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Sales for NPOs and Advocacy Groups

Posted on July 19, 2026 by Jason Kanigan

Sales for NPOs and advocacy groups works the same way as in business. Many non-profit executives want to shrug this truth off; however, I will demonstrate selling is human interaction, and whether it's in a business or non-profit environment the principles are necessary and effective.

I have many years of high level experience with municipal committees of council. For six years I was appointed to the committee that handled all the grant money reviews and disbursement recommendations for my home town. And in that time I created more interaction, more bonding and more results from those NPOs. I was doing things at 30 people in their 50s are just starting to consider.

A Key Takeaway About Sales for NPOs

A major takeaway I have from that time is the NPOs were all fighting each other over what they thought was slices of the one pie. This was a mistake. In college we were given an assignment where the class was split up into two groups. Both groups were told they needed a limited supply of oranges. You may have experienced a similar exercise, or perhaps this will be a big eye-opener for you. At first the two groups debated on why their "organization" should get the oranges and the other group should not. But after DISCUSSION, a key but hitherto hidden pair of facts became visible:

Group One needed the MEAT of the oranges

Group Two needed the PEEL of the oranges.

Both sides could effectively take 100% of the pie.

But they had to *talk* to one another to figure this out. Now in my experience, and note how this is true even in supposedly cooperative mindset organizations like NPOs, the leaders simply do not communicate with each other effectively enough to learn that one NPO needs the meat and the other needs the peel--and that both can share the resources.

I am about to share an example from my history in 2004-5. At that time I had been appointed to the city's nine-member grant review committee and they made me vice-chair the moment I walked in the room. The following year, the current chair was retiring and plans were made for me to be his successor. Note this was not about some knowledge about parliamentary procedure; it was about demonstrating *leadership* and I was ready to lead. Even though I was the youngest member of the committee other than the short-lived youth rep who moved out of the city after a couple months, these 50, 60, and 70-year old, highly experienced executives--some of whom ran their own organizations--were happy to have me lead them. The first thing I did was meet with city social planning/community development staff to hear their ideas on what a good direction would be.

Two Principles of Sales for NPOs and Advocacy Groups

Note this. Having administrative staff on your side is important. Do you think it is easier to have them promote your program when they have a hand in it?

The second thing I did was forward a motion to council to approve a change in the committee's terms of reference. Until then, the committee had been a passive body: council would refer business items to it for opinion and we would answer. I had it changed so we could "wag the dog" and send items for consideration UP the chain to them.

The staff recommended something called a Social Development Strategy, which came out of Australia. The idea was to involve all the local organizations and stakeholders, and get a program of how municipal spending would be allocated on community development going forward. The City was going through huge changes in population, distribution and gateway areas.

Over the next year, starting from just two stakeholders, I and my committee, lead by a former Chamber of Commerce chair I appointed to lead the subcommittee because I didn't want a conflict of interest as I was running in the next election, created this spending plan and an enormous level of involvement. You can see the results in this document:

CNV Social Development Strategy

Sales for NPOs: Another Example

An organization (the Lower Lonsdale Network) was created for ongoing discussion between all those stakeholders and outlasted my term, which I think is pretty awesome. And during those discussions, we found opportunities for NPOs to share 100% of the pie like this:

The Salvation Army was training homeless people to become cooks, so they could have basic skills to get a job. The local college had their chef volunteer to lead the training. But they topped out on capacity as they only had the one kitchen. Well guess what: from the discussions THEY HAD NEVER HAD BEFORE, resulting from the Social Development Strategy meetings, the Kiwanis retirement tower revealed they had a spare kitchen! The Salvation Army and the chef could use the Kiwanis kitchen to double their flow-through of trainees, and it didn't cost anyone a dime!

[click to enlarge]

This is an example of the orange being divided into meat and peel, and serving two different groups well.

So if you're a non-profit executive, understand that sales for NPOs and advocacy groups works just like it does in B2B and B2C settings...and will get you results like this. Human interaction is How You Get Things Done. Whether it's in a business or non-profit environment, the same principles are at work.

