NPC Don Ward – 9/26/17
Hugh Ballou: Welcome to this version of the Nonprofit Exchange. Russell David Dennis, how are you today sir?
Russell Dennis: it’s a beautiful day here in Colorado. A little cloudy, a little cool. It’s a great day just to be alive.
Don Ward:
Hugh: We have a long-time friend and another brilliant person who is in my life. Russ haven’t met him yet, but you will discover for yourself that Don has many, any gifts. We are going to talk about a special topic: We are all challenged around the topic of talking about money. We like to champion charity as the definition of what we do in the social benefit sector. The word is nonprofit is used a lot. I ends to color our thinking about money. Our guest today is Don Ward. Don Ward wears a number of hats. I know Don Ward from the CEO clubs in Central Florida, where you have introduced me to some really great leaders. Don, welcome to the Nonprofit Exchange.
Don: Thank you very much. Honored to be here. As they say, whatever you honor will honor you.
Hugh: Love it. There are a lo of things you do, but in this space of influencing leaders, our topic today is money has eyes. Talk about your background, your experience, and what gives you the knowledge and wisdom to present today around this topic.
Don: Mistakes and great mentors. The only two ways you learn. So I would say that is what qualifies me. Probably there is a call that I am going to give you a mock version of that call later. I used to run a CEO of an organization you and I were a part of. People would find outa bout an event and go, “Oh my god, I have to be there. My credit card is maxed out. I don’t have any cash. Nobody loves me.” And all that stuff. We would just say, “Do you see yourself being there next week?” They say, “Yeah, I gotta be.” Okay. No problem. Be on a call at 9:00 on Wednesday night. I’ll give you a dose of that call a little later on.
Hugh: Great.
Don: But yes, I have helped over 400 companies raise seed capital on up to over a billion. I could go into a whole lo of things about what attracts money, but I will give you the coaching little bit segment there. Basically, if you have an A-level team and you have a B-level play-in, you are funded. You have an A-level play-in and a B-level team. Ain’t no money comin’.
Hugh: Whoa. That’s a reality check. So you have some really good information to share with us today. We often just go back and forth in a Q&A with guests. I want to give you some space to share in a presentation mode about money has eyes. I heard you say, you kind of slipped it in, that you helped 400 companies raise capital. Is that what you said?
Don: Absolutely. I don’t have it on my business card. I don’t have it on my website because I only do it for people that I know I am divinely called to work in conjunction with. Not everybody is our assignment.
Hugh: Got it. We work with- Russell and I work with charities. I work with early-stage entrepreneurs. Many, many, many are challenged. This is a great topic for everyone, so I want to get out of your way. So you have worked with seed capital, and I heard you say a billion dollars.
Don: Well, actually, I am sitting on two operations right now. We are in the middle of a $9.9 billion raise on one, and the other we are in the middle of a $500 million one, but we are gonna need a lot more than that before it’s done. My biggest part to bring to it isn’t just laying out the corporate engineering or the capital development, but really it’s helping people to reshape their vision and mission. If you can talk about what you can do in 15 words or less, people might hear what your’ saying, and you might actually sound like you know what you’re talking about. But if you can get it down to five words, you are powerful, probably the most powerful person at the event. Especially if it is a networking event. They ask you what it is; you want money to be asking you questions, you don’t want to be telling it anything.
Hugh: That’s a paradigm shift. Why don’t you share with us about Money Has Eyes?
Don: Okay. That might be my two-point oversion because the actual title is Ears. But I like it.
Hugh: Ears, ears. Sorry.
