Here’s a telemarketing success story provided by Operation Smile. But it’s more than that, a point I’ll come back to.

Operation Smile has provided free, reconstructive surgery and related healthcare to more than 150,000 children worldwide suffering from facial deformities.

The Campaign Goal: Raise $450,000 from a multi-part campaign in order to meet their annual income budget.

Step 1: Training – Professional telefundraisers at Strategic Fundraising were educated extensively on Operation Smile’s mission and the type of donor experience they wanted to provide. During training, the telefundraisers viewed heartfelt videos from recent Op Smile mission so they would be well informed and passionate when calling donors.

Step 2: Phone Blast Message – The campaign launched with an inspiring phone blast message from Operation Smile’s founder, Dr. William Magee, to alert donors about upcoming direct mail pieces.

Step 3: Direct Mail and E-Mail – Donors then received the appeal and chaser mailings, along with two emails.

Step 4: Personalized Phone Call – Strategic’s telefundraisers called to offer more information and solicit donations, with ask levels based on eachdonor’s gift history. This final phone push was critical to the campaign’s historic success.

Step 5: Acknowledgement Message – To further steward donors and boost fulfillment, those who pledged received another recorded phone message from Dr. Magee, expressing gratitude for their continuing support.

The Results: Operation Smile far exceeded projections, raising twice the gross revenue forecast and three times the net revenue compared with prior campaigns. The phone alone generated 30 percent of total revenue, with pledges fulfilling at an astounding 85 percent rate. The organization raised $9 for every $1 invested in telefundraising at a cost of $.11 per dollar raised.

Clearly this is much more than a successful telemarketing campaign. “The key to this hugely successful campaign was expansion of channels to include the phone with tight integration of messaging and the timing across all touch points,” says Jann Schultz, Operation Smile’s Director of Donor Relations. It’s a great example of an organization actually ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to integrated fundraising — orchestrated use of direct mail, email, and telephone was the winning ticket.

Operation Smile and Strategic Fundraising, you deserve a raise!

Tom