The latest writings from our team
The Definitive Guide to the Sponsorship Proposal: 7 Steps to a Proposal that Actually Works!
I call this post “The Definitive Guide to the Sponsorship Proposal” for a reason! I am going to tell you everything you need to know about creating a winning sponsorship proposal and how to write a sponsorship proposal that actually works.
A Tale of Two Cause Marketing Campaigns
Cause marketing is a great way to raise money for a cause and build brand recognition, for both the charity and corporate entity. These cause marketing campaigns typically involve a cashier asking customers for a donation for a specific cause at checkout. Often, paper “pinups” accompany these types of cause marketing campaigns, marking each customer’s donation and decorating the store.
Sponsorship Inventory and Asset Development Essentials
Imagine walking into a shoe store with nothing on the shelves and no samples of product to try on. Now imagine being confronted by the sales person who asks you for $150 because it is his goal to sell $150 worth of shoes to you. How would you feel? Would you think you are getting high value for your money or being used to help someone make their sales goals? Selling sponsorship without an inventory is like trying to sell shoes without any product. It just doesn’t work. If you want to make $1 million then you need $1 million dollars worth of product to sell.
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.
The Five Stages of Sponsorship Sales
Five stages of sponsorship? But isn’t sponsorship about setting a budget goal, creating a package with three levels (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and then dividing that budget goal across those three levels and e-blasting your stock proposal to every company you can think of? Yes! At least that’s the common practice, anyway. I have spent a lot of time selling sponsorships, reviewing sponsorship proposals on behalf of brands and talking to prospects about their sponsorship goals. Based on this experience I can say with 100% confidence that the above-mentioned approach is the least efficient way to sell sponsorship. What is the best way? Well, truth be told (no matter what anybody tells you) there is no “best” way. That said, I have observed certain stages of the sponsorship sales process that, when followed, bring in more sponsorship dollars, build better relationships with prospects and simplify the sponsorship sales process. Let’s break them down stage by stage and look at ways to implement them into your sponsorship sales program. The Five Stages of Sponsorship Sales Inventory Building and Valuation Why start here? Because your inventory of assets (what you will sell) tells you who you should be talking to. It guides your […]
June 2024’s Most Memorable Sponsorship Activations
Activation season takes off as summer gets into full swing. It’s a great time to get outside and engage new audiences with one’s brand,...
Corporate Sponsorship Done Right: The Art of Doing Nothing
In today’s post, I am going to share a case study with you about one of the biggest corporate sponsorship deals I’ve worked on. This is an example of how I closed a major, multi-year corporate sponsor in a way that will surprise you. It didn’t include any fancy sponsorship proposals or a complicated activation strategy but it did require a certain level of comfort with the best sales tool in your arsenal “awkward silence.”
Cause Marketing for the Small Shop
In part one of this series “Sponsorship and Cause Marketing: Common Mistakes” we took a look at sponsorship and some of the things holding back the small shop in that area. In this article, we are going to turn our attention to cause related marketing for the small shop.
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: