GrowthZone Staff Guest Post
Our annual sponsorships were filled by January!
One of the most successful tools I used while working for an association was a “sponsor playbook”. The purpose of the association sponsor playbook was to help members and supporters choose the best sponsorship opportunities for their businesses, and to give them the first chance to renew their association sponsorship each year. The win for our association management was that I had less selling to do because it was easier for members to sign up to be sponsors.
Build An Association Sponsor Playbook
– Create a page for each association event that has sponsorship opportunities available. Include photos, logistics, cost, number of attendees expected, etc.
– Include a checklist on the final page of the sponsor playbook for association members and current association sponsor companies to select from all of the sponsor opportunities.
Get the Association Member Recruitment Kit.
It includes selling tips for people who hate selling.
Ask for Repeats
– Send the playbook to last year’s event or program sponsors with the opportunity to REPEAT their sponsorship; include a deadline to reply. In most cases, your membership will appreciate being asked to repeat and say YES.
– After you hear back from last year’s association sponsors, update the playbook with logos from the confirmed sponsors who are repeating; this will help build momentum for cultivating additional association sponsors.
Send to All Members
– After adding the repeating sponsors to the playbook, post the playbook on your website and email it to all members along with a reminder that opportunities are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
– Continue to update the playbook on your website as sponsorships are secured.
Creating your own sponsorship playbook will save you time in the long run and lead to additional non-dues revenue as the demand for more sponsorship opportunities increases.
Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on August 3, 2017. It has been updated.