Direct outreach has a specific shape. It is not "send a proposal to a list." It is not "post on LinkedIn that you are looking for...
Archive: Sponsorship Prospecting
The latest industry news, interviews, technologies, and resources.
Why Sponsorship Teams Avoid Direct Outreach (And What It’s Costing Them)
Most sponsorship teams are not running passive strategies because they have concluded passive strategies work. They are running them...
How Many Direct Outreaches Per Week to Hit a Quarter-Million-Dollar Sponsorship Year?
Two hundred contacts. Forty-five discovery meetings. Fifteen proposals. Five sponsors. That ratio produces a five-sponsor year for a...
Five Things Sponsorship Teams Do Instead of Direct Outreach
Sponsorship teams have a list of activities they call "the work." Five of them dominate the calendar. None close deals on their own. Each...
Direct Outreach Is the Only Work That Closes Sponsorship Deals
Sponsorship teams spend most of their week on activity that has no chance of producing a signed deal. They polish proposals. They attend...
Three Simple Formats for Sponsor Summits That Work
Let me start by saying that I hate the term “sponsor summit.” When people hear it they think of a hugely expensive, over the top, highly formal, high-pressure sales event. Sponsor summits are NEVER high-pressure sales events and they are only as formal as you want them to be. You can hold any type of summit that fits your brand and your partners…as long as you hold it at least once a year, every year. No exceptions.
What do Sponsors Want? Actually, Sponsors Don’t Exist!
I know what you’re thinking “another post about how we should stop using the term ‘sponsor’ in favor of something like ‘partner.’” Nope. In fact, there is no word for “sponsors” because sponsors simply don’t exist. Wait…what? Let’s start with the working definition of sponsor from our friends at Google Translate:
How to Get 394 Warm Sponsorship Prospects in Your Pipeline – for Free
How many prospects can you reasonably handle in your pipeline without running out of time to treat them all properly? 150? 250? What if I could offer you 394 warm prospects? And what if I could offer it to you…for free? I know what you’re thinking: anyone can download a list of the 394 biggest companies in their area of interest. But, I didn’t say 394 cold prospects, I said 394 prospects who will take your call and meet with you. I have two techniques that I would like to share with you, and neither requires a sponsorship proposal or a complicated valuation (though you should ALWAYS know your value). Check out this infographic to help with the prospecting process. The Business Breakfast Let me state for the record: sponsorship is NOT fundraising. Fundraisers and charities may use sponsorship as a revenue tool, but it is most definitely a form of marketing (not corporate philanthropy). Why am I telling you this? Because the first strategy is borrowed from the charitable sector…and is the single best tool for growing your pipeline. How do I know it works? Because a consultant friend of mine helped me triple the revenue of a charity […]
The Ultimate Sponsorship Prospecting Formula
One of the main reasons people reach out to sponsorship consultants like myself is for help with prospecting. I can completely understand that, as figuring out who to contact and where to start can be quite difficult to determine, especially for first-time sponsorship seekers. I am often asked for my advice on how to get sponsors as though there is a magic formula that, if employed properly, will lead to more successful sponsorship packages. There wasn’t. Until now, that is. That’s right! I’ve cracked the code, so to speak, on sponsorship prospecting. I created a simple formula for finding corporate partners that can get you on your merry way to prospecting with the right parties. In this post, I’ll share that formula with you and provide best practices for sponsorship prospecting as well, so make sure you check it out! My Corporate Sponsorship Prospecting Formula First, let me start by saying I’m no professional mathematician. I have no idea if this formula follows standard algebra protocol, so please don’t judge me if it doesn’t. Here is my ultimate sponsorship prospecting formula: A1 + I (A32 x V) = P Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what all the variables are and […]