Giving the financial pitch at your local banquet is not something for any of us to be scared of. In fact, it is a truly exciting part of the banquet night! This training post will help you create a simple, clear pitch to give at your banquet.
Giving the financial pitch at your local banquet is not something for any of us to be scared of. In fact, it is a truly exciting part of the banquet night! It’s the great “invite” to potential investors to step aboard this fast-moving and powerful train that belongs to the Lord. We’re asking them to come with us!
Whether you or someone else in your community is giving the pitch at your banquet, there are some critical things we’ve got to communicate in a concise amount of time.
Below are the top 10 things that need to be communicated in a banquet pitch.
1 You’re so glad they came!
2 You believe Young Life is a vibrant ministry worthy of your own investment.
3 Remind them of the impact they heard about at the banquet...briefly.
4 We can’t do this without the help of fine people like you in this community. They are helping make the impact with kids.
5 Refer to the annual budget printed in your program...remind them of the budget figure.
6 Walk them through the pledge card...quickly and carefully.
7 Explain the EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) process quickly and carefully.
8 Walk them through the “Ways to get involved” portion of the card while only highlighting two or three of the options.
9 Explain how your team is wanting to handle the envelope-to-host or envelope-to-bucket process.
10 Tell them about “Music to Pledge by,” thank them again and come back up after 60 to 90 seconds (they have been filling out the pledge card the entire time you were talking) and pray to end the night.
Additional thoughts on giving the pitch...
• Make sure the committee has put pens on every table and individual envelopes into which folks can place their check and pledge card, not just one large envelope!
• Be brief! You should go no longer than five to six minutes. The audience has already heard testimonies and the main speaker, and to be extremely blunt, you weren't asked to do either of those jobs. They are leaning forward, and you get to tell them exactly how to jump in with us.
• Walk through the pledge card, and have everyone fill one out even if they are not giving. This gets everyone writing.
• Speak about investing, rather than giving.
• Communicate that it's your privilege to give... not that we are begging for money. And never apologize for asking for money.
• Encourage monthly giving. Let them know monthly giving helps us in the following ways: We have monthly expenses, just like you do. We'd also like you to think about Young Life every month, rather than just once a year. And we'd like to build a team of folks who are engaged in this ministry all year, rather than just at the banquet.
• It's important that you tell folks not to take the pledge card home. Seventy-five percent of those who take it home will never mail it back. We need folks to commit that night, while the warm fuzzies are still in the air!
• Itis good to remind folks to write their first check that night if they're giving monthly. This helps us to pay for the banquet.
• When you give folks an opportunity for other kinds of involvement, do not highlight more than three. Psychologists have discovered people find more and more choices to actually be debilitating and more than three can overwhelm people into making no choice at all.
• The banquet is NOT a time to highlight another fundraising event you have next semester. They are here, now, ready to give. Don't move their minds toward giving another time.
• Don't make the "music to pledge by" interlude very long. It should be background music, not entertainment or a performance!
Below is an example of a simple, brief banquet financial pitch. It is six minutes long including the time to come back up and close the evening. Take time to watch it and take note of what is said, and more importantly, what is NOT said.
Check off only the elements that were included in this financial pitch.
Choose all that apply
Monthly Giving
A verse he felt led to share
His personal involvement with Young Life
Thanking the guests for attending
The impact Young Life is having on the community
A funny opening story
The total budget number for the area
The spring golf tournment, skeet shoot, garage sale, lawn-dart-athon, etc...
Electroninc Funds Transfer
The range of one-time gifts.
A spiritual insight from his quiet time this morning
Remember, it's more about what NOT to say than it is what to say. Since you are not the main speaker, you have no pressure to come up with another "message" for the evening.
An artist who chooses three colors from his palate to paint a picture can create something beautiful. If he keeps going back the palate for every color, he just winds up creating a big, brown mess.
Don't keep reaching back for more colors and create a mess with your pitch. Less is more! Paint a beautiful clear picture for your investors.
This pitch person was embarrased to ask for money and apologetic about it.
True
False
It's been said in marketing, "Don't be cute, be clear." The same goes for giving a banquet pitch. If people are not called to give, that's God's business. However, if they choose not to give because we were vague, confusing, or unclear, then shame on us.
Author Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) discusses the need to be clear when we are asking people to join us in his blog post, "Why You Are Leading, and Nobody is Following."
"Dare to be clear. How can any of us get what we want in life if we don’t communicate what we want clearly? Amateurs are vague but professionals communicate clearly.
Everybody kind of knows what they want, but few people have taken the time to reflect so they can communicate in such a way people understand. Most leaders kind of know where they want to take people but revolutionary leaders say it clearly.
This is especially important for leaders. The reality of leadership is this: The world is standing before you, curious, asking where you’d like to take them. If you kind of have an answer, they’ll follow somebody else.
If you want to be a leader, communicate clearly because that’s the only way anybody can know whether or not they want to join you.
In my own life, when I’ve not communicated clearly where I’ve wanted to take people, it’s because of one of two reasons — either I didn’t know myself, or I was too afraid to risk rejection. Either reason disqualifies me from leadership.
Know where you want to take people and ask them to come with you. Then, confidently take them there."
Finally, and most importantly, pray! Pray that God would give you the words to help you be clear. Pray for boldness. Pray for the hearts of those attending the banquet. Pray first that they would hear the Gospel. Then pray that they will be moved to participate in what God is doing through Young Life in their community.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:1
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
Be confident! Be excited! If you are giving the pitch, God has chosen you for this assignment, and he will be with you all along the way. You will have a great impact on the lives of kids in your community!
And remember...
"Know where you want to take people and ask them to come with you. Then, confidently take them there."