Addressing the "Elephant" in the Room

You know -- from all the discussions I have with clients, audience members and event planners in general about sponsorship – I'd have to say the biggest misconception I run into time-and-time again is that "….sponsorship is really hard work".

In fact, I just got an e-mail this morning from a gent that had recently finished listening to an interview I taped a couple weeks ago with James Malinchak (…for his "Inner Circle" members), and he was writing to thank me for "demystifying" sponsorship for him. (Demystify…good word!) He went on to explain that he'd always been of a mind that sponsorship would be a good thing to pursue, but that it was "… just a ton of work".

Well – I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it's "…a breeze" – but it's not nearly as much work as people seem to think it is. (And I never cease being amazed by how many people who've never tackled sponsorship think sponsorship is: "a lot of extra work".
Fact is it's not. Sponsorship is pretty simple, basic stuff! It's doing what you're ALREADY doing and allowing another company (…or two…or five…) to come to your party.

As I explained to a golfer buddy of mine … think of sponsorship as playing a round of golf by yourself. You've just teed off … put it right down the fairway nice and straight … and now you hop back into your golf cart to go square up with the ball and put it on the green. Think of your sponsor as the other person riding along next to you in the golf cart!

You're already doing what you were already doing – you're just letting somebody ride along with you. That's what sponsors are – folks "piggy-backing" with you on what you're already doing.
Just take the time to learn how to do this right and you'll be richly rewarded. As Nike says: "Just DO it!".