Will Kallmeyer ’17

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It’s that time of the year again, when almost every weekend of the third quarter is a three-day weekend and students are scrambling during lunch every two weeks to fill out their tickets. Preparations for Spring Fling are underway, and each student in the Strake Jesuit community serves a role in making this event happen. How? By selling raffle tickets.

However, this can also be a very demanding and sometimes even painful task.

Students at Strake Jesuit want to spend the least amount of time going from door to door in the cold. The goal of selling raffle tickets is to be efficient and have a high success rate. Here is an arsenal of tricks and tools for selling raffle tickets in no time at all, and maybe winning the 1st place prize for most ticket sales.

Rule number one: always be polite. This is relatively easy. Do not invite yourself in. Do not ring the doorbell or knock more than once. Always handle a rejection gently and simply and thank them for their time.

Another general rule in sales is to be presentable. Dress to impress by wearing a collared shirt. Do not try and sell tickets in your pajamas and without having showered that morning.

Another simple, popular strategy: have a simple dialogue planned out. Tell your client your name and what school you are from. Give them a quick summary of Spring Fling and what it does to benefit the school. Obviously tell them about the prizes they can win and the fun they can experience at the carnival. If you really want to impress your customer, make short presentation in a binder and show them visual aides of the prizes and carnival. A Strake Jesuit junior, Bryce Piper, says his go-to strategy is to enlighten his customer about what the money does for those needing financial aid.

Finally, always thank them sincerely for their purchase. If you want to be extra strategic, maybe ask them to tell their friends about Spring Fling and spread the word. Not only does selling your raffle tickets benefit you by getting days off, it also benefits your fellow classmates by allowing them to have the finest Catholic education in Houston.