Don: Because you can’t receive what you can’t perceive. Mony does have to see what you ar talking about. I’m with ya. I say Money Has Ears, and I talk about money as if it is its own entity. People have it, but money is listening all on its own, and it knows exactly what it wants to hear, sense, or see coming from you. If it is smelling need or fear, goodby money. I work in a lot of faith-basd organizations as well, and people are always coming up and going, “Well, God gave me this idea, and He is going to fund it.” I go, “Okay. Let’s pretend you’re God. If you’re God and you’re looking down and you know that you are going to lean on your understanding, would you fund it? God is not going to fund it. God is as much about team as the world is about team. If you got the wrong team, the money isn’t coming. Maybe we need to reshape what your priorities are.” A lot of people say the next thing, when you ask them, is money. The next thing you need is team. The reason you don’t have money is because you don’t have the team. People aren’t compelled to believe that you can execute the plan you allegedly have. In the nonprofit sector, I think one of the big issues is always been they lead with their need. Let’s say that you have a church and you are saying, “Oh my God, we need fifty grand by Friday, or we are going to have to close this church down.” God is sitting there looking at you going, “Well, if you clos down, I am going to look bad. However, I’m not moved by your need.” God is not even moved by your need. What is He moved by? Your faith. If He is moved by your faith, and your ability to execute properly with what you have in your hand, chances are money will come. But asking, seeking, and knocking, okay. Start on your knees, but actually at some point, you have to go outside and ask, seek, and knock. If you are going to ask, seek, and knock, do you know how to talk to money? Do you understand that money has the attention span of a third-grader with ADD and a fourteenth-century classroom? Teacher starts writing on a chalkboard with chalk. Student is left the room. If your first introductory comments in your capital presentation go over about fifteen words, your investor probably lft the room mentally, too. What is that investor listening for? Well, there are thre things I belive money is attractd to: vision, passion, and team. I do a lot of coaching with a lot of different entities. Before I go on board with them, I ask three questions. 1) If they won’t die for it, I am not getting on board with them because they won’t be doing it this time next year. 2) Is it global? Anything less than that, what if, is the seed of a dream, just a cash flow strategy. Is money looking for interest on its money or multipls? Multiples. Okay. But we are going to convert this into nonprofit talk here in a second. 3) Is it socially responsible? Is it doing greater good for mankind? If those visions say yes to those thre questions, then okay, let’s sit down and talk because right there, I know you got the passion ecause you are willing to die for it, I know you got the vision because it’s global. You have permitted yourself to see beyond a cash flow. You just permitted yourself to see beyond your own ability. You have permitted yourself to see beyond your own resources. In my line of thinking, God never askd you to do anything you have the ability to do. He is counting on you ot build a team. That leads to what if there are three phases to a dream: the birth, the death, and the resurrection. Why does every dream at some point have to die? because entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs. Anything they know at all, ask me how I know. what happens is they lean on their own understanding. They don’t have mentors half the time, probably a lot more than half the time. They have no revelation of team. It’s just a matter of time before the dream is going to die. God is not worried about it either because He is not letting the dream go away. Once He gives you something, it’s yours; you’re stuck with it. It’s your gift. You can be grateful or consider it a curse, whatever you want. But the bottom line is, that’s your responsibility. You’ll have this desire at times to resurrect the dream. This time you’re teachable. Do you want to start getting into the Money Has Ears routine? I was setting it up, I guess.
Hugh: Yes, sir. Go for it.
Don: All right. People would come on this call at 9:00 at night, and you’re hearing all this chatter in the background. “Okay, let’s start off. Everyone on this call is here because you need to raise some money and quick. You all need to raise at least ten grand to join this organization, get your hotel, get your airfare, blah blah blah. Right. How many people like asking other people for money?” Booo. Hiss. Everybody is like, “No, I hate it, man.” “Okay. Befor you ask for money, you have to come to a place of understanding a certain element about what you’re going to do with the money. Are you raising this money in the case of this call? Are you raising this money so you can come out, you can network with the kings and queens of industry, build a team, raise capital, because your product, your service, your ministry, your charity can do great things for mankind?” All of a sudden, everybody is like, “Yeah, that’s me, man. My product is going to change the world. What I do for mankind, I am going to be digging water wells in Africa.” Everybody has a different thing. “Okay, next question. Are you actually needy in the world, or are you needed by the world?” People are having Aha moments. “Crap, man, I am needed by the world. I am needed by the world, man.” “All right, if you are needed by the world, then are you actually raising money for you or the people you’re going to serve?” “Oh. Actually I got to get this