Sponsorship for Speakers

To this point I've been primarily speaking of sponsorship in "general terms" – talking about some of the major ways to prospect for sponsors … why sponsors would want to sponsor your event (or property) … and some inside tips on getting "in" with them.

And I'll certainly get back to sharing more of these tips; however, I wanted to devote the next couple of blogs to discussing sponsorship in specific "fields".

Most folks mistakenly feel that sponsorships are only for businesses that put on events, meetings or programs. But as we just talked about this past Friday (Jul. 31st), sponsorship is for any business that does a good job of cultivating and communicating with their own group of customers, clients, readers and/or prospects.

And this goes for people that are in the speaking business as well.

I had someone come up to me recently and say that "… this sponsorship business sounds all very well and good and all, but I don’t actually put on my own event – I’m in the speaking business and I speak at other people’s events. Sponsorship wouldn’t be apropos for me, would it?"

And the answer is: "ABSOLUTELY!"

Chances are – you're out there speaking to certain clearly-defined types of groups, right? For instance – you’re talking to high school students, or perhaps professional associations or financial planners. In each of these cases, you're perfectly situated to be talking to those types of businesses out there that want to reach the types of audience members that you're actively speaking to. Have these folks sponsor you – your speaking "tour" and your support materials.

Tell the meeting planner right up front that you're sponsored by "x-company", and that you'll need for them (the meeting promoter) to identify the fact that you’re "presented by x-company" in the program and their advance collateral. (And be sure to provide the promoter with a clean jpeg of the sponsor's logo.)

Believe me – if the promoter has a "serious problem" with you having a sponsor, they'll let you know. But honestly – your speaking tour being sponsored, in many cases, only adds to your cache and validity out in the market. (After all – there aren't many speakers out there with their own sponsors!) That makes you noteworthy, distinct and of added "perceived value".

(The one obvious exception to this is if the meeting promoter is sponsored by a competitor of your sponsor … then I'm sorry, but you're going to have to yield the floor on being recognized if you want that speaking gig…) But given that most meeting planners are only now just starting to recognize and cultivate sponsorships, chances of you bumping into a meeting with a competing sponsor are pretty slim!

In our next blog, we'll talk more about sponsorships for those of you in the speaking business – and what you can do to make your involvement with your sponsors "solid gold"!