He's gentle and polite - but he'll get your money! He doesn't look
like a high-pressure salesman or a frenetic fundraiser.
He's gentle and quietly spoken. But 30-year
-old World Vision volunteer Steve Robertson, "Robbo" to his
friends, is a fundraising legend.
Over the years he's been doing the 40 Hour Famine, he's raised $10,000.
At a Famine conference in Christchurch, Robbo shared the secret of his
success with 200 other volunteers.
"I just ask anybody at all [to sponsor me]. It's important not
to pre-judge people. Sometimes the most unlikely looking people are
happy to sponsor."
And he doesn't take no for an answer.
"If they say no, ask them why notr' he says gently. "A bit
of persistence always pays off." One friend had to be asked five
or six times before he agreed to sponsor Robbo.
"Ask your friends, you can be harder on your friends."
And one more tip: "Always smile at people. And be real polite
as well."
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