money so I can help all the people that in my heart I am going to mak a big difference for what I am bringing to mankind.” “Okay, before we finish the call or carry on any further in the call, everyone take am oment now and make that little shift. Tak that switch that says ‘I am needy because I gotta go talk to people about money’ and click it over to here where I am needed. Everyone make a shift?” “Yeah.” “Okay. Next part is going to disappoint a couple of people. Mayb it will hurt somone’s feelings. Does everyone in this call belive in something bigger than themselves?” Yeah. Pretty much everyone did. “Okay. How many of you believe the universe is going to take care of getting you your ten grand in the next couple days so you can b out there?” A lot of people go yeah. They’re cheering. “How many people believe that Jesus is going to give you the money?” A bunch of people are cheering. “Anyone believe out here that Buddha is going to give you the money?” A coupl people might say it once in a while. I am not going to say all the ones that nobody was vero n the call for. Bottom line, those people on the call did believe in something bigger than themselves. “Okay, that’s all you need. I am going to teach you how to play the game. It doesn’t matter which one of those you believe in, but you hav gotta believ in something bigger than yourself to pull this exercise off.” “Okay, that’s cool.” “if you need to hang up, hang up. No hard feelings.” “We’re all good.” “okay. This is what we’re going to do. First, we are going to do a little exercise. This little exercise, if you have ever ben in MLM, is going to feel familiar. Basically we forgt how many people we know. we know a lot of people. The thing is, w don’t know what to say to those people. We all know that friends and family support your passion and your present but seldom are they ever supportive of your enlarged tomorrow.” “Yeah, you’re right, man. Everyone is telling me I can’t do this, it’s never gonna happen, good luck, I’ll pray for you.” “Okay, that’s all right. This is what you’re going to do for an hour after this call tonight. I want you to sit down and make a list. I don’t care if you have to writ down the name of your dead second-grade teacher. Write it down. The person you met in the elevator last wdneday that give you a business card. Write it down. Any name that comes to mind, writ it down. Okay. Now what. “Now we are going to go through and grade them. A, they may have resources, they may support me. B: I don’t know if they have eresources, I don’t know if they can support me. C: Ain’t no way. What I want to tell everybody on this call is I have had people call me and say, ‘I have three As, five Bs, and like 300 Cs.’ I’d go say, ‘Go practice on a C. I will teach what it is they are going to say.’ Before I do, I have to explain about what money is listening for because we called this Money Has Ears. Money wants to know two things. If I am coming home, how much more money is coming home with me and when? IF I am not coming home, am I doing a greater good for mankind in getting a tax deduction? We have nonprofits on the call tonight?” “Yes.” “We have for-profits?” “Yes.” I am going to give you some modeling of the right language because I am going to tell you a little surprise right now. The truth is, you are not going to even ask the person sitting in front of you for anything but wisdom.” “Oh my God, I thought we were raising money?” “You don’t understand. When you re asking for money, all you ever will get is wisdom. Ask for wisdom.” “He’s probably right. That makes sense.” “Okay. Now here is where you are going to find out who you call. I don’t want you using your head to figure this out. You went through a list-building xercise. I don’t care what you do with it. Cyou can throw it away now.” “Why am I going to do all that work and fill out the list?” “I just wantd to stir up in you to remember how many people you really know.” “Yeah, okay.” “Well, here is the part of the list. This is the part of the exercise where the magic happens. You are going to go, ‘Oh Universe, Oh Buddha, Oh Jesus, whatever your claiming to be your higher power, you’re going to say, ‘Give me five faces.’ This is how long it’s going ot take you ladies and gentlemen. You take ten minues. If you meditate, you meditate. If you pray, you pray. Before you do, you just go, ‘in the next ten minues, I want you to put five faces before me, and I will call those faces in the order that you give them to me.’ There is something about lining up with your word with your maker. If you told your maker, ‘This is what I’m going to do,’ you better do it. You will call those five faces. What are you going to call those five faces for? A ten-minute wisdom meeting.” “Ten minues?” “What I am about to teach you you do not need a business plan, an executive summary. All you need to do is to sell you as being willing to die for it, that this is an incredible opportunity, and that you are building a team capable of executing the plan. You don’t have to prove any of it because you are not asking people for millions. You are asking for thousands. It’s aw hole different league.” “okay.” “Well, this is kind of how it goes, ladies and gentlemen. You are going to call up the five faces that you just got in that ten minutees’ time. I know I just met you in the elevator last Wednesday. I looked you up on LinkedIn, saw you have done a lot of things. I am moving a project forward, and I need to get some counsel from somebody that isn’t family or isn’t a friend. They all are going to be dreamkillers. I need to get a third party look at my project. I promise if our meeting goes eleven minutes, it will be your fault.’ The other person is going, ‘Number one, I just met you last Wednesday. Number two, you think I have wisdom?”
