Every game-changing tactic starts with a spark — that moment when someone notices something others missed, asks a different question, or sees a pattern hiding in plain sight. Talking Tactics celebrates these flashes of genius in higher education wherever they come from: the work-study student yapping in the commons, an admissions counselor pulling a late night, or the frazzled enrollment coordinator juggling a million tasks before noon. We explore both the insight AND the action, how a single observation became a tactic that delivered real results. We’ll even look at tactics that were a flop but led to an even greater comeback.
Talking Tactics is hosted by Safaniya Stevenson and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
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Every game-changing tactic starts with a spark — that moment when someone notices something others missed, asks a different question, or sees a pattern hiding in plain sight. Talking Tactics celebrates these flashes of genius in higher education wherever they come from: the work-study student yapping in the commons, an admissions counselor pulling a late night, or the frazzled enrollment coordinator juggling a million tasks before noon. We explore both the insight AND the action, how a single observation became a tactic that delivered real results. We’ll even look at tactics that were a flop but led to an even greater comeback.
Talking Tactics is hosted by Safaniya Stevenson and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
Ep. 48: Using Cold Calls to Turn Direct Mail into Major Gifts
Talking Tactics
20 minutes 16 seconds
7 months ago
Ep. 48: Using Cold Calls to Turn Direct Mail into Major Gifts
Most fundraisers accept a 1.5% response rate from direct mail as standard. But Brenda Turner? She used cold calls to push that number to a staggering 20%, securing four major donors from just 37 letters.
Brenda, a certified fundraising executive with 16+ years of experience and nearly $1 billion raised, shares the exact tactic that made her outreach so effective. She breaks down her approach—from writing an “audacious” letter to making fearless follow-up calls—and explains why phone calls are an underutilized secret weapon in fundraising.
Talking Tactics
Every game-changing tactic starts with a spark — that moment when someone notices something others missed, asks a different question, or sees a pattern hiding in plain sight. Talking Tactics celebrates these flashes of genius in higher education wherever they come from: the work-study student yapping in the commons, an admissions counselor pulling a late night, or the frazzled enrollment coordinator juggling a million tasks before noon. We explore both the insight AND the action, how a single observation became a tactic that delivered real results. We’ll even look at tactics that were a flop but led to an even greater comeback.
Talking Tactics is hosted by Safaniya Stevenson and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
