Building Corporate Sponsor Relations

Corporate Sponsorships can often be the life blood of any large event, program, charity or movement you are planning. They can play huge role in your success or failure. It's important to keep in mind how to best steward and mine these connections.

Here are some tips:

1. Clear Vision- Take some time to ensure you can clearly and concisely articulate who you are or what your organization is. Develop a concrete vision and how it can benefit your community and the sponsors involved. What is one sentence that sums up your initiative? Memorize it...

2. Put It In Writing- Create a sponsor packet that lays out all of the benefits of being a corporate sponsor. Use good graphic design and concise wording. Provide different investment levels. Be sure to also paint the "BIG" picture and really sell the dream with words. ***Caution***: Do not overuse words. Utilize language that sends someone straight to the point you are trying to get across. For example, if you hosting a 3on3 basketball tournament(wink, wink) you want to let them know that the event will be a "City Wide" event attracting "thousands of individuals and their families". Use bullet points as a main attention grabber early in the document.

3. Assemble Your A-TEAM- Get 3 to 5 of your most articulate, motivated people and put them in a "war room". With them, develop a list of companies and organizations in your community that could possibly be interested in your sponsor opportunity. This list should have at least 50 names on it. Divide this list between your team and "attack".**Keep in mind time tables. Many times logos, websites and other branding needs come into play for the general marketing campaign. Be sure to harness sponsorship prior to your marketing season.***

4. Set Goals and Attack- With your team, set goals and deadlines. Before you get up from your first meeting determine what date you will have your high level sponsors secured. Do be sure to secure your large sponsors first and early as they are typically the ones that will underwrite the majority of your expenses and also take longer to get. Send your team out in attack mode.

5. Nurture- Once you secure sponsors, don't forget about them. This goes for all levels. Be sure to cater to their needs and clearly communicate action steps your team is taking to make sure they are getting the exposure you promised them. This is often the most hurtful problem sponsor teams face in repeat years. If relationships are nurtured, sponsors feel less inclined in the repeat investment when you come knocking for round 2.

What are your sponsor recruitment thoughts? We'd love to hear them. Post them in the comments below!