You may be surprised to hear that sponsorships are still one of the greatest challenges that the conference and event planners face at the time of planning an event. It is, after all, not a cakewalk to find a corporation or a company that will be willing to spend money for something in your event. This is true, especially in today’s challenging economic milieu.
But don’t worry. There are ways how the event organisers can easily get over these challenges by comprehending the value of sponsorship programs. This way you can maximise and improve the relationships with the sponsors.
Here are some essential tips for acquiring sponsors for your events. Just go through these to know more.
- Devise a Sponsorship Proposal – Prior to approaching a potential sponsor, it is vital to have a sponsorship proposal prepared that will highlight the potential impressions that the sponsorship is capable of yielding at your event. It should also cover the opportunities of marketing that will be available at the event, the prospective sponsorship opportunities as well as who the event audience will be. This is true, especially, for the large corporations who are willing to see their monetary value than how the money will assist your event. You should tailor your proposal according to the package of sponsorship that you are offering to the sponsors.
- Organise the Research on Your Prospects – It is always worthy to deduce what you will be able to provide your sponsors as a way of assisting them to discern what’s in it for them. As an event organiser, you must learn everything possible about the companies that you intend to pitch. If you know the key values and the target audience of the prospective sponsors then it puts you in a much better position that will surely be able to grab their attention.
- Prepare Different Sponsorship Types – Among the many steps to selling sponsorships, defining the various levels of sponsorships and the benefits offered is among the most vital ones. A wide range of sponsorship programs offers interested companies and organisations more options to choose a sponsorship program that suits their marketing requirements and budget. This way you should also be able to monitor the various entitlements depending on the types of sponsorship buy-ins. Here are the different types of sponsorship buy-ins.
– Featured advertisements in event materials and newsletters
– Event Website or Online Marketing Publicity
– Title Sponsorship
– Visibility in Your Event Décor and Banner
– Reserved Tables for Sponsors
– Tickets to Any VIP receptions at the Event - Follow Up with Prospects –It is not always quick and easy to achieve sponsors. But when you have done so it is essential to remain consistent and maintain close contact with them especially when you do not hear from them for quite some time. Try to follow up with emails, calls and even voice messages. This way you keep the options open in your quest for searching for the other potential leads.
The above are some of the vital tips to acquire sponsors for your event. Obtaining the sponsors is just as important as going for the right event furniture hire, appointing the volunteers and deciding the venue. Without the sponsors, your event can never be conducted in the way you want. That is why you must invest your time and money effectively.
