by admin+ | Apr 14, 2013 | Sponsorship
Sporting teams or community organisations that want sponsorship need to become effective at selling. They don’t have a choice. Personally, I have seen sponsorship from both sides of the table – I have worked with committees looking at sponsorship and I’ve been involved in businesses sponsoring other organisations. This article is focussed at clubs and community groups looking at sponsorship. You need to remember that sponsorship is not a donation. Businesses that sponsor teams or community groups a return on investment. The first thing you need is the sponsor letter. Here are my tips for the sponsor letter first (as without the right sponsor letter your prospects won’t even get to reading the proposal. Ensure you have the right formatting – If your club or community group doesn’t have a letterhead you need to get one. You are suggesting a business proposition and a professional relationship – as such you need a professional appearance. Letterhead can be easily made in Microsoft Word – just put the logo in the top left corner and the contact details of your group in the top right corner. Remember, you are suggesting a formal business arrangement with a sponsorship proposal so you need to ensure that your proposal letter and document looks professional. The first paragraph should explain the purpose of the letter and proposal – Before you even get to telling your prospect about you or your organisation you need to tell them about what the letter is for and why they should keep reading. Remember, you always need to be answering the question “what’s in it for me?” Tell the prospect...
by admin+ | Jan 21, 2013 | Sponsorship
Many local sporting and community groups spend a lot of time wondering how to get sponsors. It’s an important consideration given that these groups often rely on the funding from sponsors for day to day running of their organisation. Before worrying about how to get sponsors, these groups would be better suited first learning about sponsorship. What is sponsorship? First things first, what is sponsorship not? Sponsorship is not a donation. If you are wondering how to get sponsors or how to keep sponsors this point could be a key factor. When you are worried about how to get sponsors you need to remember that you are not just looking for people to make a donation. (If you do just want donations be clear about this.) You are not just giving money to a sporting group, community group or event with the expectation of nothing in return. That is a donation. There’s nothing wrong with donating money to a sporting group or community group but this is not what sponsorship is. if you are seeking sponsors, you have to remember that a potential sponsor expects something in return. How to get sponsors may be as simple as changing your sponsorship prospectus to be more clear to potential sponsors about what they can gain from sponsoring your group. Remember to tailor your solution by explaining what is in it for them. Here are some details of what sponsorship is and what it entails. Sponsorship is an investment – When a business sponsors your group or event they are making an investment. Like all investors, when they put money in they...
by admin+ | Jan 16, 2013 | Sponsorship
Corporate Sponsorship is big business. In the big leagues, companies spend millions of dollars for the right to be associated with a particular sporting team, competition or worldwide event. You see evidence of this sponsorship everywhere – from in stadium signage to logos on a player jersey. These days you don’t need to be competing at an elite level of competition to look for and receive sponsorship. It is these smaller opportunities that businesses, like yours, should be looking to sponsor. You won’t have to spend millions of dollars but you will get the advantage of being associated with a team. You should sponsor a local sporting team. I outline some great reasons why below: Networking opportunities – If you sponsor a local sporting team there should be plenty of opportunities for networking. You won’t be the only business sponsoring the team so there is a networking opportunity. You can also network with players, officials and coaching staff. Brand recognition and goodwill – If you sponsor a sporting team this is great for brand recognition. If you are doing your job properly you should be in front of your prospects regularly, as should your brand message be appearing in their newsletters and on their website etc. The more these people see your logo and your message the more likely they are to remember it in future if they need your product or service. Being recognised as a sponsor of a sporting team is also great for your brand goodwill. Corporate sponsorship and entertainment Another great benefit of a corporate sponsorship package with a local sporting team is that it...
