Focus On: Merchandising: Show 'Em Your Wares

No matter what the cause, it pays for nonprofits to train call center and fulfillment staffs to answer questions about their missions and the people/causes they serve. Sales representatives at the National Wildlife Federation are trained not only to sell but to answer questions about clean water, wolf populations, backyard bird and animal habitats, and a host of other NWF issues, according to Carole Fox, vice president of operations at NWF. Scientific or highly technical calls are referred to the pros.

Key financial elements
In order to make money, nonprofit catalogs, like their consumer-based cousins, must manage five financial areas. For-profit catalogs typically earn 5 percent to 10 percent or higher of the net sales after all expenses. While there might be dozens of line items on a profit-and-loss statement, managing for profitability comes down to controlling these five critical elements: