If you are looking to find sponsors for your organization or non-profit and avoid sponsoring mistakes that keep the majority of people on their feet, you must read this article immediately to avoid making the same errors (and the solutions)
The First Mistake “show me how much money” mentality.
It’s likely that you’ve thought of an episode from the film Jerry Maguire in which Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. engage in an exchange that ends up leaving Tom Cruise’s character screaming, “Show me the money”! Are you familiar with that scene? It’s true that I’ve seen a lot of entrepreneurs and nonprofits doing similar things in trying to find sponsors.
This is a mistake since instead of begging the sponsors to “Show you the cash” instead, we should be developing connections with sponsors. Relations can help raise money and generate income.
Instead of requesting the payment of a sponsor Instead, ask them what you could do to help them achieve their goals in business.
The second error is not being able to determine the price of sponsorship in order to get sponsors.
The reverse of the “Show me money” mindset is the person who doesn’t know how to value their sponsorship and is charging excessively. Yup, that’s right! It’s possible to not be able to charge enough for support, and if you attempt to seek sponsors, they will take note.
The issue with charging too much is that sponsors are sitting on their desks and an inbox full of sponsorship requests from people seeking sponsors. If you’re sending a proposal for sponsorship to a large brand, be aware of your value and be sure to justify their time as well. A sponsorship proposal that solicits $250 or $750 will likely be met with the “no” from big brands. In fact, you might not even get a response.
Instead of charging too much to get the sponsorship, you need to be able to determine the additional benefits you could offer an organization and conduct an analysis to determine how other potential sponsors are pricing their benefits for. This can be accomplished with an easy Google search, and it could cost huge in the long run.
The third mistake: Thinking that one phone call or email is enough to find sponsors
Are you familiar with you can’t forget the Diana Ross song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”?
It begins by singing the words…
“If you require me, just call me.
Wherever you are
However far..”
It’s not the kind of song that sponsors sing with the most ferocity voices!
A belief that one phone call or email can complete the task is a mistake since, like me and your sponsors are highly active and have busy agendas of work as well. In the workplace, it’s not uncommon for messages or emails to be lost in the shuffle or be forgotten.
Instead of thinking that one phone contact or an email will be enough to be able to say yes, and you must offer your potential sponsors at least two days to respond to your email or call, if they don’t, then try again! When sending emails, I would like to include a date and time to follow up with the company if I don’t hear from them.
If you’ve learned three of the nine biggest mistakes and the best ways to avoid them, I’d like to encourage you to begin your next steps to be successful by completing a complimentary sponsorship e-course.
