For Magazine Fundraisers, Hardwork, a Worthy Cause, and a Cute Face Helps
by Wade
(Montana)
Several years ago I was living in the Portland, Oregon area. Each year for a school fundraiser the students would get a list of magazines and a stack of order forms. They would then go door-to-door and sell magazines, the proceeds of the sales would be used to provide much needed supplies to the classrooms.
It was always a wonder why the kindergarten classes and the first grade classes were the top earners year after year. Until one parent finally figured out that a cute face is what gets people to buy a magazine subscription that they may not really want.
When going door-to-door one can get discouraged quickly. A constant barrage of "No"'s will dishearten even the smoothest of sales people. But if you are a parent, and your 5 year old is looking up at a customer with puppy dog eyes while fumbling over the script you've given them and asking if the customer will purchase a magazine so they have the supplies they need to finish the school year, it takes a cold person to say no.
So the next time you are out there trying to sell magazines, bring a niece or nephew along. Give them a script to say, and let them do the "hard" work. Of course, you need a worthy cause, because if you're simply trying to raise money to line your pockets, the cuteness doesn't help much.