Sales Strategy

When Not Selling Is More Important Than Sales April 16, 2015 (0 comments)

Portsmouth, NH—Imagine a day when all your employees are out. Nothing would get done, right?

At Quincy, MA-based Granite Telecommunications, hundreds of employees take time away from their desks to have their heads shaved in an onsite fundraiser for the Dana Farber Cancer Center. The company—with hundreds of employees in multiple locations--has raised more than five million dollars for cancer research to date.

For two years running, sales consultant Lori Richardson—Granite is a client of hers—has joined in the festivities, sporting what she calls a “faux-hawk” when it’s done. She also asks for donations of hats on her blog, promising to wear and photograph each one, then donate the washable ones to Dana Farber for young women fighting breast cancer. Non-washable ones are donated to a homeless shelter. On her blog, she writes:

“Many employees took part, and as a sales effectiveness coach and consultant I’d say that productivity was fairly low compared to other days. I also think that was just perfect. Employees who opted not to shave their locks got to watch it happening – there was a buzz in the air that was palpable. It was exciting. There were lots of laughs.

It’s important to take time out to promote non-work stuff once in a while. I’m guilty of being very business focused, so let me take this time to say:

Creating a work event that gets everyone behind a cause is great. It brings individuals together as a team if done right.”

Read the whole blog here, and click here to watch a video from last year’s event. Then think about what you can do in your company, says Richardson.

Top image: Richardson, left, sporting her new faux-hawk at this year's Granite Telecommunications fundraiser. Photo from her website, scoremoresales.com