Chair

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NOTE: This article is based on a section from The NAHB Associates presentation "Peer to Peer Fundraising." 
This type of fundraising will work on all of your HBA events or fundraising initiatives you may have; you just have the supply the core reason for the fundraiser and demonstrate a value to the potential investor.