Is Fundraising the Same as Sales?
We asked the experts
Our car broke down this week. So we’re buying another. And we’ve have had a number of puzzling run-ins with car salesmen of late.
I’ll spare you the sordid details and simply share that our interactions with sales staff have been a mixed bag: we’d tell them one thing about the used car we’re looking for and they’d respond with the brand-spanking new 2024 model they think we’d look fabulous in.
This week’s post was born while I sat waiting for a car salesman who wrote down everything I said on Post-It notes, walked away, and then returned with options I didn’t ask for. This is what his desk looked like:
Sitting at somebody messy desk (thinking about this scene from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion) reminded me of a conversation we sometimes have around the shop about fundraising versus sales. Are they the same? Are they different? Does it matter?
This week I asked some of the fundraisers in my life: “Is fundraising the same as sales?” And I got fascinating responses from smart people who are identified below by their Navy fighter-pilot call signs from the time I complained about Top Gun II not being the fundraising movie it never presumed to be:
Prom Queen:
“Fundraising and sales are more alike than we think. Building relationships requires understanding how a donor/client’s self-interest coincides with your own. Sales can seem more transactional and fundraising more transformational, but in some cases—a fantastic sales relationship or a mediocre fundraising one—they may actually trade places.”
The Bank:
“Good salespeople and good fundraisers share strong personal and professional attributes. Where the sales vs. fundraising differences are greater, I think, are when you compare product-pushy salespeople to timid fundraisers uncomfortable asking for money. Here, the differences are clear—one is memorably annoying and the other is plain forgettable.”
Belle Aire:
“No good fundraiser can be successful without a solid sales strategy. And in both cases, you’re selling a product. Fundraisers are selling a cause that impacts others. So much boils down to authentic relationships coupled with a deep understanding of what you’re ‘selling.’”
Gonzo (guest contributor from this post)
“Fundraising and sales aren’t the same thing—think of them like dates. Fundraisers want a long-term relationship. Sales will ghost you the moment you stop responding to their texts. Swipe left!”
Billfold:
“No one has to make a charitable gift. At some point everybody must purchase something from a salesperson—a washing machine, car, etc. Are salespeople looking to build trust-based relationships that last for years? I can’t think of a single time this has happened for me. But it’s what fundraisers do every day!”
Red Baron:
“When you’re fundraising, you’re selling a feeling and solving a problem. And fundraisers need to feel a sincere connection to an organization’s mission because it shows the authenticity needed for somebody to give money to something intangible. Is the same true in sales? Not sure.”
Dog Pound:
“In sales, commissions motivate goals. In fundraising, commissions are unethical—we have an overall goal to hit, but ideally, fundraisers shouldn’t feel pressure to ‘close a deal’ with a donor. It’s a thin line, but fundraisers are offering and inviting. Not selling.”
Members Only:
“My role as a fundraiser is more like a matchmaker than a salesperson. I match people with organizations/causes that strive to make a difference. Just like matchmaking—sometimes that becomes a deep relationship (minus the destination wedding) and sometimes it looks more like holding hands.”
Kitty:
“I have no idea, Dan—go ask your fundraising friends. Do you think Keith Morrison read your post from last week? Should we invite him to Thanksgiving, you think?
Thank you, fighter pilots, for keeping our fundraising skies safe and indulging me this week.
I don’t know if we landed (airplane pun! Nailed it!) on a conclusive answer above, but I see trends worth exploring:
Different opinions about what’s “sold” in fundraising (feelings, programs, products, causes).
How the quality of a relationship marks the difference between sales and fundraising.
Questioning how/if fundraisers and salespeople feel connected to their own causes and/or products.
And clearly Members Only and Gonzo need to be going on double dates together!
I’ll give an answer of my own from my perspective as a donor, not as a fundraiser. With some organizations close to my heart, I want a relationship. Others, all I want is a transaction. (For example, every February for the past few years I make a small gift to an organization simply because Dog Pound asks for it. It’s important to her, I trust her judgement, so I give. But it’s a transaction and that’s all I want). It feels like a wishy-washy answer, I know. But I struggle to pry fundraising versus sales apart completely, which makes it such a fascinating thought-experiment for me.
I was a bit too judgemental about the car salesman’s Post-It notes above. Forgive me, Substack. Especially since my first draft of this post was scribbled on a Post-It note:
Before we left the dealership, I fell into conversation with the mechanic I’d been texting all day about my busted car. We’ve known each other for a few years and she’s good at getting me to understand what I’m paying for and what’s not worth the investment.
Maybe I’ve got the original framing of this post all wrong. Maybe we should be asking if fundraisers are more like mechanics.
After all, a good mechanic is awfully good at getting you to throw money at problems you probably don’t understand and can’t fix on your own.
Thanks for thinking this through with me. Let’s keep talking about it!
You still have the handwriting of a serial killer.