If you had to pick one area in which to improve your fundraising prowess, just one, which of these would you focus on …

• Data/analytics — what to measure and how to learn from it;
• Toys — mastering new technology and tools (like Search optimisation and social media and mobile);
• Tactics — how to actually contact/engage donors and prospects for maximum impact;
• Messaging — what to say and how to say it;
• Human nature — better understanding what makes people tick, what motivates them or impedes response; or,
• Something else — I’m all ears on this one!

Any of these areas is deserving of attention and better mastery.

But personally, for most fundraisers I’ve encountered, I’d pick better understanding human nature.

I believe that having the right feel for what makes donors tick, how they process information, what gratification they seek — understanding human behavior as it plays out in the process of giving — trumps all the other stuff.

Put the data, tools, tactics and creative in the hands of a person who has developed that feel, and that person will absolutely outperform anyone operating by rote or out of the manual or by mere mimicry.

Fundraising consultant Larry Johnson discusses this a bit in his recent NonProfitPRO article, 4 Steps to Avoid Fundraising Insanity …

“Yes, there is an ‘art’ to fundraising. This art is built upon a firm understanding of human nature, which is amazingly consistent across time and culture. It is the skilled nuance, which comes from emotional maturity and experience. It’s not magic or the secret handshake available by webinar or conference session.

“Emotional maturity—and the personal judgment that comes with it—can be encouraged through experience. It can’t be taught or imparted.”

I agree that you can’t substitute for experience. That said, one can accelerate the learning process and better equip himself or herself to correctly understand what they are observing.

The way to do that is to read the extensive literature on how people process information and choices. Some of this is purely academic research (like the books of Antonio Damasio), some is focused on how to persuade and make sales (like Changing Minds and The Buying Brain), and some aims to better connect the science with practical behaviors, including pro-social acts of altruism and giving.

Two of my favourites in the last category are Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow and Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational. The former is fairly heavy-duty; the latter provides heaps of insight in a more entertaining manner.

Then put together and start working through your reading list. But don’t just read. Apply, apply, apply it on a daily basis to what you’re doing as a fundraiser.

Tom

P.S. If you’re interested in how behavioral insights can be put to work in fundraising, attend this free webinar from our colleagues at DonorVoice next Tuesday, April 12.

P.P.S. And to get an appreciation of Ariely’s entertaining style, check out this video.