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 […]

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:

Our sector has an outright obsession with the sponsorship package! Of course, sponsorship packages have their place and play a role in sponsorship sales, and I’ve written about the subject extensively here. If you find yourself focused on building the perfect sponsorship deck before you start talking to sponsors, you’re in big trouble. Here are 27 things you can do right now to move the needle on your sponsorship program, none of which require you to wait for final approval on your sponsorship deck! Create 5 “out of the box” activation ideas that you know your audience will love and offer them to your current sponsors! Update your valuation calculator to include an ROI calculator Stop thinking “philanthropy” and start thinking about the power of your audience Schedule your first Business Breakfast Start doing the Friday Five this week Create a fulfillment report template for your organization Schedule a follow up meeting after your next event and ask your sponsors for feedback Run an inventory building workshop for your team Make friends before you need them! Go for coffee with your prospects and ask them for nothing at all Conduct a valuation of your assets Make a list of the […]

Before you dive in, if you are interested in event sponsorship, check out these titles in our “sponsorship for events” series: How to Find Corporate Sponsorship for an Event How to Ask for Sponsorship for an Event The Six Step Event Sponsorship Checklist 5 Things to Include in Your Event Sponsorship Proposal How to Measure Event Sponsorship ROI Why Sponsorship is Important for Events: Using Sponsorship to Make Events Awesome Sponsorship During Times of Crisis: Cancelled Events, Postponing and Refunds Why Sponsorship Is Important for Events: Using Sponsorship to Make Events Awesome! How to Display Sponsors at an Event (That People Will Actually See) How to get Media Sponsorship for an Event: A Practical Guide Event sponsorship often seems like one of those unobtainable, too good to be true options. It’s hard to imagine a company would be willing to provide a large chunk of the funding needed to run your event. We need to change the way we think about sponsorship, from that of begging for money to offering a real partnership opportunity and charging fair market value for the opportunity. When you can prove you offer value to them such as increased brand exposure with their ideal target […]