88 DEANS AND DEVELOPMENT Think of this meeting as two people deciding on a future partnership; you want to persuade your counterpart of a good fit. You agree on a purpose. The donor has the money; you have the resources, the institu- tion, expertise and people, to use it for your common goal. Be on time for the appointment. Be ready to provide a brief update on your college, identifying changes new to the alum. Be attentive to the alum’s ques- tions and interests. Encourage the alum to discuss his or her work and career and the part your college played. Take mental notes and record them as soon as possible after the meeting concludes. Be prepared to leave as soon as your time is up, but be willing to stay longer if the alum is interested in continuing the conversation. Wrap up the meeting with an invitation for further interaction, such as: • Invite them to lecture at your campus or meet to with under- graduates in their discipline the next time they are in town. • Find out when they will next be on your campus and invite them for a personal tour so they can see how it has grown and developed since their graduation. • Depending on their enthusiasm and interest, ask them how they could see themselves more involved in the life of the college. • Consider inviting them to sit on a relevant advisory board, if you have one to which they can meaningfully contribute. When the visit ends, take the first opportunity to record important information garnered from the meeting. Provide it to your Development Office so that it can become part of a contact report, which includes the substance of the conversation, salient personal details, and the “next steps” alluded to above. A sample report could run something like the following: Dean Jones met with Mary Smith, a 1985 English graduate, for lunch on April 25, 2013. Smith became a partner in the nationally prominent law firm of Titus-Oates in 2005. She is divorced, with two college-aged daughters. During the meeting,IupdatedheronthenewMastersinWritingprogram