Let me tell you something. I started the call with whatever you honor will honor you. Anyone who has asked you for wisdom, were you insulted?
Hugh: No.
Don: No? You honroed them. I sense I could get some wisdom. I was meditating this morning, and I am going, Man, I need some wisdom. Who can I call? Your face popped up of all things.” “Really? I just met you in the elevator last Wednesday.” “I don’t question it. When I ask my maker for a face and he gives me the face, I am going to go talk to the face. You’er the face. Would you honor me with ten minues of your time? I promise it won’t take eleven.” “Yeah, okay.” “To honor your time, I understand there is a Starbucks just a couple blocks from you. I’ll come to you. I’ll be there ahead of schedule. You will be out in ten minutes.” “All right, okay. I’ll come see what you’re talking about.”
Next day, 2:00, just like you set up with him. You’re there early. You’re looking proessional. Money does have eyes, and if it looks at you and says, “You ain’t professional,” so thanks for that tidbit there, Hugh. We are going to add in an adiditon that money ahs eyes, too. It’s looking for something better to do. Money is always looking for something better to do than it’s doing today. It’ll go form point A to point B in the speed of thought. It has no loyalty. Money doesn’t like to keep doing the same stupid thing it did befor either.
Nonprofits have a real issue if they can’t give a compelling vision of how they are learning to actually reproduce once you give them some seed. Most nonprofits are just eating the seed. They are not doing anything with the seed to grow more. There are some issues here. That would be another phon call.
Here we are. Wee’re back to the person in front of you that you met in the elevator last Wednesday. Here is what you’re going to do. You have ten minutes. The first eight minutes, all you’re going to talk about is them. “Man, I’m here to have a meeting and make this money.” “No, everything flows through relationships. Let me ask you a question,” is what I used to say to them. “If you show nine minutes of undivided attention into somebody, do you think you might read one minute of undivided attention?” “Yeah.” “okay. All you need to say is going to take one minute. I am going to teach you what you are going to say in your one minute.” “Okay. All right.”
“What’ that going to be? Depends on what it is you’re taking out there and what it is you are raising your capital for. Basically, it’s the same whether you’re for-profit or nonprofit. I know I just met you last Wednseday. I am so honored you are sitting here in front of me and you gave me this time. I promised you ten minutes. I have a minute and a half. I can do it in that maount of time. This is what I am working on. I have committed my life to it. I am not quitting until it happens. W are building an incredible team. The plan is getting ever-evolving. As you know, all plans change. We are so proud of our plan. Where we’re at right now, wee’re at like 10k, 10.5. 10k shy of our first phase of development. Who do you know that might be interested in digging water wells in Africa?” Assuming that that is that person’s mission. And you shut up. The first person to talk now loses. And you smile. You sit there for ten minues. They are the one holding this meeting any longer because they aren’t talking. You just smile. You sit there. They will come back.
Money always says, “So what are you offering?” If you are an onprofit, that is way too easy an answer. A chance to earn some human interest, do some good for mankind, and give a tax deduction. That’s all that it’s looking for. Nonprofit money, that’s all it’s looking for. The question is, what are you offering? Is what you are doing for mankind btter than what it is presently doing for mankind? That’s only convincing to the money if it’s sold out ha you are sold out. How sold out are you? You just told them you committed your life to bringing this to pass. You are doing everything. You hav ben building this fortune-level team. You have a fortune-level plan. That’s another key word to throw in there. Those words represent that you’re professional. You’re not messing around. They are not going to stop and go, “Can I see your executive summary?” You are not talking about fifty or one hundred thousand or a million dollars. “I find three people at $333 a piece. We’re there.”
If you’re for-profit, then the person is going to turn to you and dsay, “What are you offering?” You’re going to say, “We are offering a convertible promissory note. It’s saying 1% simple interest per month, 12% per year. Can you get that at your bank?” “No.” No, you can’t get anything close to that at your bank, can you? “No.” “What are you saying about a convertible?” “We’re getting ready to raise capital. During that cycle of a one-year offering, if somebody wants their money back at a payment, we will pay it back to you.”
The people on the call are going, “Where am I getting the 12% interest?”
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Money Has Ears | The Nonprofit Exchange: Leadership Tools & Strategies podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
