Six Considerations When Approaching Sponsors For Events

Planning and hosting industry events to reach audiences (in person or virtually) is a core piece of the marketing equation for many businesses. Unfortunately, it also comes with significant challenges that are important to solve.

According to one survey, 90% of event organizers targeting businesses find securing sponsors their biggest planning challenge. Addressing that challenge as early as possible requires a comprehensive sponsorship plan to identify, approach, and attract the right organizational partners. 

Building that plan takes time, but the payoff can be significant. After all, 33% of businesses spend more than 20% of their event budgets on sponsorships. These six steps can help any business unlock revenue potential, creating mutually beneficial partnerships.

1. Identify Potential Sponsors that Align With Your Goals and Audience

Ideally, event sponsorships equally benefit both parties involved. The first step to accomplishing that feat includes narrowing your potential sponsors to only those for whom a presence at your event makes sound business sense.

That might mean having to define your event goals and audience. Treat your event as a product, identifying its unique selling proposition and target market based on demographics and psychographics. This information can help you find the overlaps with potential sponsors who might be looking to reach the same audience with a similar focus.

With your goals and audience in place, you can seek out potential sponsors in a few ways. Digital tools like OpenSponsorships, SponsorPitch, and SponsorMyEvent can provide the first glimpse. You can also glean potential sponsors from different events with similar goals and audiences. Finally, past partner engagements can give solid insights and referrals for future sponsorships. 

2. Research Your List of Potential Sponsors to Identify Priorities

This step takes the list you have generated and ranks it based on the type of engagements and partnerships with whom your potential sponsors might otherwise engage. Look for advertising and marketing trends, including how these companies might talk about their products and how that aligns with your event.

Research of this kind is mainly value-based, but its importance remains. It helps you optimize your efforts by only reaching out for sponsorships to companies that are highly likely to be the right fit. It also allows you to tailor your outreach approach better, increasing the likelihood of success.

3. Create a Sponsorship Proposal that Outlines the Benefits of a Partnership

The most critical piece of the sponsorship equation is the proposal, verbally or written, with which you look to convince potential sponsors. The information gleaned from the first few steps will be vital to put together customized proposals designed to get their attention; however, each sponsorship proposal should include a few core elements:

• The details about the event itself, including its timing, location, core goals, audience, influential attendees like keynote speakers, and whether or not it recurs annually

• Your company background and how that background plays into the reasons behind and nuances of the event

• The sponsorship package options, including elements like a free booth, features in the event program, app, or promotional materials, a mention in event announcements and social media, and more

Depending on the scope of the event, sponsorships can vary widely. The suitable proposal outlines all of these options to maximize the chance that a potential sponsor will find one that matches their priorities and budget.

4. Plan a Detailed Outreach Effort to Potential Sponsors

The proposal, of course, still needs to be distributed to the audience. Doing so requires a single one-off email and a comprehensive outreach plan that can maximize the chances of getting in front of the right people with the right message. A sponsorship outreach plan might include the following:

• An initial email message to the marketing contact at your target organizations that gets straight to the point of the sponsorship.

• A follow-up through a secondary channel (such as LinkedIn) refers to the original email and follows up with more details.

• Personal outreach through mutual connections or referrals can be an entry point to reaching the right people at the organization you want to gain as a sponsor.

Treat this outreach like a marketing plan. Multiple touchpoints need to build on each other, starting early enough to provide considerable time to potential sponsors on the fence. Throughout that effort, stay on message and remain straightforward about what you're asking from them and what the sponsorship would entail. 

5. Avoid Focusing on Sales Language or Pushing Too Hard for Sponsorships

In the previous steps, we discussed building a plan that compares closely to a marketing plan for an event that should be treated much like a product. At the same time, that does not mean creating promotional messages designed to "sell" the event or pushing too hard for the sign-up. 

The best sponsorships are mutually-beneficial partnerships between the host and the sponsoring organization. Keeping that emphasis in mind from the beginning means approaching your messaging from a personalized perspective. Present yourself as a potential partner, not a company only looking to get their business and funds.

Ultimately, only some companies you approach will sign up as a sponsor. Those that choose against it might still be relevant for future efforts. A more nuanced, personalized outreach approach ensures no relationships are wasted, and potential avenues for future partnerships remain open.

6. Focus on Long-Term Relationships over Short-Term Revenue Benefits

An emphasis on partnership also means being able to negotiate with potential sponsors as needed. A company with overlapping audiences and priorities may be interested but need more money to sign up for a pre-established sponsorship package. A smaller partnership can generate significant goodwill, which may pay off in more prominent opportunities.

Another possibility includes offering non-paid sponsorship opportunities to build these relationships. Companies may be able to speak as authorities on a relevant topic or provide free product demonstrations. Everyone wins as long as these opportunities are mutually beneficial in terms of audience interest and sponsor brand awareness.

According to one survey, nearly 90% of event organizers believe that sponsorship retention rates have dropped recently. That might not come as a surprise, considering the uncertainties of global events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Robust partnerships with your sponsors will generate significant long-term ROI, even if the short-term returns of building these relationships may be less significant.

Creating a More Sustainable Sponsorship Plan for Your Events

Building a solid sponsorship base for any event can take time and effort. Fortunately, the process remains relatively straightforward. With the proper steps in place, you can build a solid base of current and potential partners to sponsor your event and bring in the revenue and non-revenue resources you need to host that successful event.

Think Global Forum is a global community of business professionals, industry experts, and professional speakers. Our mission is to provide insights and thought leadership far beyond gaining scholarship insights, from technology to manufacturing, life sciences, retail, and more.

At our events, professionals from around the globe listen to and interact with industry speakers. And yes, we use the same principles to attract sponsorships as we have outlined here. Are you ready to join this community of thought leaders, or do you just want to learn more about best practices related to hosting industry events? Contact us today.