Working with Fire Departments
First, there are two types of fire departments: Paid and volunteer. In many ways, they are alike but there are a few differences you should understand. Of course, these may not apply to all departments as each one has its own personality and structure. Paid firefighters consider themselves to be “Professional Firefighters” and view volunteers to be at a different level then they are and to a point, that is true. Paid firefighters often have much more training and experience than a volunteer. For them, it is often a career while volunteers come and go.
Volunteer firefighters on the other hand are to be applauded for giving of their time and energy for no pay or benefits. In some departments, the Captain or select others may be paid but the majority do it out of compassion and the thrill of it. The mindset of the two types of departments is very different but both are proud of what they do and probably wouldn’t do anything else even if it were offered to them. With volunteer departments, you should probably talk with the Captain. All volunteer departments pay their own way and equipment is very expensive. They are always looking for ways to make money. That is usually your inroad.
With paid fire departments, they usually don’t have to raise money but sometimes they have a "pet project" (no disrespect intended) they raise money for. This might be for kids at Christmas, a food bank or to pay for the smoke detectors many departments give to anyone who will use them. Also, many departments carry small stuffed animals as a comfort and distraction to give to children whose houses are on fire.
#1 Rule for Selling to Fire Departments
Here is the Number One Rule When Selling to a Fire Department: Understand, they don’t give a hoot about some generic picture of a fire truck. They want THEIR fire truck or THEIR fire station on the product. Otherwise, they can get whatever you are offering cheaper somewhere else. What they can’t get is a shirt, cup, mug, water bottle, etc. with THEIR fire truck on it sitting in front of THEIR fire house with them in the picture. That is what you are really selling – the picture, not the product.
This may mean you will have to go there and let them pull the truck out on the driveway and take the picture yourself. If you are lucky, they may have a professional picture of the truck or have someone in the department that is capable of taking a good picture for you. Either way, it will involve some effort on your part.
Fundraising
Remember when we were talking about raising money? Giving a percentage of your sales to their "cause" is a great way to expand your potential market to include members of the community, families, etc. Although not all of the sublimated products they will want have a huge profit margin, you can surely squeeze 5-10% out of them and some products have a very nice profit margin that might allow up to 25% return. One suggestion that has worked for me is to take a closeup of each member of the department and superimpose it next to one of their trucks. Departments often take pictures of the fires they fight, and these can be really impressive. If Joe Jones worked on a certain fire, superimpose his photo over a picture of the fire he battled. The possibilities here are endless so use your imagination and ask your potential customers what they would like to have.
Products to consider offering: Travel mugs and water bottles; coffee cups, shirts, hats, name badges or safety tags that hang on the back of their helmets. In the age of Covid-19, don’t forget masks or gaiters. Oh, don’t forget awards for years of service, raising the most money or some special activity.