Tom shares effective ways to identify qualified prospects.
Summary:
There are three steps in the prospect process: identify, prioritize, and strategize. Here are four sources to draw from when identifying a qualified prospect:
- Referrals; whether you are with a champion of your organization, a board member, or conducting a first time visit, never leave without getting a referral.
- Low-hanging fruit; don’t set an unattainable goal, but instead, use a list or database of your current investors and pick out your best possibilities.
- Create an ideal profile of what your qualified prospect would look like. This will be different for each organization, but should largely be someone who has high capacity, is committed to the cause, and is engaged in your case. Tom’s ideal profile is someone who has come from struggle to success to significance, a person who has the entrepreneurial spirit, has high financial capacity, and is at the point in life where they have decided to make a difference in the world.
- The magic formula QP3=QP (qualified priorities, projects, and programs equal qualified prospects). Take one of the three ‘P’s’ and and find a candidate who could align with the cause or case; for example, a hospital needs a new oncology ward, so find a cancer survivor or parent of a cancer survivor who was treated at that hospital. The formula can also works backwards; you can sit down with already qualified prospects and discover a priority, project, or program that they are already passionate about.
Related Documents: On Prospects
