CONSERVATIVES NEED NEW LEADERS Continued #2...
Last week I shared some thoughts and/or recommendations in no particular order for your consideration. Here are some more:
- The best and the best-known marketer in America, Dan Kennedy, writes in every communication, “WHOEVER CAN SPEND THE MOST MONEY TO ACQUIRE A CUSTOMER [DONOR] WINS.”
- When you invest money to acquire a donor, subscriber, etc. via postal or digital, you’re also advertising and educating the same as if you were advertising on TV or radio. Also, remember when you invest money to get donations with postal letters, email, or digital ads, you’re acquiring a donor, supporter, friend, activist who may support your cause for decades.
- The leader of conservatives nationally in the 1950s-1970s was Bill Buckley Jr. And his vehicles for leading were National Review, his weekly columns, his TV show Firing Line, books, speeches, meetings, and conversations with other conservative leaders.
- Peter Drucker (the premier business consultant of the 20th century) said, “The purpose of a business [nonprofit] is to acquire a customer [donor].” Nothing happens until you have a customer or in the case of a nonprofit—a donor.
- There’s no shortage of money—only a shortage of entrepreneurial, risk-taking leaders.
- I have urged numerous conservative leaders to seriously consider joining Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach organization as well as read the books he authored. Dan is the best known and best coach for entrepreneurs in the world. Becoming a “student” of Dan Sullivan’s can be life changing. Dan has written many books and one of his most recent is called, “WHO NOT HOW”. The idea behind the book is that leaders of organizations should not be focused on HOW you do something, but WHO is going to do it, i.e., WHO is going to be in charge of acquiring new donors, raising more money, growing the organization, acquiring more subscribers, getting more votes, more media, etc.
- A few months ago, the Manhattan Institute conducted a survey of Trump 2024 voters. I found it very interesting and helpful, especially the part where they describe people who are MAGA voters (29% of all Trump voters). Most of these voters don’t consider themselves Republican or even conservative. Some are young blacks, Hispanics, whites, working men and women, union members, but most have one thing in common—they feel the system is rigged to advance the Establishment/the country’s rich and powerful’s interest to their detriment. President Trump is not able to transfer his support from these people to other Republican candidates. These voters are up for grabs, but there’s a small window of opportunity for conservatives to reach them.
- Peter Drucker was well-known for saying, “A business [nonprofit] does two things: INNOVATES and MARKETS, and everything else is a cost.” Most leaders of conservative organizations spend about 95% of their time on INNOVATION, and 5% or less on MARKETING. That’s a major reason why Democrat-led organizations raise 700% more money from 700% more donors than conservatives. Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Donald Trump, etc. all know the importance of devoting a significant amount of their time to marketing and no one was better at allocating lots of marketing time to his business than Steve Jobs. So that when Jobs died, he had built the most valuable corporation in the world.
- I strongly recommend writing a BHAG plan for your organization to make a major contribution to saving America by 2032-2034. It can be done, it needs to be done—and if you don’t do it, it may not get done.
Before Rush Limbaugh, there was Richard Viguerie. Many conservatives listened to, learned from, and heeded the advice articulated by the late radio talk show legend. But before Rush, conservatives looked to Richard Viguerie, the funding father of the conservative movement, for the “right word” on policy and politics. Before Mr. Limbaugh, it was Mr. Viguerie whose mail was delivered over hill and dale, through rain, sleet, and snow, to conservative donors and activists, prodding them to take action.
