When Nancy Hullihen was promoted to executive director of alumni relations and development at the University of Miami's business school, she needed help training fundraisers who were new to the university—and often to major gifts. One of the school's strongest volunteers and donors, Pat Barron, stepped forward.

Barron accompanies new major gift officers on donor visits, sharing his story as a donor and volunteer and teaching donor cultivation in a way that Hullihen says no book or classroom setting ever could. "He is willing to do everything from travel to participate in strategic planning," she says. "My team members get immediate feedback and guidance on how to connect with donors."

Using donors to train gift officers is just one way development shops should be rethinking talent management, including recruitment. Too often vice presidents are attracted to fundraisers who have secured a mega-gift, even if the gift was years in the making and cultivated by predecessors. VPs think top performers are a canned product that can be easily found and recruited at high salaries.

They'd be better off building their own superstars by hiring passionate, driven fundraisers who understand the process and pace of fundraising. Here's how to do that—and to help them thrive.

What to look for

What is a high performer? The top 20 percent of frontline officers raise about $1 million more than their peers each year, even when portfolio capacity is controlled for, according to a Bentz Whaley Flessner study. A few key traits distinguish these development officers:

High performers are passionate about their mission. "I've never met a successful fundraiser who was not a donor to the organization," says Barron, capturing a key trait to which donors are particularly attuned. Fundraisers with a deep understanding and passion for their institution are more inspiring and motivated to be creative in engaging prospective donors.

Successful development officers care about donors. Donors respond to fundraisers who they believe have their interests and values at heart. Gift officers can develop that trust through listening, observing, and showing respect. "I look for fundraisers who are intellectually curious, people who want to learn," Jerry May, vice president for development at the University of Michigan, says of his hiring strategy. "My father and father-in-law used to exude those qualities [in their small businesses]. They were genuinely interested in their customers."

Process matters more than "personal" packaging. When hiring, institutional leaders are often tempted to select the candidate with the biggest personality. But Suzanne Baker, assistant vice president of talent management and administration at the University of Chicago, says her most productive field officers "are quietly confident and more methodical and understand the value of teamwork. They are focused on outcomes and plan at a depth and breadth that keeps them moving forward despite obstacles."

The metamorphosis

You've hired new team members with potential. Their transformation into a major giving giant requires both the institution's and the fundraiser's own investment in their growth. This is what fundraisers need:

A long(ish) tenure. Fundraisers who jump around hurt their careers and limit their potential to raise money (production jumps at 3.4 to 4 years of tenure, according to BWF data). "If you want to be successful, you need to stay at a place long enough to plant some roots. It isn't easy when you have to pull up those roots and replant them," says Bill Barlow, Oberlin College's vice president for development and alumni affairs, whose 30-year development career spans just three institutions.

A mentor and a coach. "I love taking a development officer on calls with me and with our senior development people," May says. "They can observe our natural tendencies and strengths." Newly hired fundraisers not only get real-world experience with donor personalities and fundraising techniques, but they learn how to manage uncomfortable situations, such as navigating a difficult gift, addressing donor complaints, and being resilient when donors say "no."

"Newer fundraisers learn that it's all right to not have all the answers," May says.

Opportunities to learn from faculty. A great example comes from the University of Chicago. Its TED Talks-inspired facTALKS feature 10-minute presentations from star faculty members, who help fundraisers translate academic programs into cases for donor support.

The volunteer trainer

Now that you know what to look for and what fundraisers need to elevate their game, let's discuss training. Don't just use case studies and role-playing to prepare fundraisers for face time with donors. Involving donors in training helps acclimate gift officers' skill sets and understanding while also engaging donors in new ways.

"Donors love to give advice," May says. "They want to have meaning in their life, and part of that is teaching people how to develop the institution they love."

Barron signed on as a trainer to help newer fundraisers avoid common missteps. He wanted development officers to learn that good fundraisers balance research with personal connection, work with donors on finding gift opportunities versus obligations, and utilize storytelling to capture a prospective donor's attention.

Volunteers are central to onboarding at the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where Kyle Buchmann, managing senior director of development, is piloting a program to accelerate new fundraisers' entry into portfolio management and donor cultivation. This six-week process begins with new hires' practicing cold calls, receiving a trainer/mentor, and, by week four, going on their first prospect visit. A donor volunteer accompanies the trainee on the visit and later offers feedback and direction for improvement. Kyle's biggest challenge? Building a career-mapping strategy for those who complete the program. "We've seen that as they get better, have early success, they become more confident," he says.

The demand for fundraising talent far exceeds the supply, and VPs can easily find themselves poaching a superstar from another institution. To create a new generation of top performers, VPs need to tweak their search parameters and nurture the talent they need. Donors can be fantastic allies in this effort.