Pursue those who have reason to be interested in you: This means you will need to do your homework and be sure to know something about what that company is doing and where they are going. SponsorPark does this for you by sending your proposal out to sponsors who have already indicated their interests and established search criteria.
I went to Baylor University for college. One semester as I was walking to class, my head was spinning about this tremendous paper I was in the middle of writing. My mind was so internally focused on my recent efforts that I put it on autopilot and trudged up the stairs to sit in my usual seat, pen in hand and notebook ready. It was then that I finally looked up and took a quick glance around me at the unfamiliar faces and the strange layout of the room I had entered. A “sweet” snicker from the left side of the room prompted me to realize I had walked into the wrong room entirely… face red and eyes down I stumbled back out into the hallway smirking to myself – oops! Wrong place, wrong time. I heard a brief eruption of laughter and the comment “well, hope she finds where she was meant to be…”
“What does that have to do with sponsorship?” You might be wondering. Well… far too often we hear from sponsors that it’s not unusual at all that they hear from someone seeking sponsorship and silently sit back wondering why in the heck they were being approached. You don’t want to be perceived as the ignorant person who was at the wrong place at the wrong time for an unknown reason. Now, just becasue a partnership doesn't immediately appear to have much in common, underneath you might have complementary goals. But if that's not the case, they’ll get off the phone with you after the polite brush off, and snicker… “what the…?” Let’s put it in terms for the season we’re in. It’s comparable to say, my husband buying me a toolset for Christmas. I would open the package and look up in surprise and curiosity. “Um… do you know me?” Fortunately for me, I’m not getting a toolset for Christmas…
Something else to keep in mind, C and D level executives are busier than ever and unfortunately they’ve been put in the position described above enough times that it’s a major hurdle to get over just to get them to listen to you half the time. When you’re lucky enough to capture two minutes of their attention, they WILL NOT waste their time listening to and considering your proposal unless you quickly connect the dots to why their involvement makes sense. My advice - quickly demonstrate your efforts in doing your homework. Do you know their mission? Do you know where have they offered support in the past? How this partnership might be uniquely capable of driving the kind of results they’re looking for? How your target audience really aligns with theirs? These are all effective talking points to consider. People love to talk about and hear about themselves – engaging conversationalists know this. Sponsors are no different.
We had a sponsorship opportunity representative once tell us the story of receiving a contact of a potential sponsor from a trusted source. It was a referral, so they felt confident that they could get a meeting arranged. So, though nearly a cold call, they dialed, calmed the fluttering butterflies in their stomach, and as soon as the individual answered, they sputtered out a quick greeting and a few sentences as to why they were calling and why they thought this could be a great partnership. The voice on the other line was annoyed and dry – “umm, you must not realize our company is dissolving. We recently filed a chapter 7, and so as you can see, we are not interested, nor able to support you at this time.” Ooops! She muttered her apologies and quickly hung up the phone. Another contact of a religious organization recently informed me of her failed attempts to obtain a partnership with a major corporation, not understanding why they would not be interested. Her target audience was not in line with pleasing the vast majority of their target audience, and the affiliation would have likely wreaked havoc on their brand. While being passionate, even biased toward your opportunity can be endearing, and even inspirational, it’s frankly selfish and unattractive not to have considered the other side of the partnership before proposing a commitment from them.
So as you’re chowing on holiday munchies and opening thoughtful Christmas presents, consider what a gift it would be to offer a sponsor a well thought out sponsorship proposal in the new year! Done this well in the past – tell us about your successes and your brilliant partnerships and we’ll consider featuring your story on our website. Look forward to hearing about your successes and introducing more next year!