Think of the last time you had a poor customer service experience. Perhaps it was at the grocery store, at an airport, or in a telephone conversation. Recall your frustration in trying to have your concerns heard, then acted upon to your satisfaction. In our Benevon 101 Workshop, we often ask people to get back into that mental state of frustration and think about what it would have taken to turn around the situation. There usually is something that someone could have been said or done to make it alright. We then make a list of the little (or not so little) things that it would have taken to win us back.

As customers, we don't want to be unhappy. We want to find suppliers and vendors we can use with confidence, over and over again. We are looking to be loyal.

In our workshops, we then ask people to think about an exceptional customer service experience—one where they got it just right! These tend to stand out in our memories. We make a list of what made the experiences so positive. The same kinds of things are written on each list: they listened to me, they were honest with me, they acted like they truly cared, they took decisive and timely action, they made me feel appreciated, they made me feel special.

The bottom line in outstanding customer service—including those excellent examples of winning us back after a messy situation—is that we are left feeling special. Never mind that there are over six billion of us on the planet. We don't want to hear that we are the fortieth person who has called in with the same complaint today; we want to feel that our complaint is special and that the person handling it is completely committed to our personal satisfaction—whatever that may look like.

It's no different with our donors. We've got to let them know from the very first contact that they are special to us—not just a number or name on a mailing list. Whether at the initial Point of Entry^®, the Follow-Up Call or the many contacts on the Cultivation Superhighway^™, every contact must be as personal as possible.

Let's look at what we mean by "personal." Keeping in mind that your goal is to build your base of lifelong donors, think for a minute about your relationships with lifelong family and friends. You know their preferred way of staying in contact. You know which of their many phone numbers they prefer to be reached at. You know what makes them feel special.

In order to qualify as a "personal contact" in our model, each contact must:

• Be one-on-one;
• Be face-to-face, by phone or e-mail;
• Speak only to them, individually;
• Provide a natural way for the donor to respond to keep the dialog going;
• Make the donor feel special, as defined by that particular donor.

If you are serious about building lifelong relationships with your donors, you have got to get more personal. The Benevon Model is personal. It requires personal contact. Trust your instincts. Choose a few donors (even if they seem to be nothing more than a name on a list right now) and get personal with them. Track your results over time. I think you will be delighted.