Selling becomes exciting with the right motivation. But you also have to make it practical. It's not very effective when students say, "Want to buy something?" Yet, when approaching potential customers this is what a lot of them say.
A closed-ended question that leads to a ‘yes or no’ response can doom you to failure. Odds are that at least 50% will say ‘no’. It doesn't matter what the motivation is to sell, getting the dreaded "no" is no fun. So don't give people an open invitation to say it.
The only high school fundraising ideas worth considering are those that get results. But even with a great product, your sale can go south without these 2 essential ingredients:
- Proper sales skills
- Engaging motivational incentives
Train Your High School Students to Sell
The foundation of selling is the introduction. Students will never get a second chance to make a first impression. Even if the people they're approaching are at least somewhat familiar with them.
Since your students are representing your organization, they should be professional and polite. There are some simple ways that your students can make a great first impression. Even basic things, like being courteous and smiling can make a big difference. Teaching your students how to approach people is important.
Introducing themselves and explaining their mission before asking for support is important. They can do this in one simple sentence. To make it easy, we've created a tool called The NOW selling method.
This system makes it easy to incorporate the right way to engage people. This will improve their chances of getting a positive outcome.
Set aside time at your kickoff meeting to introduce it. Then make it practical by asking your students’ pair up and practice before the meeting is over. Show them how it's done by demonstrating it first.
You can even ask a volunteer to try it on you in front of the group once your students have had time to practice. Be sure to reward this by by buying from them. This will also send a powerful message.
Does the fundraising company offer a free incentive plan? If so, that's good but don't get complacent. By itself, it's not enough. You can make selling even more fun and rewarding by using additional incentives. What follows are 2 great game ideas that work well for high school groups:
1. Great High School Fundraising Ideas Use Money
If you can spend a little money it may be well worth the investment. The Money Game boosts sales using the concept of leverage.
Rather than just giving a lump sum to the top seller, you can spread the money out over the course of your sale. The idea is about motivating more students to sell.
And not only will you be able to track your student's progress, the money game makes selling fun. It also helps students break the sale down into smaller and easier goals. The suspense is worth the price of admission for most any student.
2. Selling Doesn't Have to Be a Mystery
Another fun game is the Mystery Person Game. Most sales take place within the first 3-4 days of the campaign. So the goal is to get your students out of the gate selling as quick as possible.
The first student to find the mystery person and ask them to buy wins a prize. And what they win can be a surprise. Or you can tell them up front for extra motivation.
Feel free to set up multiple mystery people for added intrigue. This also gives more students the feeling that they can win. And your reward doesn't have to have monetary value either. You can tie it into a group privilege.
3. Group Related Games
A great way to enhance group pride and increase sales is to use group incentives. And the great thing about this is you can do it without spending any money.
Let's say you're the boys baseball coach. After practice players are usually assigned to put equipment away. At your kickoff meeting you could tell the team that you're going to randomly draw out 3 names. The goal is for everyone to sell 5 items by the next day.
If the players who's names are drawn out can prove they met the goal they earn a privilege. It could be they don't have to put equipment away for the day.
Feel free to give players several opportunities. This gives more players hope that they could win. You can do multiple drawings and increase the number of names that you draw out.
Players who didn't meet the goal after you pick their name learn quick. Hopefully, they'll get another chance to redeem themselves. Plus everyone else gets the message too because you're drawing names in front of everyone.
The incentive ideas and privileges are limitless. Good high school fundraising ideas always help your students take ownership. This way they can find their own sales success.
