Why YOU Might Want to Consider Becoming a Sponsor...

You know ...before I completely "unplug" from my little mini-series here spinning off of my recent GKIC InfoSUMMIT "experience", I wanted to put together a few paragraphs about why YOU might want to consider sponsoring an event, conference, trade association, newsletter or other such suitable-match event, program or speaking tour...

For one thing --- keep forefront in mind that event/conference sponsoring is still very much virgin territory.

I say that after fully acknowledging that – according to IEG (www.sponsorship.com), (...the international clearinghouse of all things sponsorship-related), meeting and event sponsorship is one of the hottest new categories in the sponsorship-world. While I have no doubt that this is true ... meetings/events are still a relatively untapped component of the sponsorship world.

That said, it's not very likely that you'll be running into a NASCAR-type wall of competing sponsors when you consider sponsoring a meeting, event or newsletter. (In fact, it's FAR more likely that you'll be the only sponsor of the targeted meeting or group!)

Reason being that most folks putting on meetings, events, association gatherings, teleseminars, sales retreats ...you name it... haven't even considered looking for sponsors. They're oblivious to the wonderful world of sponsorship!

Fortunately for you, their lack of sponsorship sophistication can easily be put to your great advantage...

Advantage #1 – they won't have any idea what to charge you. If you walked up to your average meeting planner and told them that you'd have an interest in sponsoring their group's event – they'd probably look at you as if you were speaking some sort of a foreign language! They'd probably stammer around a bit and then ask you what you thought a sponsorship of their event would be worth. So beat them to the punch – come up with your own price and put it right up front in your offer. Aim low. To them, every dime you give them is "found money" ... so anything you offer them is a bonus!

Advantage #2 – they won't have any idea what to GIVE you. Going hand-in-glove with the first advantage, most meeting planners have no idea what's expected of them in return for your investment. So tell them what you want. And be specific. The less difficult you make it for them to understand the "transaction", the easier it will be for them to agree.

I could go on ... but hopefully you get the idea? We spend so much of our time here at the "Brought to you By…" System discussing how you can sell sponsorships ... I wanted to make sure that I didn't overlook how downright reasonable it's going to be for the next few years to BUY sponsorships to the right meetings, events & publications out there that ideally target your market.

Good luck!

Where were the Sponsors?

Last week in my blog posting I wrote about how I just got back from speaking at the 2009 Glazer-Kennedy InfoSUMMIT in Atlanta. It was a great opportunity and I certainly had a blast.

And I was glad to see, while there, that the GKIC folks had sold sponsorships to the InfoSUMMIT – as well they should. It was a great opportunity, a "natural" ... and no doubt a handsome revenue stream for GKIC.

But what I thought was interesting was ... here I was, the only speaker on the entire 3-day program that was addressing the topic of sponsorship. And at one point during my presentation I gave a "shout out" to the conference's sponsors ... asking them to kindly stand up and take a bow. And you know ... not ONE representative from any of the event's sponsors was in the room. There must've been 500 people in that ballroom and not one of 'em was a sponsor.

I don't know – I find that odd.

Here they were – five companies that had, no doubt, invested a lot of money to sponsor this conference, and not one of them turned up to learn more about how to best take advantage of sponsorship. (Even if just for curiosity-sake, I think I would've been there...)

Which is a "lesson" for any of our "BtyB.." blog readers that sponsor events. If you're going to do it ... do it! Don’t just write a check. To get the maximum return on your investment, roll up your sleeves and get involved. Participate, attend, learn ... don't just hang out at your booth or up in your room returning e-mails. (I would've understood if all the sponsors were networking out in their booths during my presentation; however, the Trade Show was closed ... so I truly have no idea where they were.)

We see this happen annually at our late-January/early-February conference, the National Sports Forum, (http://www.sports-forum.com/). Not with sponsors usually --- but with our trade show exhibitors. Here they pay all this money to be there and have a space at our show --- yet during the hours when the trade show is closed and all of our attendees are in breakout sessions --- instead of picking out a session to sit in on in order to learn about their client's problems (..problems by the way where they, the vendors, might have solutions for..), they're instead sitting in their booths reading USA Today or perched in a lounge chair returning e-mails or phone messages.

