How to Attract New Sponsors to Your Organization

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05/21/2018

“How can we bring new sponsors into our organization?” We’ve heard this question over and over – particularly when launching new programs with our clients. In fact, I was recently in Chicago with some folks, and we had a great presentation on a sponsorship review, and this question came up again.
Here is a sales methodology we are honing at our shop:
First:  We know many associations are about to send out their new prospectus for 2019 (budget season is coming up by the way). We recommend you not only send it to current sponsors, but to all members of your association. Your core members might be interested in a sponsorship – the point is, don’t just make this available to the vendor and supplier community.
Second: Research your current sponsor’s competitors. The approach is an excellent strategy and an easy Google search to discover these companies. Definitely send the prospectus to them.
Third: Your next move is to check out the competing associations in your space and find who their sponsors are – the ones you don’t have yet.  Send them the prospectus as well. You see, now we are working down the chain a bit.

Fourth: I recommend you look for SIC codes – perform a Google search for these. We use Data.com, but you can also use Hoovers to sort organizations by SIC code, and the results will help to develop a new list of potential sponsors.
Five: Over time, we’ve learned the “new” sponsors you seek are probably already on your “list.” These are the prospects who are already familiar with you and who’ve have been around for a very long time. You just haven’t given them what they want yet.
Six: The existing sponsors are an opportunity as well because you can persuade them into buying larger sponsorships – as long as you can show the value and it meets their business objectives. These sponsors are the ones who will grow your program out and expand your revenue.
A quick story about explosive sponsorship growth: Moery Business Development Manager, Jordan Weiss has implemented an incredible sponsorship approach. He just wrapped up a meeting, which had only pulled in $50,000 for their sponsorship program last year. So, this year, he tweaked the prospectus, made suggestions on pricing, and added new inventory. We added $140,000 of total sponsorship for that same event in 2018 – of which, I believe 10 to 12 of those new sponsors had been on the organization’s existing list!
By following our 6-step methodology, I guarantee you’ll develop more than enough opportunities to sign new sponsors to your program.
To further discuss sponsorship sales, schedule a time for us to have a 30-minute complimentary phone call. I’d be pleased to chat. – JP

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