Ambitiouz Blog

How to attract sponsors to your event

Hosting an event with little or no funds, can be a lot stressful. All you think about is how are you going to successfully fund it, unless you have a well-established events company. A logical solution to this challenge is reaching out to sponsors.

Finding sponsors is a challenge on its own but it is worth the time and the effort. Do not expect it go be a smooth road because your proposals can still be ignored or rejected. The truth is sponsorships are giving sponsors better returns than traditional advertising, take advantage

Implement these eight strategies for a proper proposal:

Make Your Proposal Stand Out
Keep in mid that there are a lot of event planners there who might, like you, be seeking for funding. Like a curriculum vitae, make your proposal standout and worthy to receive funding, give the funders a reason to sponsor you over the other applicants. Give your mission statement and how your company lives up to it daily. Let the funders know how the company started Make an emotional connection if you can, to strike a chord with the sponsoring company. Be specific about the estimated funding amount needed. This includes a breakdown of what portion of funding is needed for what area.
Talk about your Experience
Tell the sponsor about your previous experience in a related business. Surround yourself with key influencers on your advisory board. Tell the sponsor about leading-edge companies that you know or have worked with. Get creative to sell the sponsors on your concept.
Offer Incentives
Should you get the funding, what will the sponsors get out of it? Keep in mind that sponsorship is a give-and-take relationship. The agreement may include giving the sponsor a booth or placing their logo on event promotional banners and flyers. You can even mention the sponsors during your interviews and in your blog posts. Provide incentives, such as freebies or discounts for customers that purchase the sponsor’s product or sign up for its service
Have a Great Platform
Sponsors want to know that you have extended reach to people who buy things. These could be your clients, people on your email list or your company database. Remember if you don't have extended reach to lots of people, then others do. Use the powerful strategies of borrowed credibility, media, and joint ventures.
Offer a minimum risk solution
If your business is unknown, sponsors are obviously taking a risk by sponsoring it. For this reason, why not propose a trial deal? Instead of requesting for the full funding amount, ask for a smaller portion in exchange for something small in return. If you need R100,000, for instance, offer to settle for R10,000. In return, you’ll allow the sponsor to have one booth, one guest speaker, a logo on one promotional item, or something like that. This little risk, little gain approach allows the sponsor to test the waters with your company. This also allows sponsors to decide whether to move forward with the relationship for future events. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by relying solely on a single sponsor.
Form a partnership with better established companies
Since your company may not be well-known, you can always reach out to other companies within the same industry and form joint event. This way, potential sponsors will see that you are partnered with a company that has a better reputation than your own and therefore, may be better able to draw a bigger event turnout.
Be willing to rub elbows with potential sponsors
Sponsors are ultimately businesses and not a charity organisation. They want something in return for funding your event. The key is to be an effective communicator and show in clear terms what makes your event worth the sponsor’s money. Be confident in your approach and you just might hear back from sponsors who may otherwise skip over your proposal without giving it more than a moment’s glance.
Have a Great Platform
Sponsors want to know that you have extended reach to people who buy things. These could be your clients, people on your email list or your company database. Remember if you don't have extended reach to lots of people, then others do. Use the powerful strategies of borrowed credibility, media, and joint ventures.