We all understand that tele-recruitment is an important channel by which we can increase blood collections. Mastering effective tele-recruitment is essential. The three most important things to master when you are using tele-recruitment for your blood center are the script, the contact frequency, and showing appreciation.
Using a script in tele-recruitment is essential, because it makes all calls uniform and ensures that the correct information is being given to donors in every call. Are there special promotions occurring soon? Are certain donation types needed more right now? Giving your tele-recruiters a script to follow will make certain that a consistent message is given to all donors.
Contact frequency is another important tool. The amount of times that a donor should be contacted may depend on your blood center’s needs. For example, the B+ donors in your database may not be called very frequently; whereas the O- donors may be called every several days or weeks, since their blood type is more in demand. Not only can contact frequency be adjusted based on need, but you also want to consider the frequency you call a donor across the board. Over-calling can damage the donor-blood center relationship by reducing the urgency conveyed by a phone call and frustrating donors with frequent calls.
Finally, and most importantly, let your donors know how appreciated they are at every opportunity. The most frequent complaints that we hear from donors is that they had an issue, a concern, or a question, and no one from the blood center seemed to care. Most donors understand that issues and problems occur, but knowing that the blood center cares about the donors and their unique experiences goes a long way in turning a negative experience into a positive one. Let your donors know how important they are to you. Show them that the blood center understands that you couldn’t do what you do without their sacrifice!
These three items are very simple but go a long way in making tele-recruitment more effective. Using a script will ensure that each donor gets the proper information for them each time they are called. Managing contact frequency can help preserve the relationship the donor has with the blood center. Lastly, appreciating donors and letting them know how important their help is goes a long way in creating life-long donors!