This week I had the pleasure of helping with a charity in Boston called Community Servings. They are celebrating 20 years offering their annual pie event where bakers bake thousands of pies and people buy them. It sounds so simple - but the tricky part is coordinating all the pies that come in, preparing the right pies to go to the correct buyers, and then getting them to the right location for pick up and in some cases, delivery.
During our volunteer evening, David Waters, the head of Community Servings spoke. He said that over the past 20 years, the event known as Pie in the Sky (great branding!) has raised over six million dollars. The money, 94 cents out of every dollar, goes to help deliver food to people who are critically ill in 18 cities around the Boston area. They deliver good food that often is grown and donated, and they have gotten it down to an art to feed someone critically ill good food for a week for just $25.
It just hit me like a brick - who would have thought that by selling pies - pumpkin, pecan, apple, and sweet potato could raise so much money? The massive organization to do this annually for 20 years and the process in place is really impressive.
It made me think - what could YOUR company do by focusing on just one thing to improve sales and revenues in 2013? One process, one product, or one team?
Oh, and it felt really good to do something that supports the wonderful community we live in. That's another thing to incorporate with your business if you have not done so already.
Lori Richardson is recognized as one of the "Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012" and one of "20 Women to Watch in Sales Lead Management". Lori speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside and outbound sellers in technology and services companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for sales strategies, tactics, and tips in selling.