How the Right Fundraiser Improves Sales Results

How to find the right product to sell for your group.

You've been searching for the right fundraiser. Your goal is to find something that will succeed, but you haven't yet. Many questions may come to mind, like, are you choosing the correct sales brochure? Should you consider a different way to raise money? Does your prize program motivate your students? And are your parents tired of the same products?

These are essential questions to consider, mainly when you're limited in the number of sales you can have. You don't want to oversaturate your community or burn out your parents. So how do you pick the best possible program that improves sales results? Here are some other things to ponder.

What is our customer socioeconomics?

Items in a typical brochure range from about $5 to $35. Although this may work well for many schools, some may need to sell less expensive items. Maybe your area will do better if you offer more affordable products for your area, like candy bars. They're popular, affordable, and are easy to sell.

See our product fundraisers.

What fundraising groups are we competing against?

You probably don't want to sell the same items as another competing group. It often helps to reserve your program with your school as early as possible. This will protect your program from another group attempting to sell something similar simultaneously.

Do we need a different fundraiser?

Sometimes, you need to change things up a little. It's nice when people expect to be able to buy a specific item each year from a particular group. However, sometimes taking a break and selling something different can be good, especially if your sales stagnate or decline. You can always go back to it again later.

How are we motivating our group to sell?

Are parents complaining about the quality of the prize program? Are students satisfied with what they're getting? Most prize programs that school fundraising companies provide offer cheap prizes at the lower levels; however, students have to sell significantly more to win the more valuable prizes. Many experienced sellers know that going in and usually don't bother selling anything.

The best way to improve fundraiser results is to find the right program and combine it with an effective incentive plan.

Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.