The short answer is that you get optimal value (and revenue) by presenting the right proposal to the right potential sponsor (prospect) at the right time.

The longer answer is that the more relevant you are to a prospect, the more likely they are to see your opportunity as one that they are willing to invest top dollar for because they clearly see the value at several levels. So, in identifying top prospects who will pay you top dollar for your sponsorship opportunity, there are a number of areas you need to consider. These include:

• Audience Alignment – if your audience and theirs are the same and you have the ability to offer them unique opportunities to access to your audience at the right time, perceived value in this area will be HIGH.
• Product Alignment – if your audience is likely to purchase a potential sponsor’s product or service, perceived value in this area will be HIGH.
• Brand and Value Alignment – if your overall brand and values as a property reflect those that the potential sponsor sees as valuable from an associative perspective, perceived value will be HIGH.

Based on the above, the “perfect storm” as it relates to commanding optimal value will be to identify companies that share the same audience, have product offerings that your audience has (or could have) a natural tendency to buy and whose values are aligned with those of your organization or specific property.

Besides getting optimal value for your sponsorship opportunities, when the above areas are properly aligned, there is typically a shorter sales cycle. The general rule of thumb is that the further away you are from alignment in these three key areas, the higher up the decision-making chain the proposal will need to go, the longer it will take and the less value the proposal will carry because the it will be more difficult to measure in terms of potential results.

The chart below shows how these various value alignments have the ability to impact both the decision-making process and perceived value of the proposed benefits.

The bottom line is that to get maximum value for your sponsorship opportunities, you need to have the right fit at several levels. You will not only increase your odds of getting to the right people, you’ll find that you have fewer “value for dollar” discussions over the price of your sponsorship opportunities.

Later,
BC

In 2012, I will (with hand firmly planted over heart in oath fashion):

1. Seek sponsors who represent the right fit for my property, audience or cause; not just because they look like they have a lot of money;
2. Learn more about my audience to understand what types of companies they would see as a terrific fit;
3. Have a clearly articulated brand and value proposition, so that potential sponsors will have a clear idea of the opportunity they are buying into;
4. Remember that when recruiting a potential sponsor, it’s not all about “us”; it’s all about “them”;
5. Move away from the prepackaged “gold, silver, bronze thing” and be open to customizing proposals that actually meet the objectives of prospects;
6. NOT present proposals until I have a conversation with a prospect to understand what they might be interested in;
7. Build audience value-adds into every sponsorship activation program so that the people exposed to the sponsorship actually experience / understand the value of a company’s involvement;
8. Understand the value of our assets and the opportunity that we bring to the table;
9. Work on building an internal culture where sponsors are respected for their contribution and not viewed as a “necessary evil”;
10. Not chase after prospects that are not really interested in doing business with us, but are too polite to say so;
11. Build a strong sponsor renewal program so we can spend more time growing our revenue rather than putting all our efforts into maintaining current levels;
12. Ask for longer-term agreements (with annual reviews and opt-out clauses) that transform me from sponsorship representative to strategic partner.

There you have it. If you follow these resolutions, I guarantee you will have a very successful sponsorship year in 2012!

Later,
BC

The first step is understanding the difference between donations and sponsorships. While corporate donations are focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) or giving back to the community, sponsorships are focused on more marketing-oriented benefits such as branding and positioning, customer acquisition and retention, increasing product sales or improving customer loyalty. Having said that, what we’re seeing more and more is a blending of the two disciplines where companies want to increase their community footprint, but still achieve clear marketing objectives. This is making it more difficult for organizations that don’t have a strong marketing background.

Here are a three strategic elements that any organization seeking sponsorship dollars needs to consider in order to appeal to the corporate marketing decision makers:

Understanding Your Audience – The shortest way to corporate marketing dollars is linking your audience with companies that want to ultimately sell products to that specific audience segment. In a sponsorship environment, your audience is your most important asset, so understanding who your audience is from a demographic (age, stage of life), geodemographic (where they come from), socioeconomic (education, income) and psychographic (values and lifestyles) is critical to understanding what kinds of companies have the best fit for your audience.

Understanding Your Brand – Next to your audience, your brand (what you stand for and how your customers perceive you) is a critical element for attracting the kinds of companies that want to align their brand with another of similar or complementary values. The only way you can appeal to companies at this level is by clearly and consistently articulating your brand (and brand promise) to the marketplace.

Understanding Your Market Position – Just as important as your brand, having a clear idea of your market position is essential for articulating the unique value proposition that you can bring to any corporate partnering arrangement. Let’s face it – there are hundreds and probably thousands of other not-for-profit organizations going after the same marketing dollars, so you need to be able to communicate what makes you different from anything else out there i.e. “we are the only national organization that focuses on XX issue” or “we reach XX audience at XX time of year”. This helps companies quickly assess the value of the opportunity and you can be sure that if they still want to talk after clearly understanding what kind of an opportunity you represent (at a high level), they are highly qualified leads!

The bottom line is that to make the shift from “donation” to “sponsorship”, you need to have a clear understanding of who you are, who your customers are and what makes your opportunity unique from anything else in the marketplace. By living your brand day-to-day, articulating your value proposition and turning your audience into willing ambassadors, the kinds of companies you want to be associated with will ultimately be attracted to you.

Later,                                                                                                                                                 BC

P.S. Congrats to the AFP Toronto organization for staging another great event!