Five powerful minutes - Part 3

Two weeks ago, I told you how to get five minutes with a potential new sponsor.

Last week, I told you the most important thing to do when you get those five powerful minutes is ask the following question: "What are your biggest challenges for the next six months and how can I help you achieve them."

By asking that question, you are starting to create a win-win partnership. Your new contact is starting to view you as an asset - not just someone who wants something but someone who can also give something.

Your potential new sponsor will probably  say their top priority is bringing new visitors into their store. Maybe it is getting their website in front of more eyeballs. Whatever their challenge, you can use that information to start thinking of ways that you can help.

We've been trained to put company logos on t-shirts and company banners on fences at events, but many companies don't necessarily think those activities alone will bring them new visitors. Some companies avoid events altogether because they don't have the manpower to run their business on a busy Saturday AND send people for the day to an event.

That's why you have to ask what their biggest challenge is and then be prepared to offer up some real solutions.

It isn't as difficult as it sounds and you are in a unique position to help them with their challenges.

Here are some things that have worked for me:

1. Offer to put a link to their webpage on the main page of your website. Not on a sponsor page - sponsors know very few people will dive that far into your website.

2. Ask them what types of coupons they offer to drive new business. Offer to print a coupon in your organization's newsletter.

3. Give them the opportunity to put a stack of coupons in your lobby - or in lobbies of your board members' offices - for a specified period of time.

4. Give them the opportunity to sample/display products at your event and pass out coupons. Tell them if they don't have the staff for that, you will be happy to make sure their coupons are passed out near the event registration area.

5. Invite your contact to a board meeting to thank them for becoming a sponsor and let them do a 1 minute 'commercial' about their products/services in front of your board. Sponsors LOVE being able to present to new prospective clients.

6. Think creatively. Is there a space on the outside of your building that you could offer to hang their banner for a specified period of time?

7. Does your prospective sponsor have yard signs they use to promote their business and would you and your board members be willing to each take a yard sign and put it in your yards for 30 days?

I promise if you get creative, you can create win-win situations and you will not be viewed as just another person with his hat in his hand looking for a donation.

What topics would you like to see covered in future blogs?

Donor retention just as important as finding new donors

I'm gonna tell you a short story.

Back in December of 2008, the economy was crashing, stocks were tumbling, and getting return phone calls or emails about sponsorships was depressing, to say the least.

Then I get a phone call from the title sponsor of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's signature event, Bark in the Park. Due to the economy and changing marketing priorities, the title sponsor was not renewing its $50,000 title sponsorship of that event.

It's hard to find a title sponsor. It's even HARDER to replace a title sponsor and replacing a title sponsor during the Great Recession was almost impossible.

After much networking and just two months before the event, I was able to find a new title sponsor, but for $20,000. I talked to the event committee - we agreed to take it. Not too many people were announcing new $20,000 sponsorships at this time, I pointed out to them.

My job then became really simple: Make sure the new sponsor was thrilled with what they recieved for sponsoring Bark in the Park.

I made sure all the ducks were in a row, made sure their logo was in all the right places, and sat down with my new best friend title sponsor a number of times to make sure he was getting everything he wanted out of the event.

At the April 2009 Bark in the Park event, I was insisting that the new sponsors' tables were being set up exactly like the sponsor wanted.

A staffer helping with the event said, "What do you care? You've already got their money!"

I replied: "I'm already working on next year!"

And I was.

The next year, the new title sponsor increased their commitment to the event by 50% from $20,000 to $30,000. They were thrilled with what they got out of their first title sponsorship of Bark in the Park.

And while that didn't bring us back up to the $50,000 we were at before, by working with the new sponsor we were able to open up some new sponsorship categories that had been closed at the insistence of the previous sponsor and that brought in another $10,000.

The point is, fight like heck to keep the sponsors and donors you've got. Sit down with them often and ask them if they are getting everything they want and expect from your event. You may not be able to replace them.

