How to get a good sponsorship......!

By:Prayag Nao

If you want to successfully organize any event , you must have lot of money.You can invest money from your pocket or you can collect money from other sources.
Sponsorship is easiest way to collect money for your events.

Here are top tips to attract corporate sponsors:  

Know your prospective sponsors’ marketing objectives

They have multiple objectives. What are their priorities?

What does your sponsor prospect really want?

They see sponsorships as marketing strategies, but also overall as business strategy.
They want to align their brand with a good cause. They want exposure in front of your audience.
They may want exclusivity.
Do your homework!
Just remember that their “business” with you is often tied directly to sales and marketing objectives.

Have a great sponsor proposal

 "Without it, don't even bother," . "It has to be completely compelling." The person you show that proposal to has to show it to accounting to get approval and a check. You need to connect personally with your champion in the company.

In addition, be aware that there's a certain format for how the proposal has to look, Robotssss says. "It has to have certain language and certain sections."

• Start with a story. It could be your story, or the story of someone whose life you changed. "Whatever you do, tell a story. This will get your proposal to stand out and make an emotional connection." experts points out that there's a person in the company you approach who's going to make a decision about sponsoring you. "That person has to make an emotional decision to give you the money," they say.
   
• Describe what you do. This is your mission statement. It explains why you do what you do.
   
• Benefits. You have to have really great benefits for the sponsor you're approaching.
   
• Describe your demographics.Your demographic is the market you're after, and you want to have statistics about that market at your fingertips. For example, if your market is women, be aware that they make or influence 85 percent of purchasing decisions, and that they are starting businesses at twice the rate of men.
   
• Create an advisory board. "If you don't have experience, surround yourself with people who have experience. Show potential sponsors that you have an A team."
   
• Ask for the money. "They don't call you to ask how much money you want," Experts says. "A sponsor once said to me, 'If I don't see a menu of prices, I throw it out.' "
  

Know what you have to offer a sponsor

• Complimentary demographics?
• Complimentary psychographics?
• Impressions (eyeballs)?
• Tickets and access?
• Brand recognition and loyalty?
• Promotional rights?
• Access to your audience?
• Proprietary platform?

And, most importantly, what can you offer that NOBODY else can?
I like to ask the sponsor what’s most important to them. And then I work hard to provide it.
Here’s a chart from Aimee’s powerpoint presentation: what potential sponsor businesses care about:

 

Promise deliverables

Don't just promise media coverage. Promise specific media coverage: "I will give you media coverage in the hometown business journal. It has a circulation of 60,000 people making more than $100,000 a year."

Don't sell yourself short

Ask for $10,000 to $100,000 from each sponsor. "I see people asking for $1,000. That's not going to cut it. You're dealing with a well-paid person in a corporation. It's not worth their time if you're asking for $500 or $1,000."

Know WHO the decision makers really are

Is it the marketing team? The marketing VP?
Is it the community relations department?
Does the sponsorship decision go all the way up the corporate chain of command to the executive offices?
Do the advertising people play a role?
Every business is different. And smart fundraisers figure out who makes the final decision.
I like to have an “internal advocate” inside the company advising and guiding me through the maze.

Know WHAT TYPE of business best suits your event “product.”

You have a product you are selling to businesses. They want exposure to your audience so they can market their company and their products.
Emphasize the “fit” between your audience and your potential sponsor.
Here’s something else interesting from Aimee Dunsmore:

 

 

Make your proposal very SPECIFIC and relevant to their business

Do your homework. Since you are researching their business strategy – you can emphasize what they are looking for.
I like to use their OWN language (pull from their web site or other materials.)
Lay out exactly what objectives they will achieve with this investment.
Don’t just assume that they know. Spell it out in black and white on the page.
And remember to emphasize what your event can uniquely do for the company.

Contact Directly

Whenever possible,experts advise, introduce yourself by telephone, not e-mail. "This is a relationship business," they say. "You have conversations; you don't just e-mail back and forth." Besides, a lot of corporations have good firewalls, and your e-mail may not get through. "E-mail once you have the relationship," experts say.

Try to avoid filling out an online form. That's a screening device, they say. "It's like the black hole on Star Trek where something goes in and never comes out."

Always follow up

 "So many people lose deals because they don't follow up," experts says.

Be brief, be brilliant and be gone 

 Ask for what you want, but don't take up a lot of a potential sponsors' time doing it.

Show your level

Until you're financially secure and strong, you can't help all the people you want to help. Corporate sponsorships are a way to make you strong and give you the resources you need, experts say. They also add to your credibility. They also advises that you publicize your corporate sponsors on your website to let people know you are playing at a higher level in business.