You can see that, even after 3 attempts, I’m starting to show fatigue. I don’t think that is only because the last few have been rejections. I think that I’m starting to question this approach.
I clearly have a great cause I’m asking for them to support but I’m still getting answers that are not “yes”. I think this is a result of a couple factors:

  • I’m not sure the direct approach works. I know that a more curated connection gets more traction, just like anything else.
  • I may be asking the wrong people. Managers of restaurants may not have the ability to give out meal gift cards but may be able to do something else (more on this below)
  • I don’t have a clearly compelling story for being in the restaurant that I can tell in 15 seconds. How will this donation translate into kids going to college?

One thing that Jia Jiang did mention is that in the early stages, he often took ‘no’ as the final word. On this attempt, the manager did mention that he could give t-shirts or hats away but gift cards were done at corporate. I was too quick to accept that and get out when I could have gotten a shirt or hat. The problem is, that’s even harder to convert into money for the kids. And we certainly can’t give a beer t-shirt to a high school student, right? As it is, I’m not even sure we want alcohol manufacturers as official sponsors.

Paul Bergman
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