When it comes to athletics, clubs, and activities, what do you think raises the most money?
Bet you a cheeseburger it’s not t-shirts or hot dogs at the concession stand. In fact, bet ya’ two cheeseburgers, it’s ticket sales. Yep, the gate. Think about it, isn’t charging for admission just another way to raise funds? And if it is (and it is), wouldn’t you want to make it really really easy to buy tickets? Of course, you would!
The old tried and true cash box and a roll of tickets used to work just fine. But what happens if someone is a little short when arriving at the gate? Either you let the person in anyway (losing the total cost of the ticket) or you don’t (losing the entire sale). Lost sales are no good, but neither is short-changing your fundraiser! Of course, there are other options for the patron – turn around and hit the ATM, borrow money from someone else, give an I-O-U, etc. but are any of those really good options either? There just has to be an easier way.
With the cashbox method, someone has to (ac)count for all that cash. It’s all good until the count is a little short. If you take checks, there is the hassle of the “bad ones”. And who are you gonna trust to get all that dough to the bank? The bookkeeper, I bet. Well, that means paying folks to come in and count it and get it to the bank.
Plus, we all love a greenback but cash is kind of old-fashioned isn’t it?
Why wouldn’t you try to make it easy to buy tickets? Let’s face it – everything uses plastic these days. Might as well let patrons use it too. Solves a bunch of problems like that cash box conundrum. You can do that with a point of sale solution and take credit cards on-site. Not a bad solution but it can take a little time and it requires equipment. Maybe not perfect but better than a cashbox!
What if you could take that point of sale solution and make it even more convenient and easy? How about e-tickets? Well, that might just touch all the bases:
- Eliminate cash.
- Give patrons the payment options they want (to make it easy to buy).
- Let’s people buy when they want – the “box office” is open 24/7.
- Collect info on who is buying tickets.
Seeing who is buying tickets early helps give you an idea of whether you will end up with a small crowd or arena-size crowd. And that is a great way to evaluate staffing and supervision (as well as security) needs.
Just wondering also, how do you know who all is buying those tickets? Bet you don’t. Wouldn’t you like to know though? Knowing who is attending your events and having info on purchases can be huge. What if you could send an email to a ticket holder reminding about a special sale or letting someone pre-purchase parking right there online (no reason you can’t sell a parking “ticket” just like the event ticket itself)? What if you could send an email thanking folks for coming? Might just be a great way to make sure the seats are filled for the next big event….
What if you could buy tickets in advance and then transfer them by email before the event so everyone has their own ticket. Sounds pretty cool huh?
LeanStream has a solution for all that and more. With the Event and Ticket module, schools can sell tickets online, patrons can use e-tickets, and transfer them to whomever they want. Want to make them part of the season ticket package? Easy. Want to make them refundable (or not)? Also easy. Want to scan them in with a bar code scanner? Yep. Want to use a timed entry option instead. Got that covered too!
And with our platform, you will know who bought every single ticket. You will have names and email addresses. So, reaching back out to them is as simple as running a quick report, importing info to your email program, and sending them out. That is a game-changer. Know who went to the fall play so you can send them a personal invite to the spring musical. Build your “fan base” and keep them engaged with emails and outreach. Information is king and being able to identify the dependable supporters that are showing up rain or shine, through thick and thin, year after year will help you supercharge your community engagement and participation.
Think about the possibilities. Want to hold a “white-out” at the big game? And maybe even sell a special t-shirt for everyone to wear. Send an email to everyone who has bought a ticket with a link to purchase the event shirt. Pre-sell parking or a pre-event dinner. Post sell commemorative swag. With our solutions, you can not only capture more ticket sales, but you can also capture more pre-event and post-event sales.
Plus, it’s also cool.
At LeanStream, we appreciate the need to have a variety of support tools at your beck and call. So, we included a way to sell tickets online. Add that to the other innovative options that the LeanStream platform provides and you can build a fundraising program instead of a series of fundraising projects. From loyalty campaigns, teacher honorariums, system-wide, school and teacher level “needs”, the ability to host traditional fundraisers (Boston butt sales, car washes, pancake breakfasts anyone?) online to the innovative and exclusive WiFi on the Go program, LeanStream will give you the fundraising tools you need, all under one online roof, and all integrated in a way that makes your life a whole lot easier! And we have a program for entire school districts or individual schools at a price point that makes sense.
Want to know more? Just give us a click and let’s get going.