What steps are you taking to retain major donors?

Create winning partnerships with radio, television

I rarely do an event that doesn't have some sort of radio or television component as part of the communication strategy.

First, it increases your organization's profile. Second, having a radio or TV station logo on event collateral material is a great way to attract attention from additional sponsors and participants because it gives the signal that your event has some serious promotions behind it.

There are a number of things you can do to get free media to promote events - besides sending out news releases and hoping that the reporters cover it.

First, ask a local television personality to be your emcee. This practically guarantees that your event will make it on the evening news - if nothing else - the day of your event. Call the station a minimum of three to six months before your event and ask to be transferred to that personality directly. Leave that person a message with the basics - who, what, when, where, and why. If the event fits into that person's schedule, they probably will be your emcee.

Second, figure out what radio station's audience most closely aligns with the audience you expect to participate in your event. Make a call to the station a minimum of three to six months before the event and ask to speak to someone in promotions. Tell them about your event and ask them if they'd like to partner with you. You'll put their logo on your collateral, let them have a DJ speak on stage at the event, and give them space for a tent or a vehicle at the event to give out prizes.

If possible, tell the radio station's promotions person they can also get some of the station's business clients involved, put their logos on your materials, and give them spaces at your event. This will heighten their interest.

In return, they just need to give you spots in their inventory to promote your event. For most events, 20 to 40 spots on a radio station will do wonders for the profile of your event, in conjunction with the other suggestions in this blog.

Don't expect a live remote - that's difficult in the new economy with shrinking audiences and shrinking ad revenues. Besides, you need the promotional spots in advance of the event more than you need a live remote.

For larger events or events that attract more impressions, seek a radio partner that can give you 100 spots or more. They also will gladly post your event on their website.

The biggest mistake I see is organizations asking radio or television partners to get involved with their events three to six weeks beforehand, when it almost always is too late for them to get involved.

By following these rules, I have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in free radio and television spots to promote event that I have worked on. You can do it too.

Three magic letters - ROI

ROI.

Return on investment. That's the bottom line.

That's what businesses and marketers want when they spend money on something.

If you are asking a company for money, make sure there is some ROI for them.

For many businesses, especially small businesses, the ROI is measured in how many new customers you can send in their doors.

Many business owners and marketing directors have told me getting their logo on a banner or the back of a t-shirt in and of itself does not get them a significant return on their investment.

They want to put something in potential new customers' hands that will drive those would-be new customers into their business - like a gift certificate, coupon, or sample of a product.

It's really pretty simple. When is the last time you went into a business you had never been to and spent money because you saw their logo on the back of a t-shirt?

But I'll bet you can think of a time when you went into a business and spent money because you got a two-for-one offer, sampled a product, or got a free appetizer card.

Think about giving businesses a return on their investment rather than the standard logo placement benefits in a traditional sponsorship package and they will return to invest more money in your initiative.

How to host a killer kickoff party

Nothing, absolutely nothing can get a fundraising campaign, event, or program off to a better start than a kickoff party.

But you have to do it right and plan the kickoff like it is an event in and of itself, because it is.

A great kickoff party can help energize people, is a great way to get early publicity to promote your cause, help recruit corporate sponsors, volunteers, team captains, and participants.

Here are the MUSTS for a successful kickoff party:

1. Have the kickoff party at an extremely convenient location at an extremely convenient time for the people you want there.

2. Do both electronic and hard copy save the date cards and make sure you get them in the hands of people you want at your kickoff party. Don't rely on electronic invitations only - we all know people are inundated with those. Keep these cards with you and distribute these cards everywhere you go for a month prior to the party. Give your friends and colleagues a plentiful supply and ask them to do the same thing.

3. Use a good old fashioned RSVP phone number for people to call and confirm they will or won't be there. Tell them you need them to RSVP so you know how much food to have at the kickoff. This is important because it lets you know if you are going to have a good turnout or if a week or two prior you need to get on the phone and call those people you have invited and encourage them to RSVP.

