Let’s say I’m a business. No, really. Imagine for a moment that I’m an area business that might want to buy space in your program books. (For those of you living in the Rochester area, this shouldn’t be much of a stretch!) What do you think is the most valuable resource you have to solicit my business?

Right. Your kids.

Businesses are made of people, not mortar and brick. Those people like to know that they’re giving back to their community, and not strictly from a PR perspective either. Who better to sell them advertising space in your program books than the students they’re going to be helping?

That doesn’t mean you want to hand your students an order form, give them a pat on the back and wish them the best. Businesses invest thousands of dollars each year to train their sales team, because they know that an inexperienced sales rep could be the kiss of death to the success of their business. Your students may not have to have the kind of skills that will have employers salivating over them on the showroom floor, but a little basic sales know-how will go a long way toward increasing the revenue from your ads.

• Expand their people skills. Most of us aren’t naturally inclined to walk up to someone and start selling. That’s a skill we acquire over time. Have your students practice talking to people they don’t know until they’re semi-comfortable with it.

• Teach them about their product. Would you buy from a salesperson that didn’t know the first thing about their product? Of course not. Teach them about their product.

• Give them the information they need to succeed. The average student isn’t even going to know what ROI means, much less how it applies to their ad sales. Take a peek at our Resources Section to download and print out a handout with all the information a potential buyer is likely to ask your students before they’ll sign on the dotted line.

• Get them excited! What separates the good from the bad from the very bad in the world of sales is the salesperson’s ability to get excited about what they’re selling! Get your kids pumped! (This is their season we’re talking about here, after all. If they can’t get excited about it, no one can!)