Selling to Political Campaigns (Join the Race: Election promos provide seasonal selling opportunities)

On the upside, referrals are more common in the political world, where — unlike corporations — similar entities are less likely to be viewed as competition. “Candidates have many political allies who have their own campaigns to run,” Muller says. “If you are successful for one candidate, you have the potential to earn referrals to many other candidates and manage larger and larger campaigns.”

If you’re working with campaigns, it may be a good idea to secure payment upfront when possible, as they are often underfunded and overspent. “Granted, political campaigns spend literally billions on media exposure, including promotional products, but they are only as good as their next poll results and fundraising efforts,” says Stephen K. Woodburn, MAS, director of the promotional products division at Summit Marketing in Atlanta. “I made a decision early on in my career not to pursue that type of business. I did a few things for candidates long ago. Most were fine because we required payment upfront, but there were a couple where we either were not paid or were paid months and months after the fact.”

While Muller insists she’s never had a problem with payment, she admits that financial issues are an important consideration with election promos. “In the planning stages, the candidate has often only begun some cursory fundraising and often has no idea of what the final overall budget for the campaign will be,” she reports. “As the candidate completes fundraising activities and begins to meet his or her monetary goals, you might find that your estimated budget has expanded or diminished.” She recommends that distributors be flexible and ready to add or subtract products and increase or decrease quantities when budget changes occur.

“There is also the reality that when campaigns are over, the campaign organization essentially folds,” Muller adds. “The budget that you were drawing from no longer exists after the election.” But politicians may still promote themselves at parades, dedications and speaking engagements, Bayne says. And don’t overlook lower-profile races, such as those for county seats, school boards, law enforcement posts or bond issues.

In addition, politicians often use mailers throughout their terms to keep constituents informed of progress and platform goals, Goebel says. “The reality is that all promotional materials are somehow related to a current or future campaign,” she says. n