4. Invite everyone you think would have an interest in being involved - participants, potential sponsor, potential committee members, potential volunteers, and give these people a wide variety of options of things to sign up for when they are at the kickoff party.

5. Have a BRIEF but POWERFUL speaker at the kickoff party to explain the mission or cause, why it is important, and why their participation will make a difference.

6. Pass out commitment cards at the kickoff party after the speaker is finished that give people the option of signing up for more information about corporate sponsorship, participation, being kept informed, volunteering, etc... with all their contact information.

7. Give out a really nice door prize that will be raffled out at the end of the party from the commitment cards that are turned in. This is also KEY because everyone there will want the prize and will check one of the boxes and turn their card in so they can be in the drawing.

8. Send out a communication IMMEDIATELY afterwards, thanking those who signed up and reiterating how what they signed up for is crucial to your mission.

9. Keep the kickoff party to one hour or less and make sure the save the date invitation says the party will only last one hour. Anybody can give you one hour of their time.

10. Hold a follow up business meeting less than two weeks after the kickoff party to get those people who signed up INVOLVED. Strike while the iron is hot!

By putting a significant amount of time and energy into your kickoff party, you really can cut your work planning an event or campaign in half and you can raise more money for your mission in the process.

Look at the cars in your parking lot!

Need to raise money quickly for a specific project?

You could spend a couple hours creating a sponsorship proposal, research who to send it out to, start sending it out to people, and then wonder why nobody is responding.

Or you could take a walk out to your parking lot and look for company cars that frequent your establishment. You know, the ones parents drive to pick up their kids, the one a patron drives to stop in the box office and pick up tickets, or the one being driven by the HVAC guy who you have had a lengthy relationship with.

Why?

Because those are the people who know the value of whatever it is that you are doing and they likely work with or for people who can write you a check. It really is as simple as that.

You don't have to educate them on your mission; they get it. If you are treating them right, they will help you IF you can muster up the courage to ask them and if you are willing to give them something of value, like a link on your website, a banner in your parking lot, or an ad in your newsletter.

And if that person isn't in a position to write a check, he or she probably knows someone at their company who can write a check for $500 for something they care about!

If you want to raise more than $500, the point to the story is still the same. People who are familiar or connected with your mission are far more likely to give you money than someone who doesn't reallly know what you do.

People give money to people, not ideas

When I started my first full-time job in fundraising, I met with a very successful newspaper ad sales friend. I asked her what the key to a successful sale was. "People buy from who they like," she said.

Think about the last time you gave money to or volunteered for a charity. What made you give? Why did you volunteer?

Chances are REALLY good that a specific person you already knew - and probably knew well - asked you to give money, walk on their team, raise funds for their cause, etc...

Rarely do people give money or volunteer for charities that they are not familiar with or do not already have a personal connection to.

Remember that when you are looking for funds or even new volunteers for a project you are raising money for. Don't sit in the office creating sponsorship packets, get out of the office and network!

It sounds simple, but the most likely people to fund your project or get involved with it are people who are familiar with you or your work. They will donate if you just make the ask!

Conversely, people who are not familiar with you and your work are FAR LESS LIKELY to donate to it or even read your appeal, email, letter, solicitation, etc... From personal experience, it really doesn't even matter how good your sponsorship packet is.

One of my corporate friends told me she receives up to ten or more sponsorship proposals via email EACH day. She reads the ones she gets from the people she knows first!

I remember one time attending a fundraising seminar on how to raise money through golf tournaments. The one particular session I attended was on creating sponsorship packets. I asked the guy leading the workshop how he found his Gold sponsor. He said that the owner of the company was his wife's brother.

Truth is, you can have the best sponsorship packet in the world, but it's not gonna do you any good if you don't have relationships.

Nuff said!