>> If you want to discuss how your NPO can get broader and more effective results through ethical selling principles, book a session with Jason. <<

A Word About Collecting Payment and Closing Deals

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Jason Kanigan

If You Aren't Collecting Payment at the Time of Order, You're More Likely to "Lose the Sale"

Inside an agency owners group I saw a sales discussion in which a number of people said they had problems collecting payment and closing deals. They would think they had “closed the sale” and gotten the order, but when they later sent an invoice, the buyer would ghost them.

Here’s my question in response: Do you have your screen for collecting payment ready when the buyer is ready to buy?

A major block to selling that I see with newer agency founders is that they don’t present this attitude: “It’s normal to buy.”

They’re busy being afraid. They’re afraid this person won’t buy. And the actions they take demonstrate it’s weird, unusual, wrong for someone to buy.

When You Act Like No One Has Been Here Before, They Won't Buy

When you don’t have your method of collecting payment ready, you’re telling your prospect, “Oh, wow—nobody ever got here before! This is strange!” And what do you think the prospect’s emotional reaction to that is? (“Yikes, I’m outta here!”)

My hardcore close, based on 25+ years of experience, is, “So, what do you want to do next?”

When I feel all questions have been taken care of, the prospect has a need for what I offer, a problem large enough to warrant my involvement, and a personality I and my team can work with…then it is natural for them to say something like, “I’d like to buy. How do we get started?” How do I pay you?

And then, instantly, I bring up the payment processing page. It is normal to buy. I have been here a zillion times before. I have been here earlier today. It is normal to buy. Here is the process. People do this. Many people have done it before you.

Make It Normal to Buy

Make this change. If there is a gap between you and collecting the money, get rid of that gap. Collect the money.

I was a credit manager for a national electrical wholesaler for four years around the time I was 30. I collected $2 million a month and got very good at talking to people about the very touchy subject of money. I learned that you must ask for the money, you must be ready to collect the money, and it must feel normal to everyone involved that you are collecting the money.

Are You Presenting Yourself As Someone People Regularly Buy Things From?

Observe how you present yourself and your content on sales calls. Are you nervous? unprepared? unsure?

Everything about what you do needs to express “I have been here before. Many buyers have been here with me before. This is normal. It is normal to buy.”

What changes will you put into action to make this happen?

When I originally posted this in the agency group, fellow member Boyd Trimmell commented: “Failure to collect payment immediately is why so many small service businesses struggle with cash flow.” He is dead right.

The accounting maxim goes: A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. The interest rate aka inflation, creating the Time Value of Money concept, makes it so. Add to that if you aren’t collecting payment now it’s less likely that you ever will, and you’ll see the problem clearly: you’re delaying or completely denying that cash your business needs. Cash is the lifeblood of business. If you’re an employee and not an owner, understand this…you are paid by money collected. If you don’t collect, the business will soon run out of cash and you won’t be paid at all. As Stuart Wilde said: “When they show up, bill ’em”.

>> Jason Kanigan is a strategist who works with agency owners to increase the profitabilty and effectiveness of their organizations. Book a consultation with Jason here <<

Why Demos Fail to Sell

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Jason Kanigan

why demos fail to sell, DemoGuy, software demonstration

Why Demos Fail to Sell: A Question

Why do SaaS (Software as a Service) B2B firms make you go through a demo? This was the question on an expert platform I'm a member of. "What's with all the secrecy?" Why not, as is common in the B2C world, simply let the user download the SaaS and use it for a free trial period? Wouldn't that lead to better traction and more paying customers?

The original version of this post was written in October 2014. Recently, a SaaS founder was sharing a list of factors that helped them get over eight figures ($10MM) in revenue this year...and guess what the first item was? "No Free Demo". So that prompted a review of this post. Let's see how things have updated in the past nine years:

"No Free Demo"

Before leaving Canada, I was Business Development Manager of a full service boutique IT firm. One of our main products was for network security. 'Book demos, book demos, book demos' was the direction. The idea was to get people on a call and screenshare appointment with one of our techs. My experience and understanding from then to now leads me to this conclusion:

I don't think it's secrecy. I believe it's bad selling.

