Transcript Networking Your Way To Success Harlequin Gilchrist Donor Recruiter

Networking
Your Way To Success
Harlequin Gilchrist
Donor Recruiter
LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, Inc.
A bit of information about me:
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My experience
Territory location
Setting
Collection goals
Drive size
Territory type & status
Let’s get to know each other
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How many years recruiting experience
Territory location
Setting (city, suburban, rural)
Collection goals
Average drive size
Territory type & status
Rule #1 about networking &
recruiting blood donors is:
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It is NOT about you!
Why do we need to network?
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Shrinking donor pool in general
Corporate downsizing – numbers are
decreasing at existing drives
Always looking for new accounts and to
improve numbers at existing drives
The aging of the population, young
people coming into the donor pool need
to be reached in a different way
It is not necessarily who you know, but what
you know that will make you successful
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What you know about networking will
help you identify who you need to know
Most of us don’t know the movers and
shakers in town or they don’t know you
Before you begin you need to
determine what your goals are for
networking
Goals for Networking
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Finding new drive locations
Finding the person within the group
that has the pull you need
Finding people who can help with
special media promotions or donations
Determining the group size that you
need to develop a successful drive
Let’s pretend we are starting a
territory from scratch
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Where do we start?
Note: It will depend upon the size of
the town
New town networking ideas
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Chamber of Commerce
Civic Organizations
Local papers
Local magazines
Internet
Social media
Yellow Pages
Library
Churches
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Hospitals (& their board
members)
City Hall
Visitor’s Center
Schools
Universities (Career
development center)
Radio Stations
TV stations
Additional networking avenues
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Police/Fire
Departments
Maps (detailed)
Drive around town
Hotels
Real Estate agents
Banks
Insurance Agents
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Politicians
Barber shop/Hair
salons
Human resource
organizations
Groups that do
health/benefit fairs
Restaurants
Department of Labor
Utilizing the media to identify
target groups
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Ads
Festivals & Events
People in the news
Articles about companies
Business licenses issued
Occupancy permits
Commercial real estate transactions
Utilizing Organizations
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Will they host a drive?
Find out where their members work, go
to church, where their kids (or the
members themselves) go to school
Would the members consider chairing a
drive at their office, church or school?
Have them help promote existing drives
How to apply these strategies
to your existing territory
1st analyze your territory
 Are you maximizing your resources?
 Identify your shortfalls
 What day of the week do you need
drives to be built up?
 What types of accounts will fill those
days?
Analyzing your territory
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Identify your top accounts
Identify your least productive accounts
What types of businesses are they?
Note: your “best” types of accounts
may vary based upon location
Is their success (or lack thereof) due to
the type of group, or is it the chair
person’s involvement?
After your territory analysis
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Act as though you are starting from
scratch
Research your territory again
New businesses and organizations may
have “snuck into town” without you
knowing it
Groups may have grown larger
Meet and get to know people
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Meet with your chamber
representative, they know who’s
moving into town
Meet with your hospital board (take
your manager with you on this one)
Talk to members of groups you
attend, many may have changed
circumstances
Ask existing chair people for
referrals
Attending a networking event
– Making the most of it
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Ask the greeter who would be the best
person to introduce you around
DO NOT sit with your co-workers or
friends at an event
Do not stay with one person all night,
unless they are introducing you to
everyone and promoting you
Stop people you want to meet
Attending a networking event
– Come prepared
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Bring a handful of business cards, a pen
and a small notepad with you
Have them ready in your pocket to
hand out
Take notes about the person
Have an “elevator speech” ready, make
it one they will remember
Know what your goal is for the event
Attending a networking event
– Putting it into practice
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How many of you have networked with
people attending this event?
Many larger companies have offices in
multiple cities
We might be able to help each other
get past the “gatekeeper” in our town
Let’s spend a couple minutes meeting
someone new in the room
Building your network with
The “3 Foot Rule”
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What is it?
Where does the concept come from?
How can you apply it to recruiting blood
donors and donor groups?
When can you utilize it?
Donor recruitment is not a 9-5
Monday-Friday job
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You can network anytime, anywhere
with anyone to find new donors and
donor groups
Neighbors
Grocery shopping
Attending sporting events
Church & civic groups
Overcoming the fear of
networking outside of work
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Start small – a simple hello!
Comment on something going on
around you
Give them a complement
F.O.R.M.
Remember rule #1 – It’s not about you!
Using your networking skills
within an existing account
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Improving your drive
numbers
Utilizing your donors
creativity and ideas to help
improve your drives
Finding new accounts
through your current donors
Utilizing your donor services
staff at collection sites
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Your collection staff are your front line
with your donors
Train your staff on how to network with
your donors to obtain new drives and
improve existing ones
Put suggestion cards for your donors on
the bloodmobile for ideas and contact
information for new donor groups
Networking your way to success
in an unsupportive environment
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The type of unsupportive group you have
determines the solution
Networking on the bloodmobile
Forming a committee while recruiting
Success stories
Teaching your chairperson
how to network in their group
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You cannot assume that they know how to,
understand the importance of it, or even if
they want to do it!
Find out what their motivation is first
Finding committee members
Divide & conquer the goals among the
committee members
Getting a “buy-in” from the top
Working with property managers - set small
goals for them to start with
Utilizing your hospitals
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Create a binder with letters of support
from your hospitals
Have them encourage community
businesses and schools to host drives
Ask them to take a more active role in
soliciting donors at their drives
Donations and how to find
them through networking
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Ask everyone!
Give them ideas
Groups that may not be
able to host a drive but
want to help
Add a fundraiser to your
blood drive (only if it
makes sense)
Types of donations for
promotions
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Restaurants - money &/or coupons
Movie tickets
Sporting/event tickets
Flowers
Gift Cards
½ off websites
Networking to create
competition
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Encourage competition between
departments
Set up competitions between
businesses or organizations
“Beat the Experts” challenge
Thinking outside of your territory
for “friendly” competition
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Challenge another
blood bank to a
competition
Go cross country to
find a similar group
Dragon*Con vs.
Comic Con success
story
Questions?
Please feel free to contact me
[email protected]
404-272-9298