I just don't get it. We've had exhibitors over the years that attended our NSF breakouts literally thank us for allowing them access to the agenda programs. They said that sitting in and listening to their clients & prospects discuss their businesses (..and their problems/needs) was like, "…shooting fish in a barrel!".

So the lesson is: If you’re going to go to all of the trouble to be there ... be there!

There's No Place Like Home!

I'm just getting back into the office from having spent the better part of a week down in Atlanta, GA. (Coming as it did on the heels of trips to Baltimore and Cleveland in the last couple of weeks, I'm feeling a bit like a "road warrior" of late! :)

But I'd been invited to deliver a presentation at this year's Glazer-Kennedy InfoSUMMIT and there's no way I'd want to pass that up. This is a great organization and I was truly honored to have been invited to go down there and speak.

There's something so special ... not to mention invaluable ... to spending time with like-minded entrepreneurs. It re-energizes your batteries and you can't help but come away with so many interesting new ideas.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you that purchased our "Brought to you By..." sponsorship sales system. You've made a really wise investment – and I'm looking forward to working with you and watching your success!

The Devil's in the Details

By the time you read this posting, we'll have just returned from our trip to Baltimore, MD and several days of "final walk-thru" meetings with all the various partners, hosts, suppliers and coordinators of our upcoming 2010 National Sports Forum conference (www.sports-forum.com). It won't be long now – in fact, we're just about exactly three months away from "Show Time"!

This will be my second trip into Baltimore in advance of our annual conference/trade show. And the reason why is that we want to make sure that EVERY DETAIL that we can think of has been taken care of. Oh sure – stuff always comes up. Always will. But as the headline above says: "The Devil's in the Details". We want to do everything we can to make sure that there are no surprises come our third and final trip into Baltimore next January.

And these details affect not only those operational components for our event – but making sure that all the special needs our sponsors are going to require are addressed and taken care of. Budweiser, for example – is our senior-most sponsor and they sponsor probably our highest traffic'd event, The Budweiser Gala. Got to make sure that the big details as well as the "little" details have been taken care of. (For instance, we'll be making arrangements to have all of Budweiser's competitor's tap handles removed from the hotel and at M&T Bank Stadium – the site of the Budweiser Gala.) We can't have Bud's competitor's stadium signs taken down, but we would if we could.

Another one of our sponsor's just signed a major sponsorship deal with one of the club's hosting us in B'more. We want to make sure that their new "product" is featured as part of the Stadium tour. One of our exhibitors, Fan Cans, supplies special "themed" trash cans for the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Well ... since they're an exhibitor of ours … we'll want to make sure that their trash cans are prominently featured around the stadium that our attendees will all see during the Budweiser Gala tour.

Yes we have to make sure the buses are on site when needed ... and that the Printer has all of our copy for the Official Program ... but to this, we'll be keeping our sponsor's interests equally forefront in mind when we conduct our final walk-thru. No surprises makes for happy sponsors. (And happy sponsors renew!)

See you when we get back!

What CAN'T be Sponsored?

I'm going to have to think about that one for a second ... I'm sure there're a bunch of things that CAN'T be sponsored (..but then again, I pretty much only think about things that can. And should!)

But the reason for this query being the topic of today's blog is that it's the question that popped into my mind yesterday when I sat down for breakfast with an interesting gentleman that had recently had his first book published. He was in town doing a speaking engagement and had just finished up a round of radio interviews. Things are really happening for him – and it couldn't happen to nicer man.

Bob's book is entitled: "The Power of WHO!" and it's an excellent read! He'll do well with this – and in fact, already has. He's been making TONS of speaking appearances, consults and Keynote presentations. He was just on the Today Show ... things are really taking off.

But I couldn't help but think -- as much money as he's realizing selling books and making presentations – I suspect he's leaving a sizeable fortune on the table by not seeking out sponsorship partners!

