Use Fundraising to Increase Your Direct Sales
When looking for a way to increase your direct sales revenue, fundraising is an excellent choice. Fundraisers allow you to reach a large number of customers in a short period of time.
With fundraising events, you don’t have to spend one-on-one time selling to each individual customer, leaving your other customers feeling as though they have been neglected during the course of the sale.
Best of all, organizations are open to the idea of incorporating your direct sales business into their fundraising efforts because they know they’ll make money for their organization, too.
Fundraising does require you to give a small portion of your revenue to the organization. The goal is, after all, to raise money for them, and they will have done quite a bit of the work for you. However, you’ll generally receive more revenue than the organization will on every sale made.
Most fundraisers are designed so the organization receives a certain percentage of sales and you receive the rest of the profit. Typically, this is a 60/40 split, though sometimes it’s 50/50. most of the time, though, the percentage split is designed so the salesperson receives more of the revenue than the organization.
Even a 50/50 split is good for your business! This will not only make you feel great about helping a worthy cause in your community, but it associates your business with doing good and you can’t beat a deal like that.
Fundraising to increase your direct sales is a win-win situation for both you and the organization. You provide the organization with a great fundraising campaign – selling your products. The organization then distributes the material that customers need such as catalogues, flyers, business cards, website addresses, and your contact information.
Generally, you’ll prepare fundraising packets ahead of time for the organization to hand out. Then it’s just a simple matter of the organization giving the packets to their participating members.
Before you create the packets to send out to potential customers, you need to contact the person who handles fundraising in the organization. This can be done through a simple introductory package. Many organizations will be excited to partner with you because it’s a chance for them to make money.
Nevertheless, you may still need to convince them through the introductory package that choosing your business as a fundraiser is their best option.
On top of the package, place an introductory letter that introduces you to the organization and explains your business and its products.
Also include an earnings chart showing how much the organization can make depending on how much they sell. A graph chart is a great way to do this, especially if your business has different levels of sales goals.
In both your introductory packets and member selling packets, include a business card with the title “Fundraising Expert” or include a flyer outlining what you can do for fundraising with a tagline such as, “Call me for all your fundraising needs.”
This not only makes you look more professional and shows you really know your way around fundraisers, but it could also gain you more business in the long run. Who knows how many of the organization’s members have their own fundraisers that they’ll need help with? And when they do, it’s you they’ll call.
Once the fundraiser is over and you’ve tallied up the sales, be sure to send thank you cards to both the organization and your new customers. This shows them that you really appreciate their business and that you’re always available should they need you in the future.
Fundraising is a simple business building strategy that, with a little preparation and planning, can reap huge rewards for your direct sales business.
Using Direct Sales Fundraisers To Build Your Business & Boost Your Income
Joining a Direct Sales company can provide you with an excellent way to earn a great income with the added bonus of being able to make up your own schedule. In addition, the ability to work online opens up a huge market in which you can sell your products. Yet another avenue you should consider when marketing your products online is fundraising. Fundraising is an excellent feature to add to your online direct sales business for several reasons.
Fundraising exists to help groups that are in need of money. Fundraising is not limited to charities although they certainly do use fundraisers. Some groups that regularly run fundraisers are schools, churches, daycares/preschools, scouts, and non-profit organizations.
Quite a few direct sales companies have fundraiser programs in place for your use. Others allow you to sell creatively and make up your own fundraiser and allowing you to determine the percentage of profits that are given to the fundraising group. You can help the group conduct their fundraiser offline, online or a combination of both. Since there are such a wide variety of a products being offered by direct sales companies, groups doing fundraisers have an excellent chance of being successful, as they will be offering something new and different.
Most groups looking for a fundraiser are looking for fresh ideas in order to increase their chances of raising the cash they need. (All groups get tired of the same old fundraisers year after year. Offer them something different!) Think about what products your company has to offer. Some products, like jar candles, can be stand alone products or part of a candle package while a beauty company might offer a package that includes several items. Ask the fundraiser’s leader to brainstorm ideas with you to help them feel more involved in the offering.
If you make product delivery part of your customer service why not go the extra mile and put together the packages for them and include a business card in each order. This is sure to increase your income when you they run out of the item and wish to order it again. Likewise, think about placing a small sticker with your contact information on each individual product. The fundraising group will really appreciate your extra effort and just might book you in advance for the fundraisers in the coming years.
Adding fundraisers to your online direct sales business may also help you to meet your sales goals. Say you need to make a certain sales quota each month, simply plan ahead to organize a least one fundraiser per month and you are sure to meet your monthly sales goals.
This will also work for longer term sales goals. For example if you are hoping to win a trip that your company is offering as an incentive, fundraisers can go a long way to help you meet that goal. Try to schedule at least one fundraiser each month, and see the difference in your overall sales.
As you begin to look for ways to build your direct sales business by adding sales and contacts, definitely consider the benefits of organizing fundraisers. Not only will they help you meet your own personal goals for yourself and your business, you will be helping very worthy groups get much needed funds to help run their programs.
photo credit: mattlemmon