"Look at this awesome thing I developed! Surely if you look at it, and I can control the demonstration, I can explain everything about it. Then you'll really want it!"

Sometimes a product or service creator can be fearful someone will "steal" their idea. They have not realized ideas are a dime a dozen: it's execution that is difficult to match! This could lead to the perception of secrecy. But I believe poor understanding of selling is a much more common issue in the SaaS world.

Underlying Reasons Why Demos Fail to Sell

Many products are developed because the creator had an idea. Not because the market told them they needed it, note. This is why so many SaaS startups fail. No need. Then they make up some sort of pricing structure which has no basis in reality and certainly isn't profitable...and then must go out into the marketplace and try to convert people into becoming users. Tough road!

What most salespeople (and people who shouldn't really be in sales, but accidentally fell into the role) fail to understand is that customers rarely buy because of ALL the features your product or service has. They tend to buy because of ONE of these.

Example: the network security product I sold had four main features. But buyers would only be interested in one of them--a different one each time. Only months later, when they came back and asked the now-perceived-as-expert (me), "Gee, we need X...do you know anything that does that?" I could then happily inform them, "What you have now does that already."

Sell first, educate later. Often, putting too many choices or things to think about in front of a prospect will result in overwhelming them. Another example: I'm a producer for a TV network. When we first meet with a prospect, I don't go into everything we can do. I stick to one big idea, and that's what we sell. When I first started in the field, I tried upselling, cross selling, what have you. Nope. All that did was confuse the prospects. Now I sell them on the one big idea...and then come back a little later, now that they're used to working with us, and pick up the other orders I knew would be a good fit following the first discussion.

What to Do Now That You Know Why Demos Fail to Sell

The standard belief is: "If I can just get in front of enough people and tell them about every single feature of my SaaS, I will get lots of customers." And to a degree this is true. If you see enough prospects, you'll accidentally make some sales. But you probably won't truly know why they bought.

The demo is an outdated mode of selling. The assumption that people buy because of features and benefits is false. These salespeople don't know any other way, though. They want you on the call. Live. Then, they believe, they can convert you into a paying user. On your own, as a consumer, you're not to be trusted to come to your own correct conclusions. If you find SaaS deals stalling after initial interest, this could be a major reason why.

As a SaaS developer, what else can you do?

Don't develop your tool in isolation! Don't create something just because you alone believe it would be a good idea.

Ask your target market.

Do the people you're going to be relying upon to be paying customers agree this is a needed solution to a real problem?

What do they want it to be and do?

What size of a problem does it solve for them (pricing and validation hint)?

Do they instantly "get it"? Or do you find yourself mired in the quicksand of attempted explanations and blank looks?

Many, many SaaS startups have tried and crashed and burned because they did not find out the answers to these simple questions before they went ahead and developed their solution. It was a solution to a problem nobody but the creator thought was important.

If you asked these questions before starting development, and got clear responses from your target market, you would be able to create a solution to a real problem...including features your audience has told you they will pay for. Now do you need a demo? Of course not. The sales copy will practically write itself. User adoption will happen like a rising tide. At that point, it's just a matter of letting your market know you and your solution exist.

One final example. I sell a stock trading software currently valued at $5000 (the price is going up!). My discussion with prospects is NEVER about technical issues: I might have to answer one or two little tech questions, but we do not even look at the software. Buyers invest in the software because they understand it will help them make more money. I'll say it again: I have never had to do a demo or show a single screenshot of this software to sell it for $5000.

>> Do you have a question about why demos fail to sell, selling or SaaS? Comment below to let us know! And if this info helped you, please Like or Share to get it in front of others. Jason Kanigan is a profit maximizer for individuals and organizations that competently solve serious problems for well-defined target markets. For more information about Jason, click here. <<