This is somewhat a follow up to my previous question about uploading pledges.
Do most organizations enter telemarketing pledges in Tessitura or not? Reasons why in either direction would be really helpful!
Thank you everyone!
Marta
Hi Marta,
We do book our telemarketing pledges. Our solicitations have been very targeted and the write off rate is low (we send out pledge reminders throughout the season.) Account clean-up & duplicate searches are done both before the leads go out and after we get responses. Hope that helps.
~Sadie
We also book our telefund pledges, and have a strong fulfillment rate. This has been our business practice since long before conversion to Tessitura, but the billing and reporting features available in Tess make it easier than ever to track open pledges and seek payment. These pledges are also generally included in reports as we track our progress toward fundraising goals.
I should note that our telefundraising is done in-house, as is all of the pledge billing. This may make a difference in determining best practices.
We also post telefunding pledges in Tessitura. Most of our pledges involve a monthly payment schedule with the first payment processed immediately on credit card. Both accounting and development prefer this system because it allows for tracking on pledges and for easy billing. Our write-off rate has been very low. Our phone solicitors are in house.
We choose not to enter telemarketing pledges into Tessitura because we don't want to have to write off pledges later. This works well for us because our telefunders use solicitations to track their pledges and will considers. This way, we are able to track and invoice the pledges. There is an icon in the constituents header that signifies if there is a telefunding pledge or will consider out there and if the gift comes in, the data entry person knows to mark it properly as telefunding.
Jessy Friedt