SELLING CHARITY

Sunday, June 13, 2010
Joe Wehinger

I spend an awful lot of time in 3 areas of Los Angeles: Montana Ave in Santa Monica, Larchmont Village in Hollywood, Ventura Blvd in Studio City.  Each are liberal and upscale; a charity worker's dream.  As a result, almost everyday there is a young, usually starving artist-type, standing with a clipboard collecting signatures for a petition.  They're sometimes loud, often intrusive, and they blemish the walkway.  Worst of all for everyone involved, they're not effective.

Now for a different story, on Larchmont and Montana there are sometimes street performers.  They gather crowds and everyone's smiling.  They're not blatantly asking for anything, but they often receive ten's of dollars worth of tips.

What's the lesson here?  How could the charity workers better achieve their desired response?  Easy.  Don't ask first, give first.  Stroll around offering free hugs, kisses, songs, dances, jokes,  chocolate.  Once you've earned a passerby's attention, they instinctively want to re-pay you.  They want to complete their side of this human transaction  Graciously (yet quickly) explain you don't need their money, but you'd like to share your passion about a specific cause and ask them for another 20 seconds of their time to sign the petition.  Then offer them a thank you.  Another hug, joke, chocolate etc.  Suddenly you've given them a reason to feel good and a story to tell others.