Day 1

Day 2

Day 1, Wednesday, Nov. 10

1:30-1:45 PM
Welcome and Introductions

1:45-2:45
Making Sure You Have a Good Connection: The Phonathon Within Advancement
While your phonathon operates at different hours and sometimes even in a different location than other programs, it needs to remain "on the line" with the overall advancement effort. This session puts the calling program into the broader fundraising context and provides tips on what you can do to raise awareness of your efforts and keep them connected to the larger mission.

3:00-4:00
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• It's More Than Just Filling the Seats
  There's a crisp, fall breeze in the air, students are returning to campus, and it's time to get your telefund program up and running for another year. Whether you need to hire five students or 105, what's the best way to recruit the right callers for the job? View samples of attention-grabbing recruitment materials, get ideas about what to look for in that perfect student caller, and walk away with a plan for achieving your staffing and capacity goals.
• To Script or Not To Script
  One of the greatest resources we have as annual giving directors is our student callers. One of the greatest challenges we face is how to use them most effectively. In this discussion, we'll tackle the age old question of scripting. What resources do our students need to conduct an effective solicitation with alumni and friends? How much do we count on their ability build rapport and get to the ask? Find out at this session.
• Using Segmentation to Enhance Your Results
  Segmentation is an incredible tool to use when defining messages for your constituents. Utilizing various degrees of segmentation will allow you to present your case for support in a way that will motivate your constituents to give, give more, and continue to give. We'll look at segmenting by giving, by generation, by affinity and much more.

4:15-5:30
How to Keep Your Callers Motivated and Happy
Callers who are motivated will raise much more money for your Phonathon Program and are more likely to stay. Are you relying on "Ringo Bingo," pizza and soda over and over to keep your callers motivated and happy? If you are stuck in a rut, playing the same old games and using the same incentives to reward your callers, then this session is a must for you. There will be a special emphasis on sharing fresh, new, alternative (and budget-wise) ideas that have been successful on the calling room floor that you may not have considered. You can use these ideas to ignite your own creativity and improve motivation and performance problems in your call center.

5:45-6:45
Networking Reception

6:45
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own

Day 2, Thursday, Nov. 11

8:00-9:00 AM
Continental Breakfast/Roundtables

9:00-10:00
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• How to Retain Your Callers and Avoid the Ever-Familiar Revolving Door
  Student callers perhaps are the single most important factor to the overall success of your phonathon program. Once you've recruited, hired and trained the best students for calling, how do you retain them and avoid the ever-familiar revolving door that is a natural part of the call center culture? This session will challenge you to look at the various facets of your retention efforts in an attempt to help you pinpoint potential problem areas. There will be a special emphasis on developing some strategies to help you retain enough callers to maintain consistent staffing levels without sacrificing quality.
• Addressing Objections
  In this interactive session, we'll take a look at common objections raised by potential donors and strategies your callers can use to continue to move the conversation forward. Bring your most challenging objections to pose to the group.
• Managing Phonathons for Multiple Schools
  Everyone wants their lybunts called in the fall. No one wants to call in January. Training student callers across multiple schools and units can be challenging. In this session, we'll cover effective client management techniques and creative ways to maximize the capacity of your phone room all while increasing results.

10:15-11:15
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Boosting Fulfillment with an Integrated Program
  The most successful annual giving programs find a way to integrate phone, mail and e-mail allowing for effective contact with donors. Discuss ways to best utilize mail and e-mail to increase results in your phone program. Learn how to maintain a consistent message while developing a successful solicitation schedule and adding some bells and whistles to boost your fulfillment in certain areas like matching gifts.
• From "You're Hired" to First Pledge
  Now that you've recruited and hired a room full of student callers, how do you transform them into successful fundraisers for your organization? What are the best tips, tricks and training tools to get your callers in tip-top shape and ready to make the ask? Learn how to structure your initial training sessions, determine what should be covered before the callers get on the phone, and explore creative ways to use technology to reinforce ongoing caller development and skills improvement.
• Taking Your Phonathon to the Next Level
  In most programs, student callers reach more prospects than all frontline fundraisers combined. In any given year, the conversations they engage in with our alumni and friends will be the most personal connection the school makes with these key constituents. We'll discuss ways to enhance the value of your phonathon by making each call a service to your prospect and an enhancement to your database.

11:15 AM-12:15 PM
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Phonathon Out of the Box
  The top priority for all phonathon programs is soliciting gifts, but there are other ways to use the valuable resources of your call center and it's staff to the benefit of your institution. During this session, we'll take a look at the opportunities that exist for expanding the impact of your program.
• Measuring What Matters: Setting Goals and Tracking Results
  How is your phonathon doing? To answer that question, you need to have defined goals for the overall program and specific segments and a way to measure your progress toward those goals throughout the year. In this session we'll talk about the power and pitfalls of benchmarking, walk through the goal-setting process, and look at reports that will help you track your results and give you data you can use to manage your program and shape your strategies.
• How to Successfully Integrate E-mails into Your Phonathon Program
  Is your phonathon program working in isolation or together as a unified force with your online giving program? Successfully integrated e-mails into your phonathon solicitation schedule can significantly enhance the overall performance of your call center. Discuss ways to best intertwine phone and e-mail and gain some creative ideas for use of electronic communication in your phonathon program. Review specific samples of next-day pledge confirmation e-mails, next-day refusal follow-up e-mails, pledge reminders, end-of-calendar-year and end-of-fiscal-year announcements, etc.

12:15-12:45
Faculty Firing Line

12:45
Conference Adjourns

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