The Flowing Activities Within a Portfolio
Dear Diary,
For those that work in prospect management, I would love to brainstorm the structure of portfolios. I’ve been working on how portfolios are structured, from what I’ve learned from other shops to what I believe should be true and implemented. I believe we can agree on a very basic truth – We have to maintain the flow and progression of relationships. The progression is not linear but abstract and indirect, for example, a visual of a prospect in qualification that is then placed in the disqualification pool. How are you considering and tracking this progress? And yes, it is progress to be in qualification and learn that there isn’t alignment therefore the person is disqualified. Read more here about celebrating disqualification.
Are you asking the following questions:
(1) Are these portfolios showing how I manage the process of identified prospects moving all the way through and into solicitation?
It’s not one big jump, there are stages in-between but how is this all being tracked? Is there a right way and how creative can we get?
Simplicity is key! So, how can we make it simple for the user to learn and understand the ways in which their portfolio (and supplementary reports) communicate activities?
(2) Can I show lifespan of prospects in Qualification? How long have they been in stages?
(3) What defines a portfolio?
(4) Are we tracking movements in portfolios during strategy meetings?
(5) Stewardship has to be in its own report, right? Consistently reviewed by necessary teams and the fundraiser(s).
(6) What stages SHOULD be in a portfolio?
If Stewardship is in portfolios, for fundraiser visibility, time in stage and purpose needs to be tracked.
(7) What are important supplementary reports that aid in strategy meetings?
(8) Is all of this work helping me balance portfolios?
How is the fundraiser engaging with the portfolio? Roadblocks?
Until next time,
April 15th!
