7 Things to Check Before Sending Your Sponsorship Proposal

When you send a proposal to a potential sponsor, it’s important to get things right. We’ve provided this checklist for you to use before sending out your proposal:

1. Research – Have you found a link between your potential sponsor’s target market and your community?  Is this clearly laid out in your proposal?
2. Know your numbers – Be clear on your reach, how many followers you have, how big your community is. Who is going to see the promotion for your event or activity? What are their interests?  Be honest and don’t exaggerate.
3. Have you identified your potential sponsor’s goals and needs?  How can you leverage this proposal to reach their goals?  How can you support them and make their life easier?
4. Does your potential sponsor have the resources to hold up their side of the sponsorship? If they are hosting an event for you, do they have the space? If they are writing blogs or developing content, do they have someone who can do this? If you are adding to their workload and becoming a drain on their resources, they won’t renew.
5. Does your offering reach their budget needs? – It is important to identify what budget they have available for sponsorship, and work within that offering. You can let them know you will give them first refusal on other opportunities as they come up.
6. Sponsorship cannot guarantee results, so never commit to generating a certain number of sales, sign-ups, etc.  All you can do is provide the opportunities.  You can lead your community to landing pages or social media sites, but you cannot make them sign up or follow.
7. Do you have a creative ‘wow’ or hook?  Your list of activities may be the same for each sponsor, but how are you going to personalise each sponsor’s experience with your community.  This brings you back to your sponsor’s goals and needs.  All sponsors may have a booth at your show, but how do they engage your community?  Offer suggestions on how your sponsor’s products and solutions can match your community’s needs.  For example, we recently did a show with a number of sponsors; one was a mobile phone provider.  We suggested they provided a recharge station at their booth for mobile devices and also 5-min massages for attendees to recharge themselves. 

If you have covered all of the above, you are good to go!  Sign up for more tips and advice at http://eepurl.com/cdnyk5
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