His speaking presentations should be sponsored – he's got a great topic in a "category" that's wide-open for all kinds of different underwriters.

I absolutely LOVE speakers and writers ... and I especially love Speaker/Writers! (Or is that Writer/Speakers…?!) I can't think of too many of these folks that ever scratch the surface of sponsorship. Probably because it never occurs to them! It should...

Think about it – how attractive would it be for a speaker/writer to give, as a "gift" for all of the attendees in a presentation ... a FREE copy of his/her latest book? Even better if she (or he..) autographed it. I know. I know what you speaker/writers are thinking: "Yeah – easy for YOU to say Seaver ... it's not YOUR money being spent here on buying all these 'FREE' copies to give away!"

And a lot of meeting promoters probably won't be too wild about being asked to pony up an extra x-thousands of dollars to give everyone in the audience a “FREE” copy of your latest book. (Especially if they’re already out-of-pocket for your speaking fee and expenses..)

So why not let a SPONSOR be the “hero” here? Let a third-party company underwrite the cost of giving everyone in your audience a "FREE" copy of your book! (Just remember to factor the incremental cost of having to buy all these extra books into the price of your sponsorship..)

And rather than have to redesign the book's cover to get the sponsor's logo incorporated ... simply have a quantity of peel-off "Compliments of (sponsor's name/logo)" stickers printed up and slap them (attractively) on your book's cover.

Now don't just leave it at slapping sponsor logo on books and you think you're done. Far from it. If your sponsor has stepped up, be sure to incorporate their logo on your signage, your wardrobe, in your opening/closing remarks (..and where you can, work a story or two featuring your sponsor into your presentation).

This works out great for your sponsor, the audience loves it ... and the biggest winner is ... YOU! Not only do you get your book out there (..and folks talking about you), but you have a wonderful "thank you for coming" present for everyone. (Guaranteed to get folks leaving on a "high")

But to this, you get your premiums paid for, you charge MORE than the price of the books as part of your over-all sponsorship package (which equals incremental revenue), but think about it ... most authors get paid a piece of every book sold (..and you've just helped yourself out nicely there), PLUS the more copies of the book that you move, the higher the advance you can charge on your NEXT "soon-to-be-bestseller". Publishers love books that sell – and you'll be doing MORE than your part to assure that, right?!

Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!

It's a common thought in sports circles that the Sports Industry owns the "cornerstone" on sponsorships and perhaps they do. But I dun'no … I think I may have met the Industry's match this past weekend when I took a trip through the Magic Kingdom ... Disneyland!

Wow – all I can say is that the happiest people within the "Happiest Place on Earth" – must be the sponsorship accounting people tucked away upstairs in the Haunted Hotel!

Let me give you some idea of who's sponsoring what over there ...

Main Street Vehicles – presented by National Car Rental

Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor – hosted by Dreyers

"Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park" – hosted by Kellogg's

Refreshment Corner – hosted by Coca-Cola

And folks … that's JUST on Disneyland's MAIN STREET! (...which for those of you that haven't been there ... is pretty much the main "avenue" that takes you into the heart of the park.)

From there – it's wide open acreage of rides ... attractions ... food ... and all kinds of sponsors!

Take a walk through the Kingdom and you'll see their long-time mainstay partners ... like Coca-Cola, Kodak and Carnation, but along with the "old timers", I also noted several "relative rookies" that I'd not noticed before. You'll find companies such as La Victoria Products sponsoring a Mexican Restaurant (nice match..), and Brawny Towels hosting the Big Thunder Ranch (a restaurant in this "Old West" themed part of Disneyland). One of the attractions, "Innovation" has SEVEN (7) sponsors – and I kid you not, there was a giant "Great Northern Bathroom Tissue" sign welcoming me to one of the Men's Rooms!

I have to hand it to our friends at Disney – they've apparently left no stone (or sponsor-able component) left unturned. And it's all very subtle, very smooth ... and very smart!

Disney continuously does so many things right ... and sponsorship is one of 'em!