Ep. 97: Channeling Unwavering Belief to Accomplish Your Goal
EPISODE 97
Channeling Unwavering Belief to Accomplish Your Goal
About the Episode:
Recently my neighbor lost their escape artist cat, and you’re probably already wondering what this has to do with your nonprofit. Well, right after their cat went missing, they stepped into this unwavering belief that they’d find him (or her?), and it’s really blown me away and reminded me of how we need to be showing up for our organizations, our donors, and our mission. For a month, my neighbors were knocking on doors daily, posting and reposting missing flier signs, posting daily in the neighborhood Facebook group, and were out each night calling their cat’s name. When was the last time you used this same sense of urgency and momentum when communicating with your donors? Tune into this full episode to hear how you can overcome embarrassment and other mindset blocks to step into this mindset of unwavering belief to watch your organization grow and grow some more.
Topics:
What happened when one of Christina’s clients started prioritizing sending a weekly email to their subscribers and the magic of letting your subscribers in BTS
What it means to be relentless and committed, especially when those around you start losing belief
Watching how you show up and recognizing where your belief lies in whatever it is that you’re seeking, then keeping the optimism and momentum high
Overcoming the feeling of embarrassment that gets in the way of unwavering belief, especially as time goes on
Questions to ask yourself around what would change if you channeled more momentum around hitting your goals
Taking time for celebrating your wins so that you can create the momentum for more
Think you’ve reached out to “everyone” in your network? Out of ideas to get noticed and get funded? Generate leads for your nonprofit or social impact business: https://www.splendidcourses.com/prospect
Christina’s Favorite Takeaways:
“You have to share your point of view, you’ve got to let your subscribers in.”
“If I can underscore anything when it comes to your email marketing, one of the data points that is really cool to track and get a sense of is the reply rate… That is magic. That is a potential donor or subscriber raising their hand saying, ‘I'm interested, tell me more.’”
“How do we build trust? We do it through vulnerability. We start to dip our toes into what’s true.”
“How you show up the actions you take are informed, but by your belief and whether or not you believe it's happening.”
“There may be one person on that email list that's like, not for me. Right? That's okay. You want to think about and reach out to and write to and market to your best customer, your most ideal aligned client and think about what's for them.”
“Not everyone around you, not every single staff or volunteer board member may have the level of certainty or belief that you do, you need to hold that for them.”
“Unwavering belief doesn't mean that it's a straight line. It just means that you are aware you are prepared for the peaks and valleys that are part of growing your mission.”
Episode Resources:
FREE Resources from Splendid Consulting:
How to Work with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
-
*Links may be affiliate links which means I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Christina Edwards 00:36
we're gonna start today with a client success story. So recently, one of my clients has really been trying to prioritize email, they went from really sending sporadic emails, I'm gonna say, like, once a month, something like that. And then having these little pops of fundraisers a few times a year to saying, let's just do a weekly email, and I said, Okay, if you're going to do a weekly email, you got to share your point of view, you've got to let your subscribers in, to let them in, like, give them a peek behind the curtain and not sound so formal, so ominous, so vague, and like any other organization. And so in practice, that may make sense to you wear like a shirt, but in practice, that meant talking about maybe his personal life, just to tear just a little bit about how his dog got sick, right about how plans best laid plans have curveballs, when you have to take your dog to the vet about adding you're adding a next 100th person to your weightless, right, like very, very specific. So about sharing that it's raining out about sharing that you are out of supplies for this important program. Right. So it's like both the personal like little glimpses, it may be celebrating your child's birthday, and then looping that into how that affects your day to day life at the organization, you've got to let people in. So we work together in this process. And the results have been amazing. So let's talk about what has happened. Number one, it's gotten the organization into a regular cadence. Number