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5 Ways to Stand Out When Contacting Corporate Decision Makers for Support
1. ) Do your research -- go beyond the website. Review annual reports, corporate social responsibility goals, ESG reports, etc. to decipher how your organization aligns with their initiatives for community engagement, sponsorship, and philathropy.
2.) Embrace the power of brevity -- keep your first outreach quick but impactful. Emails should be no longer than150 words and focus on the following: who are you, how does your organization/program connect to the corporation's interests, and what do you want next (meeting, phone call, send info etc). Brevity is essential as it shows that you respect their time.
3.) Use LinkedIn -- LinkedIn is key to learn about your decision makers as well a good means to contact them if they're active on LinkedIn. As the average corporate decision maker is getting on average 120+ emails per day, reaching out on LinkedIn is a great way to break through the clutter!
4.) Practice Corporate Depth Perception -- corporate decision makers respond best to organizations that understand the process for support is a marathon and not sprint. Also, recognize that although findng sponsorship, funding, or partnership for your organization is top priority for you, it's not that same top level priority for the company you're contacting. Corporate decision makers juggle hundreds of tasks and initiaves. Recognizing this and showing empathy for corporate decision maker sets you apart!
5.) Opt for Sincere Gratitude Instead of Thank You -- Most people say Thank You when they're engaging a corporate decision maker, however, few express sincere gratitude. Instead of "thank you" end your conversation or engagment with a statement of gratitude. Here's an example: "I realize the number of well deserving nonprofits speaking with you about support and how time consuming that can be, so I truly appreciate this opportunity for you to learn more about our good work and how it might align with your goals."