Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Fundraising Is Selling

Selling is as much an art as it is a skill. It should never be about getting others to do something they don’t want to or to buy something they don’t need. At its best, selling is always the highest form of communications. It’s about achieving the perfect equivalent between what you have to offer and what someone else wants or needs.  Sometimes, even when they don’t even know it.

People who work on behalf of nonprofits like to think of themselves as doing something for the common good. When asked to define "What is a nonprofit?”  Many of them seem to feel that selling isn’t compatible with that mission. 

That seems to speak more about people who are trying to sell things with out understanding how selling should work. 

The last thing in the world that supporters of nonprofits like to think they are is salespeople; they consider themselves a cut above schnooks selling shoes or used cars.  When asking a group of non-profit staff “What is fundraising?”, no one ever answers “sales.” Instead predictably, the answers have a mushy quality equal to the definition of a nonprofit. Fundraising is the “ability to raise capital for an entity,” “stewardship, relationship-building in order to raise funds for an agency,” “an effort to generate funds for a good cause.”

Fundraising is not about “the ask,” but about “the listen.” Remember the famous song lyric, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Give Consideration to your customers before you chew their ears off about your cause. Too many do-gooder fundraisers have an attitude.” They think that all they have to do is blurt out the basics of their case and their audience will just open their wallets. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Do your homework: Find out about people you approach. Take an interest in them. You’ll be amazed at how interested they’ll become in you.

Or is it that selling is fundraising?

If you are looking for a fast and easy way to build up local offline cash flow please take a look at the help you can get from Sunset Coupon Books.  They offer 100% match of dollars to your organizations efforts.  Give us a call and find out more. 800-627-6340

Presented By:
Sunset Coupons, LLC
800-627-6340
http://sunsetcoupons.com

No comments:

Post a Comment