two, letting his audience into a little bit of a glimpse of the personal like behind the scenes. And the goings on day to day of the organization has been magic, especially for their major donors. So they do have major donors on their regular email list. And he's had major donors reply and be like, have a beautiful weekend, take the weekend off, I hope you get a restful weekend, because he's sharing some of the day to day stresses some of the curveballs during the week. USB, that's the first thing. So if I can underscore anything when it comes to your email marketing, one of the data points it's really cool to track and get a sense of is the reply rate. So the actual people who are taking your email blasts, which you sent to 1000s of people and hitting reply and having a conversation with you. That is magic. That is a potential donor or subscriber raising their hand saying I'm interested, I'm feel connected, I feel seen heard part of your community Tell me more. So that was kind of the beginning. And less than eight emails later, y'all less than eight animals later. So they were doing they didn't have a strong ask a strong fundraiser. But they were doing a series of emails that were just these weekly updates. And then in the PSF, one of the emails more recently, they said, hey, they had kind of a goings on of what's happening in the organization and some some challenges, some pain points. And they said, if you want to support our organization, one of the best ways you can do it is joining our monthly circle or monthly giving program. They stuck it in the pls. And less than two hours later, two people had signed up as monthly donors. Here's why I love this. I love this so much, because it didn't require this huge launch. I love this so much because they stuck it in the PS I love this so much because it engaged two people a couple of people who previously had been kind of cold and they said that's me I can become a monthly donor. I love this so much because it translated into 1000s of dollars of income for the year. You're with me just in the PS. Now this this exercise this outcome wouldn't have been possible if not for leaving breadcrumbs if not for seeding the storytelling seeding the trust building process seeding that nurture that commitment process in the few weeks prior. Okay, so to come right out of the gate and say we'll also not email today I'll drop a PS like Christina said and where are my monthly donors know, we want to start building trust how Do we build trust with each other through vulnerability, that does not mean that you have to say, your deepest, darkest, serious secrets, or that you should, to your entire email list that does mean is that we start to just dip our toe into what's true, we start to dip our toe into the realities of your lived experience. That's how you like give people a little glimpse a little something. Okay. So where can you do that in your own storytelling. So let's celebrate. So that's my client success story. If you want help with this, this is the work we do in the purpose and profit club. That's my group coaching program, you can click the I'm going to start that part again, I got a little choppy. If you want help to one more time. This is the work we do in my group coaching program, the purpose and profit club if you want help and results like this, which is less than eight emails already to monthly donors who have said, Yes, major donors who have said, amazing you're doing terrific work, we're responding to you you need to join, you can click the link in the show notes to get more information. All right, let's move in to today's topic. So I want to talk about this idea of unwavering belief. Now Brian Cole has talked about this idea of relentless optimism, which is her version of this, which I love and has made her millions of dollars. In episode, let's look it up. Mariah cause is episode 18 is where she goes into this idea of relentless optimism. So this is a flavor of that of this idea of believing it's going to work instead of believing it's not going to work. So instead of going to all the worst case scenarios, what if we go to the best case scenarios? And you may be like, yeah, sure, great, but here's why this matters. Okay, here's why this matters. So recently, a neighbor's dog got loose like off leash and they're searching high and low for this dog As of recording this, they have not found their puppy yet. But they've been posting all the Facebook groups, they've been canvassing, they've got the signs up on the telephone poles all the things okay. And it reminded me I saw you may get a fort.
07:31
Or somebody comes in
Christina Edwards 07:38
I'll come check on you in a bed. Okay.
07:47
You have to say that it's either somebody in my family, so I know what Yes, I say that it's just not your mom. To say that. It's some in my faith. Oh, I see.
