Who is Your ‘Director of First Impressions’?

By Jennifer Furla, Executive Vice President
Kansas City

Walking out of a client’s offices today, I caught the sign from the corner of my eye. It was a simple

8 ½" x 11" computer-made creation, clearly placed as a morale-booster to the woman who staffs the desk nearby. I smiled as I looked closer: “Director of First Impressions,” the sign said.

The woman gave a wide grin and a wave as I bid my goodbyes and left the client’s offices for the day. I pointed to the sign and she nodded. She knew the importance of her job as the first face – and voice – that clients, volunteers, AND DONORS are greeted by when they come to or call the agency.

When you call the offices of another group with whom we have the privilege to work, you are greeted with a distinctive voice that states “American Academy of Family Physicians” in a pleasant, lilting tone. While this is a voice mail greeting, it’s so warm and welcoming that I have had to stop more than once to realize that it’s not a live voice on the other end of the phone.

This warm greeting, designed to smoothly usher in calls from the Academy’s more than 90,000 members – all busy physicians – has become part of the “brand” of the Academy. If you call there more than once, the signature voice becomes imbedded in your thoughts and that IS what you think of when you think of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

In my years in fundraising, I’ve made impassioned pleas and written more than one article about the importance of involving your entire organization in the work of fundraising. It’s a critical part of cultivation and stewardship and can, frankly, make or break a donor relationship for you. If you have a Mission that says you help the poor and needy and that “Director of First Impressions” doesn’t answer the phone or treat visitors with the care and compassion that should come from a group with that Mission, I can promise that this will create a disconnect in the eyes of your donors and volunteers.

The same goes for how donors are treated when they call. Does your front office understand the importance of recognizing and greeting some of your most important supporters? Do the development staff always remember that it’s the ORGANIZATION’S responsibility to do the work to help donors with their substantiation and paperwork requests?

Every organization has a “Director of First Impressions.” Some may have one in each department.

Who is YOUR Director of First Impressions and how are you doing as an organization to make a “first impression” that is donor-friendly and consistent with your Mission?