3 MORE Ways to Talk a Friend Into Walking With You

So you’re thinking about walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® this year. Fantastic! If you’re like most folks, you know that the Komen 3-Day will be an unforgettable experience, and you are eager to share that journey with people close to you. But convincing a friend or family member to register for the 3-Day® can sometimes be challenging. In a blog post last year, we shared “3 Ways to Talk a Friend Into Walking With You,” and today we have a few more ideas to help you convince a reluctant buddy to join you for the experience of a lifetime.

Get in Their Face – No, not in an aggressive or threatening way, but if you are going to ask a friend to make the huge commitment of walking 60 miles and raising $2300, do her the courtesy of asking her face-to-face. Studies have shown that using a calm voice and making eye contact puts people at ease and makes them more open to suggestion. While you have your friend’s attention, tell her why the 3-Day is important to you and how much it would mean to you if she would join you. Then…

Stop Talking and Listen – You’ve made your plea, and in a perfect world, your friend will agree readily and you’ll both be registered before the day’s end! But there’s a good chance your friend will still have some concerns or hesitations. Let her tell them to you. Listen to all she has to say, and let her know she’s being heard. If you’ve had the same concerns, tell her that you empathize with her and offer advice for how you have dealt with the apprehension, but mostly, let her share. She may not be ready to make the decision right away, and that’s okay. Just knowing that you’re supportive of her feelings and concerns will make her feel closer to you and more likely to join you, knowing that that support is there.

Go Surfing! – Have a friend who is more visually stimulated? Between the 3-Day’s Facebook photo albums, Instagram feed, Pinterest boards, and YouTube channel, there is a nearly endless source of eye-catching inspiration to be found on the Internet. Grab your friend and park in front of a screen for 30 minutes or an hour and just explore! Chances are, by the time the hour has passed, you both will be so excited by the fun, entertaining and moving pictures and videos, you’ll be saying, “I want to do that too!”

Have you had a hesitant friend who was ultimately persuaded to do the 3-Day? Or maybe you WERE the reluctant friend! Tell us what convinced you!

Skip Fundraising This Month!

Okay, friends, I’m going to take a stance here that might surprise you: I’m encouraging you not to attempt any fundraising for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® in January.

Wait, what? But haven’t you told us before that it’s best to take an “earlier is better” approach to starting my Komen 3-Day fundraising?

Look, of course, I’m never going to tell you that you shouldn’t work on your 3-Day® fundraising, and if you have a solid plan and are motivated to get going with it, by all means, have at it! But here, at the beginning of the year, many 3-Day walkers are just getting themselves and their teams registered. In the case of first-timers, many of you are just beginning to dip your toes into all the 3-Day encompasses, including what is, for many, the first time they’ve attempted fundraising of this kind. It can all feel a bit overwhelming, and the last thing we want is for anyone to feel undue stress before there’s anything to really be stressed about.

So, skip it this month.

Let me be clear: I still want you to think about fundraising, but tell yourself that it’s okay if you don’t get a single donation in January, as long as you’re percolating about your long-term plans.

Take this month to breathe, and start to come up with a strategy.
If you’re a veteran 3-Dayer, reflect on what has worked for you in the past. If you’re new, devote some time to exploring all the fundraising tools in your Participant Center (really, that tip goes for returning walkers too). Towards the end of this month, sometime around January 26^th, you’ll notice the 3-Day website will have a whole new look, including updated tools and printables in your Participant Center.
Shoot for the moon on ideas. At this stage, nothing is too ambitious or outlandish to consider, because remember, you don’t have to put any of it into action right now. So let those brainstorms rage like a polar vortex of ideas!
Come up with a strategy and plot out the steps you’ll take to achieve it. Break down goals and phases of action week-by-week or month-by-month (if you need a good blueprint to inspire you, “How to Raise $2300 in 2 Months” is a great place to start, even though you still have way more than 2 months to complete your fundraising).

You can do all of this before February 1 without asking a single person for a donation. Having a plan in place now will allow you to jump into your efforts with two feet, confident that you’re not rushing to come up with ideas as the clock ticks down later in the summer or fall.

And as always, the fabulous 3-Day coaches are always here for you, and they are experts on this kind of thing. They’ve all been in your shoes – as 3-Day walkers and as fundraisers. Give them a call at 800-996-3DAY.

Keep Moving When You’re Not Officially Training

January. A time for new beginnings and new opportunities. But for those of you whose 2015 plans include participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®, January may not seem like an ideal time to be thinking about training just yet. Hopefully, you’re using the early part of the year to focus on getting registered, starting your fundraising and recruiting teammates to walk with you (and for many of you, you’re also just trying to keep from freezing). But that doesn’t mean that your physical activity has to be neglected, even if you’re not “officially” training for the Komen 3-Day yet. Here are a few ways that you can keep active before you dive into your 3-Day® training in the next few months.

Get Online – So you’re stuck at home, not able to get out and walk. Cross-training (adding a variety of physical activities, besides walking, to your training plan), while enjoyable in the great outdoors, can just as easily be accomplished inside a home, gym or even your office, especially with the help of the internet. There is no shortage of fitness websites and YouTube videos that will guide you through a heart-pumping work-out, no matter how much or how little time you have to do it. Not interested in the constraints of a structured work-out? Just fire up you favorite music and treat yourself to a 10-minute dance party. Goodness knows there’s lots of dancing on the 3-Day, so it really is a form of training that will benefit you directly when your event rolls around.

Snow Fun – Much of the country has been hit with some pretty intense snowfall this month, so if you’re stuck in one of these winter wonderlands, the snow can be a great source of physical activity options. Nordic sports like cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are outstanding cross-training possibilities, or even snow-play like sledding or building a snowman will get the heartrate up. And though no one likes the chores associated with the snowy months, think about how many muscles you use shoveling the walk!

Walk! – Okay, so even if you’re not following the 3-Day training schedule yet, walking is still an outstanding way to keep yourself moving any day of the year.

How do you like to work in some physical activity when you’re not officially training for the 3-Day?