New Sales Development Executives at materials handling equipment specialist Briggs Equipment braved a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style interview to raise almost £10,000 for The Prince’s Trust.
Over the past six months the seven employees have been competing against teams of aspiring entrepreneurs from around the UK in the Million Makers fundraising initiative. Each team has been attempting to turn seed funding of £1,500 into £10,000, with the overall aim to collectively raise £1million to help The Prince’s Trust give disadvantaged young people the practical and financial support they need to move into work, education or training.
Back in March the Briggs Equipment team pitched its three-part plan to a panel of experts from their local business community, plus a representative of The Prince’s Trust, in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style interview and secured the funding they needed to put their ideas to practice. Working together to determine where their individual strengths lay, the Sales Development Executives were able to allocate key responsibilities for the different elements of project to give themselves the best chance of success.
The team got its project underway with ‘Revival Rations’, which involved creating and selling office survival kits containing daily essentials such as stationery and tea bags. More money was raised by organising and selling tickets to special events, including a Daytona track day at the UK’s premier karting venue, while the third and final part of the project saw the team give up their weekends to reclaim and prepare used forklift trucks for a series of trade auctions. The final sum raised was £9,942.
Sales Development Executive Daniel Wood, who took the lead on Briggs Equipment’s Million Makers project, said: “We received mentoring from senior managers to help us draw up a business plan and hone our skills, and because we needed to call on assistance from various departments and build relationships along the way, I feel the Million Makers initiative has really helped us to integrate into the business.
Further information about The Prince’s Trust and the Million Makers initiative is available at www.princes-trust.org.uk
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