The first step most sponsorship seekers in Nigeria make is usually the wrong move! They quickly submit a sponsorship proposal to a company or brand they viewed as prospect. Most times, what they submit are generic proposal or a quasi-customized proposal.
Here, we are dealing with sports sponsorship and specifically as it regards to football, but it is almost the same, and you can still gain a lot reading this, though you may be seeking for other form of sponsorship.
You cannot submit an effective Sponsorship proposal without first talking to key officers in your prospective company. You must understand their goal and objectives regarding sponsorship, their activation methodologies and their expectation - expected outcome in terms of ROI.
The point is, if you make the wrong move by submitting generic or quasi-customized sponsorship proposal, you end up wasting your time. Did you know some of these companies receive pies of proposals everyday? They just follow the routine to decline the proposals that didn't get their attention. There's 99.9% that your proposal will be thrown into the waste basket along side others.
The 5 Stages of Sponsorship Sales Expanded 34-Point Checklist!
I have used this process to raise millions of naira for football leagues and tournments, Shirt sponsorship for clubs, Football associations, fans fest and Award events. I know it will work for you too. Check out the list here.
Here are the Checklist.
Stage 1: Prospecting and Pipeline Building
• Make a sales chart in Excel (or use your database!) with the following headings: Prospects, Contact Made, Meetings Booked, Proposal Submitted, Follow-up Meeting, Outcome
• Identify 25 prospects as a starting point and enter them as a “prospect”
• Begin to move them through the pipeline
• Focus on moving prospects from one step to the next, not on closing the sale in the first meeting
• Check out your competitors to see who is sponsoring them
• Brainstorm with key staff about what companies you should be talking to and who can introduce you to those prospects
• Identify at least one networking event every two weeks where your prospects are likely to be
.
Stage 2: Sponsorship Inventory and Asset Valuation
• Break each event, program and opportunity into “properties” to sell
• Take each property and break it down further into “assets” (logo placement, speaking opportunities, free tickets etc.)
• Create a new chart listing each asset and the value you’ve assigned to it as a starting point
• Brainstorm with key staff to identify non-traditional opportunities beyond just logo placement
• Contact five sponsors, past and present, and ask them what they would like to see as part of their package or what they wish they had more of
Stage 3: The Sponsorship Package
• Create one package per property
• Identify your audience, program users, event attendees and any relevant demographic information
• List all of your assets and the associated value of each
• Think menu not “Gold, Silver, Bronze” and let your sponsors choose what works best for them
• Mark your proposal DRAFT and connect with five sponsors and five prospects and ask them for their advice on what you are missing
• Create a custom package based on each sponsor’s interest
• Tell your sponsors in person and in the package itself that you want to build something tailored to their needs and everything in the package is negotiable
Stage 4: Getting the Meeting and Making the Sale
• Warm up every cold call: introduction from a committee member, referral from another sponsor or send a SHORT introductory e-mail
• Ask for an advice visit, never a sales call
• Never go in proposal first, in fact, bring nothing to your first meeting!
• Ask questions! Lots of questions! Spend more time listening than talking
• Understand the goal of the first meeting: to gather information, and get a second meeting
• Never submit a proposal without asking for permission to do so
• Think of your meetings as discussions between partners and not about convincing your prospect to buy an off the shelf proposal
Stage 5: Activation and Fulfillment
• Build a checklist based on your sponsorship package
• Assign dates and project leads for every item
• Check in with your sponsor regularly to make sure they take advantage of every item in the sponsorship package
• Take photos, screen shots and copies of all collateral and put them together in a fulfillment report
• Book a follow up meeting with your sponsor to deliver your report
• Ask your sponsors how they thought it went, what they thought of the fulfillment report and what you could do to improve
• Ask your sponsors to renew for next year!
• Schedule regular check ins in your calendar to stay front of mind with your sponsors
This is a learning curve and you can do it yourself. We encourage you to follow the steps by yourself, but if you need to consult us, then our fee will apply. Call or WhatsApp : +234 809 877 2556.
