Nonprofits & Sales

In the non-profit world, we like to talk about our mission, our values, and our impact. But very seldom do we talk about what we offer to donors in exchange for their dollars. Even after I started working at the foundation, I was one of those people who said, “Nonprofits don’t sell anything.” But you sell “nothing.” How do you get someone to donate $10, $ 1,000, or a million dollars? I had to know. So, I spent my extra time at night reading and researching about sales and marketing, closing tactics, marketing funnels, customer relationships, and psychology. Still, no matter the subject, the answer I was looking for always evaded me. I was stuck.

Then, on a flight to London to see my son, I sat next to a retired gentleman traveling with his wife. We talked about life, and when I mentioned my work at a community foundation, he perked up. Turned out he’d spent decades in sales. So, I asked him the question that had been haunting me: How do you sell nothing?

He leaned in and said, “Most people hear ‘sales’ and think it’s about convincing. It’s not. Not even close.

He continued...

The best salespeople I've ever seen don’t sell product; they sell decisions after making their prospects feel sure.

There’s a huge difference. A bad salesperson pushes what they’ve got. A good salesperson sits down and figures out what you actually need and makes the right call. You’re not there to pressure anyone. You’re there like a personal advisor; you anticipate what they need before they even know they need it.

Sell to help! When you make their problem your problem, the money follows every single time.”

That was it. In the nonprofit world, we don’t sell meals or medicine or schoolbooks. We sell certainty. We sell the quiet confidence that a donor’s money is going to the right place, at the right time, for the right reason. We separate good causes from great ones, and we communicate why ours is great.

We don’t convince. We help. We make donors sure.

That’s the whole game. Nothing more. Nothing less.