You Schmooze, You Lose

     Could this be more of a "Development Matter" than a "Marketing Matter?"  Perhaps...

     But since Marketing is the process that eventually leads to Development, it fits.

     When I returned to development four years ago, I realized a couple of things: marketing and education are very similar, and sales and development are very similar.  That relationship gave me a better understanding of why for-profit businesses have "Sales and Marketing" Directors, and non- and not-for profit businesses have "Marketing and Development" Directors.  In business, "Sales" are more important than "Marketing" - marketing costs money, while sales generates money for the business.  For us non-profit educators, "Marketing" knowledge is a priori to Development.

     Think about it...if we know we're in need of a product, especially in our day and age, we pretty much know where we can go and get it (and if we don't, we can always "Google" it...there's a current lesson in branding if there ever was one.).  But if we ask people just to donate to our school, no matter how wonderful we know it is, "no" is the most common response (of course, it's usually not, "No," but it's "Not at this time," "Can't afford anything right now," "Maybe in a couple of months," etc.).  Think about the Phon-a-thon stage of an annual appeal.  There was probably a direct mail piece generated, several reminder postcards, perhaps some supportive advertising, and then, and only then, the "personal" ask via telephone.  A direct appeal phone call from out of the blue (development) with out any kind of preparation (marketing) is akin to those telemarketers that call you when you're sitting down to dinner because they know you're home.

     Business also lives by the adage that "a satisfied customer" is a business' "best advertisement," also reinforcing the mindset that sales come first to produce better marketing results.

     So what does all this have to do with "Schmoozing?"  It used to be common thought that to be a good sales person, you had to be a good "schmoozer."  The American Heritage Dictionary defines "schmooze" as "To converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection"   ("schmooze." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 09 Jul. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/schmooze>).  Although making connections is what Marketing and Development is all about, it is the farthest thing from "casual conversation."  All conversation in a Marketing and Development situation is purposeful.

     Think about the last time you walked into a retail store, and a person came up to you and asked, "Can I help you?"  That's about as casual as you can get, since "can" implies ability.  If someone walks up and says, "Good afternoon, and welcome to retail outlet X.  How may I help you today?" now we're beginning a dialogue.  Sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer has a great column from his "Sales Caffeine" newsletter of June 19, 2007 that shows how to truly engage a customer in the buying process: http://www.gitomer.com/index.cfm?GitAction=Column.ArticleDetail&ArticleID=2098 (To subscribe to Jeffrey Gitomer's free weekly eMagazine, visit http://www.gitomer.com/index.cfm?GitAction=Ezine.SalesCaffeineEzine).

     Casual conversation won't bring additional students to your school, but a purposeful dialogue is the first step to an engaging educational experience which will eventually encourage stewardship.

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2007

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