February 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 48

SPONSORSHIP SUCCESS

Step 4:

Research
Your Sponsors
Become an expert on your potential
sponsors. The more you know about
them the better prepared you will
be for their questions and the easier
it will be for you to craft a sponsorship offering that meets their specific
needs. Search the Internet, read their
annual reports, do a data search on
the company, use the various sourcebooks available to you...find out
what they are currently sponsoring,
what their branding strategies are and
what their business objectives are.
Be prepared to discuss the sponsors' individual marketing strategies
with them when making the sales
call. You should be able to quickly
and intelligently answer questions
during the sales process.
There are different departments,
with different budgets, that can spend
money on sponsorships. These departments include, but are not restricted to, advertising, marketing,
public relations, product management, brand managers, human relations directors, multicultural marketing managers, office of the president
and even a sponsorship director!
Look for different opportunities
within the same company.

Step 5: Make Initial

Sponsor Contact
Then, pick up the telephone. When
you reach the correct person, instead of launching right into a sales
pitch, ask them several questions
about their business that will indicate to you whether or not they
are a viable sponsor for your project. For example: " Based on what
I have read about your company,
it appears (fill in the blank with
your knowledge.) Is that true? Are
you interested in maintaining/increasing your profitability? Are you
interested in creating a better envi46 Parks & Recreation

ronment for your employees (or attracting new employees, or rewarding current employees)? "
Make sure the questions you ask
can be answered with a " yes. " Also,
make sure you are talking with the
decisionmaker. How would you
know this? During the questioning
process, ask " Is there anyone else
you want involved in this discussion? " That way they can give you
another name without being intimidated that they are not the final decisionmaker.
One of the questions I'm always
asked is, " How do I get past the
gatekeeper? " If you can't get past
the gatekeeper, make him/her your
friend and ally. Explain the program, explain the benefits of participation and get him/her to make the
appointment for you
Getting through voice mail is another concern. Don't leave long, boring messages and never leave more
than three messages. Dial around and
try to get a real person. Talk to the operator...have the person paged...get
their email address and send a note...
call early in the morning...late in the
day. In other words, be creative!

Step 6: Go for

the Appointment
Once you have had a brief discussion, try to get an appointment.
If they say, " Send me a package, "
respond with: " I'll do even better
than that. I've prepared a succinct
one-page fact sheet that highlights
the various marketing and promotion components of my event. May
I fax or email it to you? " Ask for the
fax number and email address, send
the document to them right away
and then call back shortly to make
sure they received it. If they have
received it, go for the appointment.
Explain that the fact sheet is merely
a one-dimensional outline that can-

| F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 6 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

not begin to describe the total event
and you would like to meet with
them, at their convenience, to show
them pictures, previous press coverage, a video, whatever you have.
Follow the basic sales techniques of
choices: Monday or Friday, morning or afternoon. Don't give them a
chance to say they can't see you.
If a face-to-face meeting is not
possible, make an appointment for
a telephone interview. Have them
write that appointment in their book,
just as if it were an in-person conversation. Send them a package of information they can have in front of
them so they can follow along with
your discussion and presentation.

Step 7:

Be Creative
Once in front of the sponsor, demonstrate your knowledge of their business by offering a sponsorship that
meets their specific needs. Help them
come up with a new and unique way
to enhance their sponsorship beyond the event. For example, if it's
a bank, how can they benefit from
association with your event? What
kind of promotion could you design
for them? Or, devise a contest where
people have to fill out an entry form
to win something. Think about hospitality opportunities - rewards for
leading salespeople, special customer rewards, incentives for the trade.
Be prepared to offer these ideas, and
more, to help sponsors understand
how this sponsorship offers them
great benefit.
In many instances, it is up to you to
lead the discussion. Often a potential
sponsor will turn to you and say, " I
don't know how to make this work. "
This is where your knowledge and research will prove invaluable since you
will have given thought, beforehand,
to how they can maximize their participation in your event.

February 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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