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 budget! No assets, no sales. It gets your leadership, board, admin staff…everyone on the same page.

I believe that before you can identify your ideal prospect, you need to know what you are selling. Most people start with a list of companies they want to talk to and initiate a conversation without any sense as to whether or not they even have something of interest to those companies.

As for valuation, most people use the “shoulder shrug” valuation method. That is, they have no idea what the market value is of the assets they want to sell. In stage one of sponsorship sales, identify your sponsorship properties, build the inventory of each of those properties and then determine what they are worth. Use this information to set your budget and identify your ideal prospects.

Here are my top tips for valuing your assets:

• Use market value as your litmus test for determining the worth of your assets and activations. You can borrow your competitor’s pricing as well to guide you.
• You shouldn’t necessarily use the market value for each asset on your sponsorship property. Those are just baseline prices. Your duty is to determine if your assets are worth more or less than market value.
• Some instances in which your sponsorship property would exceed market value are if you offer very unique services, you have a lot of expertise in your area, you have a long record of happy customers or clients, and you have a record of results to showcase.
• Not all your assets will be high-value, and that’s okay. Yes, seriously. It just means those assets go on the chopping block or get less priority.
• Jot down how you arrived at your numbers. Sponsors like to see this information and will likely ask.
• Do not copy someone else’s valuation you find online. It seems like a quick shortcut, but each sponsorship property is different and must be treated as such.

Prospecting

Step one in prospecting is to look at your inventory! If you are having trouble identifying a large enough pool of prospects, what should you do? You should go back to stage one and identify more assets. As you create your inventory, your prospect presents itself. It also makes the conversation much much easier. Going to a prospect and telling them you contacted them because they “have a lot of money” is not going to lead to a sale, but telling them that you have their target market in your database or at your event sure will!

Sponsor recruiting tips:

• Treat and steward board and committee members like they are title sponsors! E-blasting them asking for “contacts” won’t work. Meet them for coffee and ask for help one on one.
• Research your board members and current sponsors and go to them with a list of people you know they are connected to and ask for an intro.
• Use LinkedIn to determine who is in your network and work in concentric circles, starting with those closest to you.
• The power of the advice visit! Ask your contacts to meet and ask them for advice as to who else you should meet and what assets you’re missing. Ask them who they can introduce you to. Be specific.
• Ask for referrals: current sponsors, volunteers, committees, investors, board, business contacts and service providers, plus your own referral network.

Getting the Meeting (and What to Do Once You Have It!)

First of all, when you meet a prospect for the first time, bring nothing with you at all. Don’t bring a proposal, or a one-pager or any other information about your organization. The ONLY goal of the first meeting is to gather information and to get the second meeting, not to make the sale.

When you go to the meeting, only ask them questions. Don’t try to tell them anything at all about what you do unless they ask. Remember, you aren’t trying to make a sale here but to gather information. Try asking these questions to get the ball rolling:

• Who is your target audience?
• How do you normally engage in sponsorship?
• What does your target market value?
• What can you tell me about your sales goals for the coming year?
• What would you consider to be the most important elements of a sponsorship package?

I always recommend having a nice icebreaker prepared when you sit down with a prospect, just to ease the tension and awkwardness. A strong opener can give you the confidence you need for the rest of the meeting.

I also suggest you set up a meeting while you have the sponsor in front of you, known as BAMFAM. That’s “book a meeting from a meeting.” Time and momentum can get away from you if you don’t lock down a sponsor meeting right then and there.

Oh, and let me share with you my tip for what to do if you don’t hear back from the sponsor at any point during the beginning of the process, whether it’s setting up an initial meeting or following up later down the line.

You can use a communication cadence. For each contact in the company, reach out once over seven days, alternating between phone calls and emails. Yes, I said reach out only once a day.

Although you’re making contact daily, since you’re only doing it once, you’re not harassing the prospect. And if you don’t hear from Person #1 in the company, reach out to Person #2 and so on.

However, if you’ve exhausted all your contact options and no one has gotten back to you, you need to take the hint. They are not interested.