Christina Edwards 08:12
home sick kid. Okay, here we go. Now seeing my neighbors go through this process of trying to find their last dog reminded me of my other neighbors who a few years back, their cat escaped. So they wanted one of those scape artists, cats. That was an indoor only cat and it escaped, okay. And they really went hard. They canvass the neighborhood. They put up signs they did next door and all the Facebook groups to find their cat. No, it was winter. And that added a little bit more challenge to it right? Because it was like really cold out and they were really worried about their cat. And one of the things that they did, they had an unwavering belief. This cat was lost for over a month. They didn't stop they knocked on doors, they became members of further away Facebook groups. They were going wider into the area just trying to find their cat. Okay, now we did everything we could they were checking crawlspaces porches, everything and at some point around the month mark, I remember losing my belief, like, oh, no, I don't know if they're gonna find this cat, right? A month is a long time. They were relentless. They were committed. That meant what does it mean to be relentless and committed? It meant that when the rain took all of the signs on the telephone poles and like curled the edges and they got all smushed up, they put up fresh signs, it meant that they knocked on more doors. It meant that they joined other Facebook groups and other next door groups and they had like a street team helping them it meant that they didn't stop talking about it. Right. They didn't stop talking about it. They were like we're gonna find our cat her cats coming home. I don't know how I don't know where the stinker cat is, but we're finding him. So how you show up the actions you take are informed, but by your belief, right, and whether or not you believe it's happening, we're going to figure this out. We're going to find him. Right. Versus I've done everything I can. Christina, I put up all the signs I hear. Here's the objection I would hear already posted in that group. Okay, well, you posted last week post today. One of the things I noticed these these other neighbors doing with their last dog is they're posting daily, they are like daily update, let last sighting seen on this day, this time in this neighborhood on the street. smart, smart, smart, smart. So you really want to watch how you show up, and where your belief is, in whatever it is you're seeking. So let's talk about an actual goal. Maybe you have a growth goal, a fundraising goal, a campaign goal, any sort of goal, a donor goal, a new new acquisition, anything, right? Usually right out of the gate, you're very high on that optimism, it's gonna go well, I've got my board behind me, I've got my staff, it's gonna go well, right. And then you may start to feel sluggish, you may start to feel like it's petering out. So number one, that's normal. Number two, that's when you want to channel that unwavering belief. Now you can have unwavering belief and still have those mornings or those days where it just feels a little off. And that's okay. The point is, and we go, and we get back up again. So with the cat example, let's think about this. There may be days where they were like, I don't know where this cat is, we have looked and told everyone and asked everybody, and it feels really impossible. And I'm ready to go to bed. And the next morning, we go again. Who do I need to call? Where did I not canvas? Who would know? What what, what other actions can I take to move me towards this goal? Instead of keep me stagnant? You're with me. So what happened here? Somewhere around the month, maybe longer Mark, I remember I got a text one day, we found him. And I was like, shocked. I was shocked. I was like that mix of just like, oh my gosh, I'm so excited. They found him and shocked, totally shocked, and relieved and excited and happy that they never gave up and that they just kept going. The cat was dirty, a little hungry, but totally fine. They found him. So one of the pieces here that I think is important to clarify is it doesn't mean that they could have that every cat will have a found every lost dog will be found just because you have unwavering belief. But instead, it means that you give it your best shot like you give it the fighting chance, like the best version. Now, I do think that there's this feeling of embarrassment that can get in the way of unwavering belief. And I'll show you what I mean. So if you've ever knocked on a door, and you're like, hey, this is our cat, which I've, you know, been on the receiving end, here's a flyer, right? If you do that you do that on day one of the cat being missing. And then you do it again. On day seven, and day nine. There may be a fear of being embarrassed, right? I don't want this person to be like Goddess, this lady is still looking for their cat, right? That would keep you from doing it keep you from taking the action and instead channeling that unwavering belief we're gonna find him. We're gonna find him. I could hear yesterday could hear the neighbor who lost her dog from very far away like faint in the distance. I could hear them calling her dogs and peanut peanut. What does it take? It takes a willingness to feel embarrassed to walk up and down the street that you've already walked on before and yell Pina, Pina, right, you have to be willing to just okay, I'm going to feel a little embarrassed or whatever that might may be negative emotion might be, maybe it's rejection. Maybe it's some other negative emotion that may come up in the process. And that's okay towards your goal. Right. So let's go back to the email example. In the beginning, my clients success story, it's going so well. And for the two donors that showed up and said, We want to be monthly donors, in less than two hours of that email getting sent. There may be one person on that email list that's like, not for me. Right? That's okay. You want to think about and reach out to and write to and market to your best customer, your most ideal