Ok so you've built your rolodex of everyone you've ever known, you've qualifying them, and you're staring at a huge list of names and numbers and you have to call all of them. But who exactly should you call first? And who should you call next? You need a list.
Start with:
- Any callbacks from previous sessions scheduled for that day.
- Any prospects you left a message for three days ago (or since the last time you made VM calls if you haven't done calltime in more than three days).
- The main list you have for the day.
Callbacks
Add everyone who had a callback date of today and add them to the top of the list. If you ever encounter someone who was marked callback with no date (this should not happen, it will be a mistake if you see it) add them to today's call list.
Voicemails
There are two types of people you leave voicemails for: prospects and donors.
- Prospects should be called back every three days until you talk to them or they are dead (5 voicemails).
- If you leave a message for a donor, you do not need to follow up in three days, simply call them back the next time you would call that donor as part of your main list.
Preparing to call your main list
Who is on your main list, which is your list of calls not counting voicemails or callbacks will vary according to where you are in the campaign (dates are approximate and can change based on a number of factors)
- Initial Phase (first 30-90 days): Call your high dollar core list, with the goal of raising a lot of money really fast in order to make a splash.
- Early Phase (end of initial until 6 mo before election): Call new prospects with the goal of having the most unique donors in your race, and building a bench of donors for the next phases.
- Middle Phase (6mo to 3mo before the election): Balance calling new prospects and previous donors.
- Final Phase (last 3 months): Call only repeat donors if possible, new donors will find you.
When building out lists of new donors, here are some things to keep in mind:
- High to low. No matter where the prospects came from, start by calling prospects with the highest ask amount and work down.