The Sponsorship Proposal

I’m not all that convinced that you even need a sponsorship proposal at all! In fact, all of the major sponsorship agreements I’ve negotiated didn’t use one and most of the other sponsorship agreements that I’ve worked on deviated so much from the original proposal by the end that I’m not sure a public-facing sponsor package has much value. The best approach is to build your inventory and then determine the value of all of your assets and negotiate each sponsorship based on your sponsor’s needs.

However, if you decide that your sponsorship property must have a proposal, please follow these best practices for the most success:

• Never start with a sponsorship proposal before you’ve even had a meeting with the prospect. You couldn’t possibly understand their needs, challenges, and what they’re looking for until you schedule a discovery session. You’re just wasting your time putting together your proposal too early.
• Always customize your sponsorship proposal for each new company you work with. However, don’t mention in the proposal anywhere that it’s custom. Let its contents speak for itself.
• Never use gold, silver, and bronze tiers in your proposal. No, calling them by any other name doesn’t help.

Your sponsorship proposal should be max six pages long. Follow my proposal template to format each page properly and include the required information sponsors look for.

Activation, Fulfillment and Renewal

Once you’ve sold your sponsorship packages, the real work begins! This work is also called “activation” which, at its heart, is making sure that you deliver everything you said you would and making sure that you sponsor takes full advantage of the assets you’ve sold them. Activation often costs money so be sure to educate your sponsor about costs (like ad design or product placement) and be sure to budget for the costs of activation within the price of your sponsorship opportunities.

After your event, program, or campaign don’t miss out on a golden opportunity to make your sponsors happy and to increase the odds of them coming back to the table with more money. That golden opportunity? The sponsorship fulfillment report!

How do you build a fulfillment report? Make a chart out of every single asset you promised your sponsor and tell them whether or not you delivered. Take a picture of everything that you delivered, things like logo placement, speaking engagements, product placement, samples, web traffic reports…you name it! Put it all together in a single report and call a meeting with your sponsor to show off your hard work.

This is where renewal comes in! What better time to ask your sponsors for their money for next year than while they are still excited about the event or campaign! You’ve just shown them how well their investment paid off and so you’ve earned the right to ask them for the sale.

See? I told you there was more to sponsorship than just a sponsorship package! When you set up your fiscal year to match the five stages of sponsorship sales, it makes it much easier to do things in a systematic way. Most important of all, your sponsors will love this approach!

FAQs

Can I close a sponsorship sale on the first meeting with a sponsor? 

No, and that shouldn’t be your goal. Don’t go into the initial meeting focused on closing deals like you’re trying to meet a monthly sales quota. Instead, focus more on asking discovery questions and getting to know the sponsor’s needs and challenges. That’s the key to eventually closing a sale.

What do I do if my sponsorship prospect doesn’t get back to me?

Well, you can follow my recommended communication cadence for a week, then move on to a different contact within the company. However, if no one gets back to you, continue on with the next prospect on your list. This is why you need a nice, long list, as it’s a good form of insurance if no one responds to you.

Can I email my sponsorship proposal ahead of meeting the sponsor? 

I wouldn’t advise it! Sponsors generally aren’t interested in unsolicited proposals. They still get thousands of them, sometimes that many in a month, and they all go in the trash. You’re better off not wasting your time or effort.

How many meetings should I have with a sponsor before I send the sponsorship proposal?

There is no hard-and-fast number, as it all depends on the sponsor. Some could ask to see your proposal after the discovery meeting, and others could want to see it four meetings afterward. Let the sponsor set the pace.

Does cold calling sponsors work? 

It can, but it’s always better if you know someone who knows someone. That connection makes your cold call or email a little less cold and might improve the chances of a reply. However, if you don’t have any common connections, then cold calling it is.

Wrapping Up 

Many sponsorship seekers want to jump right to the part where they shake hands, collect the cash, and make the sale. However, sponsorship is not a typical sales opportunity. Sponsors have multifaceted, nuanced needs, and the only way you can seal the deal is by understanding and responding to those needs.

That means beginning with a discovery session, which you should treat as an informational meeting instead of a sales call. If you utilize that opportunity to the fullest, then within a few weeks or longer, you should be well on your way to making the sale.

My last takeaway is this: don’t be overly reliant on your sponsorship proposal. It doesn’t make the sale. You do!