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10 Mission-Critical Steps to Success
Retail Wars Have Generated a Lot of Great Leadership
Advice — Even for Churches
By Mike Radlovic
 In the retail merchant wars, customer loyalty is at
the heart of the battle. It is proving more elusive, with
merchants using rewards, point programs and smiling employees
for survival. Yet, the lessons learned can help your church’s
fund-development program grow and prosper!
A focused fund-development program is a
key building block for your church. It can ensure your message
has the reach you need to grow, expand ... and
compete.
Compete?
You bet!
How do retailers compete? By addressing 10
critical concerns:
1. Are the restrooms clean?
If you learn to do the little things well, it pays off big
time. McDonald’s rediscovered these “little things,” and sales
are skyrocketing.
2. What’s going on at the front counter?
Is it clean? Are your marketing
materials and info easy to read and follow? Are they
motivating enough to close the “sale”?
3. Is
your “store front” presentable? Is
the parking lot clean? Are your signs visible and in working
order?
4. Have
you watched the ongoing Presidential campaign?
There they all are, shaking hands,
kissing babies and visiting local media. When was the last
time you went out into the community and reintroduced
yourself?
5. Remember: The frontline is the bottom line!
All these efforts are wasted when
a visitor walks in and your paid or volunteer staff doesn’t
embrace “customer service.” A smile, handshake and sincere
welcome goes a long way in developing a loyal
member.
Losing members — or customers — can have a
devastating effect on your bottom line. Before you seek the
next ones, make sure the current ones are happy. These five
steps are critical in making the next five happen. If they
aren’t in place, there’s no need to proceed.
Fund Development
is Not a Mystery
We understand raising money is difficult
for some in ministry. When it’s broken down, however, it’s not
so tough. In fact, fund development can be fun! Here’s where
it begins:
6. Start
from the top, with the leadership having a zero-based mindset.
What this means is asking
yourselves, If we had to start over, knowing what we know now,
what would we do differently? Is your mission statement a
shared vision, or is your board bored? Don’t live with a
mission statement created by people who no longer are
around.
Also, managing your paid and unpaid
staff’s time and energy is important. Are they bought in on
this vision?
7. Technology should be embraced, not feared.
It’s your 24/7 representation. Are
your technologists part of the decision-making process? Are
you driving traffic to a website you’re proud of? Do your
marketing people talk to your technology people? Is your
database developing the way you want?
8. Marketing should be a source of constant ideas and
energy. Has your marketing staff
done any current research on your membership? Do they create a
sense of anticipation to draw people to the church? Do they
cross-promote? Do they have a plan in place to maximize the
power of the Web, mail, phone, fax, cell phones, e-mail — all
the direct channels to your people? What about indirect
channels such as radio, TV and newspapers? Did they let church
leaders and technologists in the same room when they decided
to do these things?
9. With
Steps 6, 7 and 8 in place, fund development will have a strong
foundation. But first, are you
thinking about approaching major donors or making grassroots
efforts?
Gathering major donor info should be a big
priority. Do they like acknowledgment, or are they private?
President circles, advisory boards, etc. — which opportunities
are right for them? Major donor work is very
personal.
Grassroots donors, on the other hand, are
your future major donors. What programs interest them? They
appreciate thanks and visible use of donated funds, so how do
you plan to provide it? Is it easy for them to
donate?
10. Tie it all together. The
leaders of the 21st century will surround themselves with
people who believe in their vision and direction because they
brought them into the room at the beginning. These leaders
will have the courage to balance everyone’s parts and agendas
and not let office politics kill their hopes and
dreams.
It’s not an easy road to take — and it’s
not for everyone. But if you proceed down this 10-step path
with a smile, it’s an empowering journey.
Mike Radlovic is the CEO of TranStar,
one of America’s premier customer and fund-development
companies. He has an extensive background in venture capital
and marketing and enjoys working with start-up businesses and
church-based entrepreneurs. Reach him by e-mail at Mike.Radlovic@TranStarsystems.com.
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