Yesterday I was working with a guy I coach on crafting the perfect text for follow up. As we worked together, Erik of Take The Hill commented that “this is art!” I definitely laughed as we were putting a lot of time into the perfect text, but he has a point, it’s absolutely art! Crafting the perfect text for follow up after someone has verbally committed to support can be a real challenge, am I right?!

Thus, with Erik’s permission I’d like to share with you the sample text we came up with. (Thanks Erik!) Before I do, a few things to mention:

1. When we wrote this we were specifically thinking of partners that Erik had already reached out to for follow up. Essentially, Erik had face to face appointments with each of the recipients within the last month or two, and followed up with each after to get the partner to start their giving. However, for whatever reason the partner had not responded / was dragging their feet getting the commitment in. I believe that in most cases, if a financial partner says they are going to give, they most likely will, it’s just a matter of communicating effectively and time.
2. That being said, this text is not an example for the first follow up bid, but more like the 2nd or 3rd.
3. The text assumes that the financial partner has said a definite yes to partnership. At the end you will want to change the wording for those who were a little unsure during an appointment.
4. This is not an ask for someone you have not met with personally and made an ask to! It may go without saying, but just in case: texting in general should not be used for an ask for monthly partnership – that’s reserved for face to face (or Zoom if you have to) appointments.
5. This text is a great example of creating what I call a “short percentage goal” as outlined in this blog post. To distill that blog post quickly – a short percentage goal provides the new financial partner of a goal that is a few weeks away, creating a sense of timing and communicates that you will benefit by having them turn in their commitment soon. Essentially, a potential financial partner does not know that turning in their gift sooner rather than later greatly benefits you unless you tell them. A good time to do that is during the appointment close, and this text reinforces it.

Okay, with no further ado – here’s the sample text for you to help craft your own:

Hey X, just checking in. As we approach the end of the month I’m trying to dot my I’s and cross my T’s. If everyone who’s verbally committed will complete the giving process or pledge — we’ll be at 50% by November 1, which would be a HUGE win for X ministry!

(the paragraph below maybe separate text or separate paragraph)

Just for reference, here’s the link if needed (include link). If you can, it would be so helpful to us to fill it out. If you’re not able to right now, no worries, just let us(me) know if you can what you’re thinking. Either way, we(I) love you (guys) and we(I) are(am) honored to have you on our(my) team ((or we’d love to have you on our team— if not sure of their commitment).

BONUS! If this is the 2nd or 3rd bid, what do you do if they don’t respond to this text? Well, in that case you would still have room to circle back around to the subject. Let’s suggest we try texting again 2-4 weeks later with something like the following (this will be a little dependent on how your organization does giving – but you can fill in the blanks):

Hey X. Dunno if you saw my text a couple of weeks ago? I’ll try and call you soon if that works better. Are you all still wanting to give monthly? I am currently at 75% and am excited to get to 100% quickly – aiming for the first of the year. If you’re still wanting to give, but don’t want to start your giving until I get to 100%, that’s absolutely fine! Just let me know if I can go ahead and fill out a pledge form on your behalf – that will help me get that percentage closer to 100% – and I’ll let you know when to start. If you want to start now – that’s great too! Either way, if you can, let me know what you are thinking. Sorry to bog you down with a request – I know life is busy! Hope you and X are doing great. Let me know if you have any questions!

I hope this helps! Searching for more thoughts on wielding texting in the support raising process? You can find more here.