The Fall season is underway and hopefully, most of your groups are booked or considering their fundraising options now. Here are a few targets to consider for Fall and should run ASAP:
A.Cheerleaders (although this group might run earlier with football) / check on competition cheer B.Volleyball C.Soccer D.Tennis E.Basketball - Boys and Girls / Freshmen, JV and Varsity F.Swimming G.Lacrosse H.Track and Field and/or Cross Country I.Other sports not listed
Second, think about these groups (check the school website under sports or athletics) and what is the best plan to reach the coach. Sometimes the sports will be listed by season (Fall, Winter, Spring) and the contact information for each coach or the Athletic Director. Try to set an appointment with the Coach before or after school. Conditioning might be underway in the off-season before they get started.
Next, are there other groups in the school (sports or non-sports) that didn’t run in Fall 2020 but usually do? (Covid restrictions, remote / virtual learning, facilities were closed, etc.) THEY STILL NEED MONEY! Reach out to those groups and see how you can help. This might include daycare facilities, gymnastics clubs, dance academies, club sports (private), travel baseball and/or softball (they play in the Fall), etc.
Mix it up. Try to do some traditional sales (books in hand, student delivery) along with some Sprint Sales where you can spend an hour with the group and get results FAST. Remember to order those books ahead of time and pass them out at the close of the Sprint sale based on orders they have taken over the phone. OK, I have my list of target groups - now what?
1.Reach out first and send an email or a text (or both). Some customers have a preference of how they like to be communicated with and have a tendency to check one over another.
2.Ask how their fall is going and when would be a good time to meet to finalize dates before the season begins. Be flexible and be available.
3.Know the historical information about their sale. Have this info available before the meeting.
4.Have your calendar available and pencil in their date. Confirm 2-3 weeks before the start date.
OK, I have set the appointment … What things do I need to uncover at this meeting?
1.What are the needs for 2021/2022? Trips? Uniforms? Travel? Equipment? Tournament fees? What are the needs for this upcoming year and how can you assist?
2.Is this group attending a big competition/tournament? Is this group hosting a tournament or competition?
3.Explore the timeframe. Does it look like a traditional sale (2 weeks) or a Sprint sale (one hour)?
4.Finalize the details. Fill out the contract (located on www.IFCsavearound.com website) - click the green button to “Download Blank Agreement”. Fill it out completely and submit the contract to grouprelations@savearound.com.
5.Final step - ask for a REFERRAL. Does this coach or sponsor know anyone else in the school or in their region that needs to raise money? Remember coaches know other coaches - they play each other year after year. Ask for the contact information (email, cell, name, etc)
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Continually do these steps over and over and before you know it your calendar will be filled in with a lot of great groups needing to raise funds over the course of the next 60-70 days this Fall. Make your time and your days productive - not just busy.
Due to sourcing issues and limited stock, the Apparel Program pricing is being revised. This change will reflect a $5.00 increase per item offered. Updated brochures and pricing information will be posted under Apparel on the rep website (www.IFCSaveAround.com) - click resources and scroll down to the section for Apparel.
SAPayNow Tech Updates
In order to provide one platform for electronic payments, we have combined SAPayNow with some of the features from the Support Our Groups and merged them into one single platform. This will help tremendously from a reporting standpoint and make it a seamless experience for the chairperson.
The group chairperson can still add their logo, a photo/image and text explaining their sale and efforts to raise needed funds. This will populate at the top of the SAPayNow page. This is still the function through the chairperson portal and they should click “customize my page”. Those fields look just like it did on the SOG page previously.
Additionally, if they choose the Traditional Sale option it will give 2 delivery options - one for student to deliver and the second option to ship to the customer. If they choose the online only sale option, then the “ship to the customer” option is the only one displayed in the drop down box.
If you have any questions about the new features of SAPayNow, please contact the Sales Support team at sales@savearound.com and we’ll be happy to help.
Orders and Shipments
OK, your groups are signed up, you’ve submitted the contract to group relations - now what?!?!?! Here are a few reminders on how to ensure on-time delivery for your books:
Confirm the date ahead of time with your sponsor. Make sure nothing has changed.
Once confirmed, contact Group Relations and make sure the order is in the system.
Confirm the needed by date or the must arrive by date. Is the school closed the Friday before Labor Day? If so, request to ship the books a day or two before.
Watch your email for the tracking #. Use it and track it yourself. Update your sponsor.
Confirm receipt of the books at the school (front office, who signed for them, time of delivery). You will need to know all of those things because this isn’t the only delivery that came in on that day.
If you have any questions or concerns about your book shipments, contact the Group Relations team ASAP and they will be glad to assist. grouprelations@savearound.com
1.Catching a falling leaf can bring you good luck.
2.Birth rates are at their highest during the fall season.
3.Birds migrate to the south in the fall.
4.Probably will see a Harvest Moon during September or October.
5.Chickadees are smarter in the fall. Part of their brain swells by 30% and this is the part that helps them hide and collect seeds for the barren winter months.
6.Cobbler season - (yum) - sweet filling topped with batter and baked to crisp Perfection.
7.Johnny Appleseed was a real guy. John Chapman went from state to state installing and planting nurseries with fences to protect from livestock. These were left to be tended and cared for by the locals.
8.More babies are born in the month of September.
9.Northern lights are strongest in the fall.
10.Mercury is visible in September along with Jupiter and Saturn.
IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEWSLETTER?
Do you have an idea or topic that you would like to see covered in the Community Conversation newsletter? If so, please send it to sales@savearound.com and we’ll get right on it. Remember if it is something that you would like to know more about or learn about then chances are someone else needs to know it, too.
