What Snoopy Taught Me About Systems

Seattle Pacific University is my Alma Mater (go Falcons!).  After graduating in 1993, I began studying to become an insurance agent for MetLife.  That’s right.  Snoopy was about to be my new boss.  And I was excited!  (No one told me I wasn’t supposed to be excited about being a life insurance agent…).

This is what a typical day looked like for me:

• Using a Thomas Guide (no GPS in those days) I drove to some of the upscale/wealthy neighborhoods in town.
• Back at the office, I settled in to gather publicly available data on home ownership in these residential areas, including phone numbers (all landlines).
• The next part of my day was all about calling those numbers.  When someone answered, I would say something like, “Hello, I’m calling quickly from MetLife Auto Insurance to see if I can help you save money on your premiums - may I ask two quick questions?”  Upon their agreement I would ask, (1) “Who is your auto insurance carrier?” and (2) “When does your policy come up for renewal?”.  Once they answered those questions I would say, “Thanks very much, I’ll call about a month before your renewal to provide a quote and see if it will save you money.”

How well do you think that worked?  Well, I’ll tell you.  Out of ten people who answered the phone, eight would hang up on me and two would answer the questions.  When it came time to follow up with people who had answered the questions, nine out of ten would say they were no longer interested and one would agree to let me stop by and provide a quote on my fancy Snoopy-issued laptop.  Sounds entirely awful, doesn’t it?  Actually, I quite enjoyed it.  For me, it was about working the system.  Eventually Snoopy and I parted ways.  However, my appreciation for deploying systems has continued to be a critical and reliable tool in my work as a fundraiser, a consultant, and a business owner.  Here’s what Atomic Habits author, James Clear has to say:

You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.

Now, back to MetLife and phone calls.  Conducting 50 surveys every week (which required 250 dials per week or 50 dials per day) meant I was creating a pipeline of five people (every week) who agreed to let me stop by and run a comparison quote when the time came.  While conducting that comparison quote, I would let them know about the other products we offered (life/health insurance, mutual funds, retirement plans, etc.).  Every once in a while (let’s say one time out of ten) that “upsell” would result in a larger commission and make the whole process feel very satisfying.

I realize this sounds like an arduous grind, and sometimes it was.  However, here is the note I posted front and center, on my desk:  50 DIALS A DAY.  That was all I needed to remember.  That was my job.  And ultimately I really did enjoy the work because I loved helping people solve problems, make money, and save money.

Here is what I have learned since the MetLife days.  When my systems are off-kilter or I fall behind in maintaining them, it reduces my productivity and increases my procrastination.  Off-kilter systems play havoc with my ability to prioritize.  However, when my systems are humming along, a beautiful thing happens.  Productivity increases and procrastination decreases.  I remind myself this work is like a marathon, not a sprint, and the rewards that eventually come along are a source of immense satisfaction.

What systems do you have in place for major donor fundraising?  When training and consulting with fundraisers I love to share some of my most effective systems such as Strength of Relationship, Connecting Worksheets, Top 100 Analysis, and the infamous “Baskets”.

Perhaps you would like to talk more about major donor fundraising systems.  Let’s connect!  Schedule a free 30 minute consult or send me an email with your thoughts and questions.

Until next time!

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Depending on your day to day needs in major donor fundraising, I have three options you can choose from to energize your efforts:

• ‍The Catalyst Course - a major donor fundraising course for those who are new to the task.
• ‍The High-Performance Course (inquire directly if interested) - a major donor fundraising course for experienced professionals.
• ‍The Flywheel Package - a customized six month consultation for people who are leading teams of major donor fundraisers.

‍The Catalyst Course is affordable at a cost of $500 and can be done in a schedule that fits best for you, taking anywhere from four weeks to three months to complete. Everything I have learned, successes and failures, is packed into these courses for your benefit and enjoyment. I have taken hundreds of folks through this content, helping them with fundraising strategies to empower causes all over the world.  

‍Now is the time to take advantage of these resources!

‍I look forward to hearing about your good work.

Blessings,