5 Steps to a Profitable Fundraiser in Direct Sales

Find out how to do FUNDRAISERS for direct sales success here with Rayven Monique from Promoting Direct Sales & Melanie Parker.

** Rayven Monique is doing a FREE WEBINAR for us!!!!!  Yipppeeeeeee……. 

BOOK IN HERE!

RAYVEN MONIQUE, Direct Sales Trainer, is an expert when it comes to FUNDRAISERS for Party Plan Consultants.  That’s why I have invited her to write this guest blog post for us.

ENJOY!

~ Melanie Parker, founder of www.PartyPlan123.com

**************************************************************************

When it comes to boosting your home business party sales, one of the top direct sales techniques is to organize a fundraiser. These events allow you to do several things:

• Reach a larger number of potential customers than you may have been able to do otherwise.
• Boost your party sales revenue.
• Raise money for a good cause.
• Bolster your reputation in your community.

Another benefit of doing a fundraiser is that often, the person hosting the fundraiser does the promoting for you. Since general fundraiser event ideas are centered around raising money for a cause that is important to that organization or person, they will be invested in raising a lot of money for that cause.

That means that they will be sure to spread the word about the event and your business. It’s a pretty good deal for both you and the organization or person for who the fundraiser is being held.

Now, you might have a ton of great fundraiser event ideas running through your mind but are unsure of where to start. Below I will outline 5 simple steps to turn your fundraiser event ideas into a reality.

Step 1: Approach Your Prospects
Your first step is to approach your prospects with your fundraiser event ideas. Ideally you would target people who would have an interest in the products that you offer. That is a practice that you should hold to in any case when in direct sales. Many products are desirable by most people. However, there are some that would be more appealing to certain groups (for example parents and teachers would be most interested in educational toys and books).

Other products would not be appealing at all to certain groups (for example, you wouldn’t be likely to approach a school group about romance enhancing products). I like to create a fundraiser introductory packet that outlines the benefits of hosting a fundraiser and the types of products that I offer. That way I can send out copies to several prospects and wait for them to respond. Once you have established contact and explained your fundraising event ideas and have solid prospects who would like to host a fundraiser, you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Hash Out the Details
This is the step where you will hash out all of the details of the fundraiser. Will you host an actual party or will you keep the fundraiser open for a specific period of time? How do people place their orders? How do they let you know that they are making an order as part of the fundraiser? Will all products be a part of the fundraiser or only select ones? How much of the sales profit will you give to the host for their cause? When will you write out the check for the fundraiser?

Step 3: Provide the Materials
This is also something that you can prepare for ahead of time by having digital or hard copies of everything you will need to have a successful fundraiser. This includes catalogs, order forms, business cards with your contact info and website, instructions on how to place orders, and envelopes for people to collect money in if you do not have a website that people can visit to place orders. I also like to include a sheet that explains how the fundraiser works, how much money can be earned, as well as a note that anyone can set up a fundraiser to support their own personal causes.

Never overlook a chance to gain another hostess – even during a fundraiser. Once you know how many copies you will need, provide that many packets and give them to the host of the fundraiser to distribute. Some people may charge a minimal fee to cover the costs of these business supplies (taken from the profit) while others simply view it as a business expense. That’s up to you to decide. Explain to the host what they need to do and be sure to follow up with them often.

Step 4: Write a Check and Deliver the Goods
Once the fundraiser is over and you have calculated the sales, be sure to give the fundraiser host the money that is owed as soon as possible. Also, be sure to deliver the products as soon as possible as well. You will need to decide beforehand how you will handle the delivery of the goods. You could deliver them personally to each person, have a date where everyone can come pick up their purchases, or give everything to the host to distribute.

Step 5: Follow Up
This is a critical step. You don’t want to simply do a fundraiser and let that be the end of things. Remember, this industry is all about building relationships. Stay in contact with the person who hosted the fundraiser, as well as with the people who placed orders. Let the host know that you were happy to help them raise money for a great cause and would be glad to do so again in the future. Send thank you notes to the people who placed orders letting them know that their orders helped to raise X amount of money for the given cause. This is planting yet more fundraiser event ideas in their mind. It may even attract some potential recruits when they see how popular the products were.

All in all, direct sales fundraisers are a great way to boost your home party sales while doing good in your community.
************************************************************************