NCMC Sponsorship Bulletin –
Issue 15 -
05/04/2007
Client
Louis Albornoz asks:
1.
What do you think are the most vital aspects of selling a sponsorship
package to a prospect?
I hear that a personal relationship with the prospect and being in the right
place at the right time are usually what lead to getting a deal.
2.
What exactly should the "reporting" section of a proposal contain? Does
every sponsor want the same kind of reporting, what kind of reporting is most
effective in conveying the value that a sponsor will receive?
Answers:
-
The most vital aspects of selling
a sponsorship are presentation, professionalism and marketing skills.
Certainly, the development of a personal relationship that is enjoyable for
the sponsor and the athlete/team can be a vital part of an exceptional
marketing partnership. But you must remember that sponsorship is a marketing
play not a personal quest. Even if the business owner/sponsor is your rich
uncle, he still has to justify his investment in you from a purely business
standpoint. You must still be able to provide the marketing services that
other teams provide for their sponsors.
Most of us prefer
to do business with people we like and it is great for you if your sponsor
considers you his best friend. But that is a natural process that comes with
familiarity and shared values. It can’t be faked successfully. You should, of
course, try to be the best friend of all your sponsors merely as a matter of
trying to enjoy your business relationships to the maximum – and especially when
you give them business results that mean success for their company. But unless
you have lots of rich friends, you won’t get sponsorship because of
friendships. There must still be a business case.
As for being in the
right place at the right time, that is a matter of timing and good planning can
help there. Obviously, if you happen to call immediately after a meeting where
they have discussed sponsoring a team in your league or series, that is great
timing and great luck. But, in the real world, the key is in knowing when they
begin the process of evaluating proposals and making decisions on which teams
and athletes they’d like to look at. This is why sponsorship can take years and
months to obtain…you must first know when their decision making takes place and
be there at that time, hopefully, with an advocate inside the company that is on
your side.
-
Reporting to the
sponsor about the results you achieve for him/her is critical to your future
success. The most effective form of reporting is that which the sponsor
wants. Some will want to see tangible results, new sales, new clients, etc.
and will want you to report to them how much of this you accomplish. They
will take those sales, subract costs and compare the profit to the expense of
your sponsorship. As long as you show a good return on their investment, you
will likely keep the sponsor. Your efforts to have effective hospitality for
their clients will pay off if you can report new sales for them.
Some customers are looking
solely for impressions and to get their name seen and recognized by as many
people as possible. Your reporting would show them how many impressions you
garnered at the track, on television radio, internet, magazines, etc. in order
that they can compare the cost of these impressions to other forms of
advertising.
The answer to the question is
that your reporting should match what the customer wants to know about your
efforts on their behalf. When you negotiate with the customer, find out what is
important to them and then build a reporting system that will give them the
information they want. And, above all, always know where you stand in reaching
their goals.
The
Fundamentals of the Sponsor Search.
http://ncmc.blogspot.com/
Sponsor
Bank. Check it out at
Sponsor Bank
Check out
how to get a digital logo car for your proposal:
http://www.insmkt.com/money8.htm
Thanks
Robert
Villegas
New
Century Marketing Concepts
http://www.insmkt.com/fund.htm
1-317-881-3826
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at 317-881-3826 Have a Question?
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