It would be simple to have a successful fundraiser if you sold what people were looking to buy. With that said, there are a wide range of companies and products to choose from. How do you choose what’s best for your group to sell?
First, remember that some fundraising companies actually do research products to see which make sense for their business model. Think about it. It does them no good to offer items that aren’t popular or won’t get orders. So while you may not be a cookie dough fan, there’s a reason that it shows up time and time again…people like it!
With that said – it’s not a “no-brainer”. It’s worth taking a few minutes to really think about what works for your community, and choose the right products to make your group more profitable in the long run:
Pick Proven Winners.
A good fundraising company updates their product selections on a regular basis. For example, every year, Century Resources sees what works – and we mean, what works well. What sold? What didn’t sell? If people didn’t order it, it’s out. We listen to feedback from our representatives, and look at order history and frequency to figure out what’s effective. You need the products to do the heavy lifting so your students don’t have to.
Don’t sell…junk.
Look, asking students and parents to pitch in isn’t easy. Not everyone can sell and ask for orders, and no one likes the feeling that they’re asking someone to buy something that just isn’t quite up to scratch. Products made in the USA, carry quality ingredients, and 100% satisfactory guaranteed makes it that much easier to gain orders. When you’re confident about the product, you’re more confident selling it.
Look for a Product Guarantee -that you don’t have to manage.
At Century Resources, we guarantee our products are the best quality, and 100% of our food products are made in the USA. Each product is stamped with our toll-free customer service number, so if a customer isn’t happy, simply call us. Groups keeps the profit, the student still gets credit for the sale, and customer satisfaction with product is not your responsibility. Ta-da!
Lastly, sell what the kids want to sell.
Once you’ve picked a partner company, ask the students for some input. Maybe they’ve sold just a little too much chocolate in their short lives already. Maybe they want to pick the pizza packages to go along with the Italian song that you’re working on this year. Give students a reason to be excited to sell! Once the kids are excited about what they are taking orders for, you’ll see better participation and more units sold toward total profit.
“The products from Century Resources are excellent. It is one of our best fundraisers for our school music department.” – Nancy D., East Richland HS Music Department, Olney, IL