How To Use A ‘Positioning Statement’ In Your Sponsorship Proposal
There are lots of things that people put into a sponsorship proposal, and there are equally as many things that should not be included!
My first piece of advice is, only send a proposal when you’ve been asked for one. Your proposal is not your best sales tool – you are, so make sure you are not sending out a generic proposal to a brand that you have had no prior dealing with!
Next, try and keep your proposal as short and sweet as you can. Your positioning statement is where the game can be won or lost. Here are some things to think about including:
- This is where you need to sell your organisation – be original, be proud. If you are the only one who does what you do, sing it loud and proud! Remember to watch your language – you are not a charity in need of handouts, you are a valuable marketing partner to the right brand.
- You must strongly convey the message ‘by partnering with us, we can help you become more successful…’ Know your value as a strong and knowledgeable marketing partner and include here some of the things they have previously spoken to you about that are important to them.
- Make the sponsor excited to work with you by outlining the opportunities they will have to access people they are trying to get in touch with.
- Your positioning statement and invitation should ideally include:
- some emotive language that helps the reader connect to your cause. Not in a way that focuses on your history, think about creating a story and invite them to become part of it. Talk about IMPACT and your WHY.
- facts, figures, infographics and statistics about who you are, who you represent and how much you contribute to your profession, industry, community; and
- an outline what’s in it for them? What do they get from being associated with you? (HINT: you will know this because you’ve already built rapport and discovered what goals they seek from sponsorship).