aligned client and think about what's for them. Right, how they can have that reciprocal exchange of value, how they can be a part of your organization. You want to write to them and create content for them and reach out to them and tell stories for them, not for the current curmudgeon Who's like yeah, kind of email a lot. Or a not a cat person. Right? You want to talk to Cat people, right? So if you knock on someone's door, and you're like our cats missing, and they're like, I hate cats, I'm allergic to cats. Amazing. Roll that off, and we go, and we go, we pick up and we move on from that point. So here's some questions to ask yourself, What would change? What would change if you channeled more momentum and optimism around you hitting your goals? Think about it. What would change? Who would you ask? Who would you ask? If you had unwavering belief, we hit our goal this year, we grow by 50%. We reach we acquire 100 new donors and our monthly giving program, we get 1000 new email subscribers, if you had a unwavering belief that those things happened, what would change? What would you do next? That's probably different than what you're doing. Now. Think about that. What would you say? What wouldn't you say? What would you let roll off? Whether it's an objection and assumption? An unhelpful comment or criticism you could be on the receiving end of right? Think about that. Maybe it's a feeling like rejection or embarrassment or something like that. Okay. Somebody who wants to find their cat or dog is just like, I'm finding this cat, I don't think care how crazy I look at the process I'm finding, right. And then the, the one that really does like this one, like our neighbors, they keep going, even when other people, including myself, their belief starts to get a little wobbly, they're like, No, we're gonna keep going. And that's really an important piece of this whole process is not everyone around you, not every single staff or volunteer board member may have the level of certainty or belief that you do, you need to hold that for them. Right, we're going to hit our goal, this is happening. You need to help pull them forward, if they feel a little wobbly. And and if they are too wobbly, then like, make peace with that and move on. Don't try and convince them. You know what I mean? Like if you have a board member who is a little bit of a curmudgeon, or you have a staffer who's like, I don't know, if that's gonna work, I don't know why you're doing that. Okay? And I'm not going to involve them in those conversations as I hit my goal, because those may be a little bit more of an energy suck. If you want another example of who does this, well, are industries that do this, well, are people that do this, well, founders of startups do this so well, they are so used to being in rooms sending cold emails being on the being on the receiving end of nose from pitches, right, they're so used to hearing nose and rejection and feeling embarrassed, and just having people tell them and it's not gonna work. And it doesn't keep them from continuing to hit their goals. They use the that information, the useful part of information to inform a better pitch, improving the deck, improving the social proof and proving anything about the process. And they go, it's sort of like they're holding that this app idea or this product idea is magic. They know it is and it's going to be a winding road to get there. It's going to be peak and valley to get there versus a straight line. Okay? So unwavering belief doesn't mean that it's straight line doesn't mean that it's a yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes. It just means that you are you are aware you are prepared for the peaks and valleys that are part of growing your mission that are part of growing your organization. And you keep them to fuel you forward. Right? That it doesn't stop you it doesn't hinder your progress. So ask yourself, what is what is a goal that we're working towards that I can channel and create some unwavering belief around? Where's my belief now for it right? Am I waiting for other people to believe in achieving this goal before I do, right? Maybe you want to engage your lapsed donors, maybe you want to build out your social street team, maybe you want to watch a new program. Right, whatever those things are. Where's your belief on it? And how can you channel some optimism, some relentlessness, some scrappiness, like startup founders do, how can you channel some unwavering belief for it? Even knowing that the path to get there is going to be a little bit winding is not going to be perfect? And that's okay. Where can you channel some of that? And what would it look like to have the support system to help you get there? So that support system may be another staffer? That support system may be your board? That support system may be yourself, right? Because when you're creating something new, when you're innovating, when you're doing something different? Not everyone's going to agree and not everybody may be in support of it right away. Other piece that you can do is what are some of the small wins along the way that I can celebrate? So if you're trying to grow 50% This year, let's make it a big goal. Right? So you're trying to grow revenue 50% this year? Where can you celebrate 5% growth? Do not wait until the 50% mark to celebrate until yourself it's working? Where can you celebrate upgrading every single donor, every donor you upgrade your over year, celebrate that? Where can you talk about those milestones internally, externally, wherever you want to shoot, start showing evidence to yourself and to your stakeholders that this is working. That is actually a huge hack for building momentum. Really important. We do that in the purpose and profit club we celebrate wins the big and the small because it literally creates momentum. If you want more excellence if you want more progress. If you want more funding, you have to celebrate the funding that is here. The progress that is here the excellence that is here today. Right I will see you next time. Bye