15 Hideous Reasons You Didn’t Get the Gift

  1. You didn’t make the call to get the appointment.
  2. You were cultivating too long.
  3. You became the probable donor’s friend.
  4. You talked too much.
  5. You didn’t have a strategy.
  6. Failure to probe.
  7. Poor listening.
  8. Assumed too much.
  9. You didn’t give the donor a date to respond.
  10. Premature selling of the project.
  11. You talked about what you need, didn’t probe for what they need.
  12. Failure to stress benefits— too much emphasis on features.
  13. You were afraid of rejection.
  14. You didn’t ask for the gift.
  15. It was all about money and the campaign— and not about how the gift would change or save lives.