I've used this title because this link is all about selling.

 

Some of you will instantly say 'there is no selling in our sector'; our values are very different. Yes that may be the case for how altruism is a key to why and how we work, but when you apply for a grant, you are 'selling' your organisation. When you create a campaign to attract volunteers and donors etc, you are 'selling'. When you make an appointment with someone to say get some consultancy, or create a new web site, or provide you with some supporter/donor software - they are going to sell to you (and its definitely 'selling')


This post comes from one of the very best 'Sales Trainers' - in the horrible 'commercial' world. Its his 7 Rules of Sales Negotiations. Please do take a look as you can learn maybe a little or a lot about how people will approach selling to you - and there are a couple of tips that you can use in selling yourselves, in whatever form this may be.

 

These are some real trade secrets. You will get lots of ideas about how you can get the best value when you have to buy something. Believe me, some of the selling to charities I''ve come across has been far too aggressive and really poor value. We can be seen as 'easy prey' (apologies for using this term but its the most direct way of describing what does happen). This shouldn't be the case.

 

Hope this helps! Any comments would be brilliant - your own experiences!