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BlaggingFrom UKRag Guides (wiki)The Gentle Art of Persuasion (Or - How to get stuff)
IntroductionLike street collecting, "getting stuff from companies" is not something that can be completly taught, rather it is something that you get better and more successful at with your own experience, and through trial and error. But like street collecting a few basic principles hold true and some folk are better or more suited than others and some develop faster than others. Having said that, there are some points which would be helpful to have thought about. There are some things which are pretty obvious – if you’re writing to someone, make sure that it’s not full of spelling mistakes for instance. Other "rules" are said to exist, but I don’t propose to go through them, as it’s better to think about it, and come up with your own. In any case, attached to this is a copy of previous seminars which have been given on this topic which are fairly thorough on their views of the procedural detail. Although I am keen to raise questions rather than to suggest answers, there are some guiding principles which run throughout:
Keeping these in mind, the questions that may need to be considered to be successful at getting stuff are:
Why?It is difficult to judge success without reference to what the aim was – what are you trying to achieve by putting the time and effort into getting corporate sponsorship? Is it:
Which of these is the most important to your Rag, and are you focusing your efforts accordingly?
What?Similarly, what are you asking for from companies?
Be ambitious, and be creative. There are untold companies out there who could do something for you, and certainly won’t until you ask them to – have a flick through your local Yellow Pages. One Rag got a session with a marketing agency donated to overhaul their image. Another got a company to pay to place posters in the coach windows to cover the otherwise prohibitive travel costs to a collection. A doctor or dentist agreeing to put a pile of Rag Mags in their waiting rooms could be valuable if it’s profile you’re going for… Be different – we were having a really hard time once trying to convince shopkeepers to put up posters advertising the route of the Bristol Rag Procession. We tried telling the next place that for only £10 we would let him put a poster up advertising his shop’s support for the Procession which would go past. The next dozen shops put posters up and paid for them. It may never work again, but I’m glad we tried it!
Who are you asking?Companies which, for example:
Within the company who are you asking?
Who is asking?
There is no right answer, but the pitfalls of each are obvious. You will need to make sure that all approaches are co-ordinated, and responses documented. A cardinal sin is to unknowingly ask the same company twice. Nearly as bad is to not ask because you think someone else already has. Equally important is co-ordination through time – the experiences and contacts gained through one year’s approaches are precious, and must be handed on.
When to ask?This might depend on what you’re asking for, and who you’re asking. Naturally the bigger the target, the longer they are likely to take to process requests. Equally, especially with bigger companies, their giving will almost certainly be limited by a budget, and you need to ask them at the right time in their financial year to give yourself the best chance – call them up and ask when this is. Timing can be a great asset – especially if the company has had bad press recently, or has just decided to invest more in the community (keep an eye on the local papers for this, - dull but useful). Or, in the case of a small shop owner, turn up at closing time on a Friday, and be keen to chat about your cause and you may find he’ll give you anything to shut up and sod off… The best time to approach a company might be the time they told you to when they said ‘no’ last time. You’d have a record of that wouldn’t you…?
How to ask?Of course this is the crucial part. A request may be face to face to a small shop keeper, or writing to the Marketing Director of a huge PLC. When you ask that person for what you are asking for, you are unique - so don’t follow any “rules” without thinking about it. The other notes attached have plenty more about this sort of thing, and the sense of some of them is obvious.
RehersalsMake sure that if you use the phone, reherse the conversation with a friend first! Of course, if you are doing a round of blagging you only need to do this once, but never under estimate it's importance. After all, lack of rehersals lead to shoddy performance. If your friend asks you a question that simply stops you in your tracks, maybe you should find an answer for it before embarrasing yourself in front of a strange man (or woman).
What are you offering them?Are you hoping for something for nothing? If not what are you offering them in return?
This all really boils down to saying “Thank You”, and thinking about what you can for them in return – if you can’t think of anything – ask them!
Problems?If it all sounds very easy, but you have a nightmare every time you try to get anything out of a company:
All these are positive responses – in the sense that you can take something from them –
Thought and organisation are themes here, but above all persistence…. ...and good luck!!! AcknowledgementsThis article created on the basis of notes of a seminar held at National Rag Conference York - January 2002 Original document by Ben Troke – ex Bristol Rag, ex Imperial Cancer Research Fund Rags Co-ordinator, now a solicitor. See Also
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