You’ve received approval from your CEO and the Board to go ahead and explore what sponsorship opportunities are out there.
You’ve carefully managed all of your projects, programs and colleagues to try and free up enough space in your schedule to make this strategy a success.
The proposal you’ve developed is impressive – your heart and soul have gone into it and you’ve identified a lot of value to potential sponsors.
The proposals have been sent out.
Your job is done. PAUSE.
This is where most sponsorship opportunities stall – in the follow up stage.
Now is not the time to pause. Now is the time to start following up on each of the proposals and continue to build a relationship with these companies and brands that will benefit from being aligned with your association.
It is very common to think that people will pay you the courtesy of replying to something that you have sent them. The trouble is that there are nearly 700,000 other charities and not-for-profits out there all seeking sponsorship money like you. Some companies get dozens of proposals each week seeking their investment and sadly, not many of them get a response. If you are asking for a company to partner with you, then it is your job to follow up with them – build a relationship. Show them that you are different to everyone else asking for their attention.
It is completely natural to feel some anxiety by having to pick up the phone, especially if you don’t know the person you are about to speak with. Part of it may be the fear of personal rejection. Part of it may be “Eeeek! What do I say if they actually pick up the phone?”
Perhaps the one saving grace of following up on your proposal is that it only needs to be a short call. Basically, you are calling for a couple of reasons:
- Did you receive the proposal I sent out?
- Is now a good time to speak with you about it?
- If so, do you have any questions about the proposal?
- If not, then when would be a good time to speak further?
The key thing to remember is to keep it light, bright and happy. Leave them with the impression that you are flexible and that dealing with your organisation is easy.
