A tombola game is an excellent, tried and tested way to raise funds for your organisation. Although simple and fun enough to operate, here are some important points to consider which will help you make your tombola run more successfully and profitably.
Sounds simple, doesn't it – get together your own tombola prizes, perhaps from donations, buy some cloakroom tickets and make a winning numbers display, and off you go. A big problem with that can often be that you end up with an uncoordinated display of prizes of very variable quality which, unfortunately, people might not be so keen on winning! You won't lose money doing that, but you quite possibly won't make so much either!
Well presented, high quality prizes will normally be much more likely to be in demand, so a wise alternative is often to buy a ready made tombola game from an experienced and reliable supplier. A coordinated set of attractive prizes with a professional poster and tickets is very likely to get people spending a lot more money. Soft toys from renowned manufacturers such as Keel Toys make ideal tombola prizes. Another popular tombola game is one made up of football prizes, including footballs and football related pocket money toys.
You can choose how much to charge for each ticket. However, we suggest a ticket selling price for each of our tombola games – this price is carefully worked out to ensure that you make a healthy profit for your chosen charity.
Experience tells us that the people who operate the tombola game – its public face – can make a huge difference to the way it’s perceived and to how quickly its tickets sell. So it makes sense where possible to choose bubblier, more outgoing people who will be happier dealing with customers. After all, that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and, for those who wouldn’t thrive in that situation, there are other just as valuable contributions they can make. Play your star striker up front, not in goal – that way you’ll win the cup, not the wooden spoon!
As we know, you want to entice customers firstly to visit your tombola stall and then to want to win. Try to take the time to prepare a nice, attractive display – try to make it clean, well framed, well lit, with winning numbers poster very visible and prizes laid out clearly on coloured table/surface coverings. A great tip to encourage sales is to display more prizes than will actually be won – use additional prizes as a back-up display stock. This will create a more psychologically attractive opportunity for customers. There is nothing “wrong” with this idea – it is simply a presentational aid and the winning numbers will be properly advertised throughout on the poster.
Children can be very disappointed if their tombola ticket doesn’t win and sometimes they can be quite vocal about it! This does not make for happy advocates for your tombola game, so think about having some small consolation prizes such as pocket money toys, sweets or lollies to be given away tactically when you think the situation calls for it!
Hopefully these tips will help you think about how to make your event more successful. Good luck!