All year long, be on the lookout for people who are the most excited about and dedicated to your work. In fact, the best time to start your next year's Table Captain recruitment is in the week following your Ask Event^™ as you are making your Follow-Up Calls.

Part of the standard Ask Event follow-up procedure is to call each Table Captain the day after the event to thank them and ask what their guests said as they walked away from the event. Did they mention that they wanted to go home and talk to someone about giving to the organization? Are they affiliated with a corporation or foundation that they wanted to talk with before making a gift?

Odds are, your Table Captains will be excited! They will tell you who said what, how much they loved the event, and perhaps give you feedback on parts they feel could be improved. Special note: Don't get defensive when they do this; instead, listen closely to their feedback and thank them for it. Assume that you might have had that same feedback had you been a guest at your event. If appropriate, consider how you can incorporate their advice for your next Ask Event. Your Table Captains will likely also tell you about people they wished had attended, like, "I was so sorry Angela couldn't be there. She would have loved it!" As you are listening to their feedback, it will be very natural to tell them the date of next year's event and ask them if they would agree to be a Table Captain again.

We have many groups that secure 50%–60% of their Table Captains within two weeks of the preceding Ask Event. Of course, it helps if you have locked in the date of your next Ask Event before you make your Follow-Up Calls.