Selling Sponsorship Tip

Many teams I talk with are looking for help in developing sponsorship offerings. While I think it is essential for the team to have a set of offerings to present, they should not paint themselves into a corner by presenting their offerings as “what you see is what you get.” I prefer the SPIN Selling approach. While you want a set of offerings that you can deliver for the price, you should also be flexible enough to take a problem solver approach. Rather than say, “I will send you my proposal,” ask them to help you develop a proposal that will fit their needs. Ask them to sit down with you so you can learn about their marketing goals and help you develop a proposal that will fit their needs.

This approach will give them a tremendous advantage over their competition that is probably still doing mass mailings of brochures. It will get you in the door, give you a chance to make a friend and learn about how they market their products, to whom do they market and what they would like for you to do for them. Once you have all this information, you can put together a proposal that will hit home and solve some real problems for them. Even if you don’t win the sponsorship agreement, you have not only established your credibility for the future, but you have also learned a tremendous amount about the company and marketing in general.

To read my book "Finding Sponsors" go to Finding Sponsors