Why it is Important to Continually Invest and Engage

As a sponsorship sales professional it’s really an asset to be a people person – and a good communicator. Obviously for the whole process leading up to a sale, and even during the activation efforts thereafter there is need for an effective dialogue, but what about the months after a partnership has been established?  There are several reasons why you should continue to invest in the partnerships you have created.

1. Turnover.  Have you ever had an experience where you work hard to infiltrate the ranks of gatekeepers protecting the brand manager or decision maker you’re dying to have a conversation with; only to make contact, maybe even dialogue about a partnership, maybe even form a partnership… and then they are suddenly no longer in their position? Either they’ve moved internally, or they leave the company altogether; and for most of these decision makers, the first thing on their mind is not introducing you to their replacement.  If they’re really proactive, you might get a brief introduction via email or even phone, but it’s ultimately up to the new decision maker to determine if you’re “in or out.” 
2. Relationship building/loyalty development: Just because you had a successful event last month doesn’t mean you’re “it” next month.  Loyalty is a great asset to a partnership, and while it’s not the end all be all in maintaining your business relationship (if other factors don’t point to it being a positive ROI), it’s still worth developing.  Consider the fact that sponsors are scrutinizing where their pennies land; if they determine they need to slice their sponsorship budget and let one of several partners go, you want every positive point in your favor.  Assuming your ROI and another investment offers similar results, your relational investment could win you the honor of another year.  At that point it’s time to pull away from the pack and strategize in a way that keeps you from getting in just under the wire – but that’s another topic.
3. Informed strategizing.  I was told once that inferences /assumptions are developed when a person dips into the pool of facts in front of them.  If you want a more effective conclusion drawn, you need to make sure you have an accurate and full pool of facts.  When you’re developing partnership strategies, your sponsor/partner may or may not be actively involved… an unfortunate truth, but either way it’s still to your best interest to learn how to best meet their needs.  How better to strategize about meeting your sponsor’s needs then by knowing what is important to them? Bear in mind that what is important to a sponsor changes, and can change frequently – so a one-time cup of coffee isn’t going to do more than add a drop or two to your pool of facts. 

These are just a handful of reasons why it’s important to invest in your partners.  So how can you do this?  Chit chat.  Being all business is important in some settings – we don’t live in a day and age where people develop strong business relationship or even care what you have to say just because your kids play in the same league of soccer.  But once mutual respect and value has been established, you can deepen the relationship by being appropriately transparent.  Grab lunch on occasion, send a Christmas card, connect when they have new launches, ask to be introduced to other decision makers in the company.  You can personally deliver ROI feedback, express interest in the things the sponsor is interested in, set up a group brainstorming session to develop or improve activation strategies.  The list really is endless.  But staying relevant to your sponsor is the key to effective engaging – and definitely pays off.