Episode 460: How to get a sponsor for your podcast, with Stephen Woessner.
Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and the host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media.
Good Morning Onward Nation \u2013 I\u2019m Stephen Woessner and welcome to Episode 460 \u2013 this week\u2019s solocast where I will share the specific step-by-step recipe for how to get a sponsor for your podcast, a lesson that I learned directly from one of today\u2019s leading authorities on the topic of sponsorships. Her name is Linda Hollander, and she is off-the-charts amazing. I\u2019m telling you \u2013 the lesson in this solocast is going to help you monetize your podcast in new ways \u2013 or \u2013 if you already have sponsors \u2013 it may give you some new insights so you can sell your sponsorships upwards of $100,000 per year.
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Before we get to today\u2019s lesson\u2026I want to thank you.\xa0
Thank you for being here \u2013 thank you for all of your support \u2013 thank you for all of your daily encouragement \u2013 thank you for all of the wonderful emails sharing what you like about the show \u2013 and just as important \u2013 sharing how my team and I can get better \u2013 how we can deliver even more value to you and your teammates.
I appreciate the emails, the tweets, the Facebook posts, and all of the connection requests on LinkedIn. I want you to know how much you mean to me \u2013 how much you and what you share with us energize my team and me.
You and your feedback is the lifeblood of the show and so before we dive into today\u2019s lesson \u2013 I want you to know how much I deeply appreciate you taking some of your precise 86,400 seconds you were blessed enough to receive today \u2013 and sharing your time \u2013 your most precious asset \u2013 and deciding to share it with me.
And because time is the most precious asset for all of us \u2013 I have invested my time in building a lesson for you today that will add value in potentially many areas of your business. But I will say \u2013 despite the value this lesson will provide you \u2013 it may make you uncomfortable. You may feel put on the spot.
As you consider the potential of executing on the ideas I share with you this morning \u2013 you may immediately begin to talk yourself out of the opportunity. You may second-guess yourself.
You may feel that you and your business are not worthy of such lofty goals.
So as we move through the lesson\u2026as I share with you the practical and tactical of what you need to do when you work to attract a sponsor for your podcast\u2026and you start to second-guess yourself\u2026and begin to feel that your show or your business is not at that right level\u2026I want you to remember the wise words of Marianne Williamson when she said\u2026
But\u2026how do I know this to be true?
Because Onward Nation, Marianne\u2019s words struck me to the core the first time I read them. I was hit hard. I knew she was speaking to me and other people who felt the same way as me. In three simple sentences \u2013 she beautifully addressed head on the biggest obstacle of success that was blocking my path.
So now, instead of praying and focusing on opportunity to come my way\u2026I have shifted the context to be more in-line with being ready to accept the abundance \u2013 to be okay in becoming the person I need to become to be the best steward possible \u2013 to be open and let the light shine in to cast out the darkness \u2013 so that I can see my full destiny unfold.
I am sharing all of this with you, in full transparency, so you have an opportunity to get your mindset right \u2013 to know you are worthy \u2013 that you are ready \u2013 that you can be more \u2013 that your business is ready for that next level \u2013 that your podcast is ready for a sponsorship \u2013 and that you are ready to apply all you learn here today.
And that I know the points where today\u2019s lesson about attracting sponsorships will make you feel uncomfortable because I have been there. I have felt the uneasiness of \u201cnot being ready\u201d first hand. But I am telling you, Onward Nation \u2013 if you apply what I share with your this morning, you will push past the fear and leap onward to that next level.
For example, when my Predictive ROI team and I launched Onward Nation in June of 2015\u2026some of the first questions from people closest to us had nothing to do with the tactical of how we were able to build the show from scratch and launch it in less than 30-days\u2026or\u2026how we were able to soar to the top of iTunes within just a few short weeks.
Nope.
Oftentimes, one of the very first questions I received from those closest to me was\u2026
\u201cWhen are you going to sell a sponsorship?\u201d
This was a frequently asked question because having a sponsor was an outward sign of success \u2013 of legitimacy \u2013 that we had made it \u2013 that we were on our way to doing something special.
But here\u2019s the truth, Onward Nation. The thought of selling a sponsorship early on terrified me. I was afraid of the rejection. I was afraid of sharing what might seem like small numbers for a new show.
I didn\u2019t want to waste my time or the time of the prospective sponsors. I was afraid of being embarrassed during the process.
And the list goes on and on. But ultimately, I didn\u2019t feel that this show \u2013 a couple of years ago \u2013 was worthy of a paid sponsorship.
But there was something else \u2013 and potentially even more paralyzing. I had no idea what to do \u2013 I didn\u2019t know the first thing to attracting let alone selling a sponsorship for our podcast. I knew zero. In fact, to say that I knew zero was to give me a compliment \u2013 I knew less than zero.
So my lack of knowledge \u2013 and my emotional insecurity around the topic of sponsorship \u2013 caused me to answer those initial questions on the topic as the opportunity of sponsorships didn\u2019t matter as a revenue stream because we were focused on building the core business, which was true\u2026but only a half truth.
Here\u2019s what I have learned in the over two years of hard work since that time.
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Sponsorships matter.\xa0
Sponsorships of course matter from the perspective of revenue \u2013 but this is the less important compared to the credibility and cache that a sponsor can bring to your show.
For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019re considering listening to Onward Nation for the first time\u2026and you see an ad for\u2026
\u201cOnward Nation with Stephen Woessner.\u201d
Versus if you happened to hear\u2026
\u201cOnward Nation with Stephen Woessner, brought to you by Bank of America.\u201d
Which one sounds more credible?
Exactly! The opportunity of having a Bank of America or some other large brand connected to your brand provides you with some degree of transference of their credibility over to you and your brand.
So, I knew that I needed to figure out the strategy behind sponsorship as a way to take Onward Nation to that next level. But I had no idea where to start.
And then \u2013 as is the case often in life \u2013 I got the push that I needed in order to make the change that I needed to make.
AMACOM, my publisher for my book being released in mid-September entitled \u201cProfitable Podcasting,\u201d asked me to write a chapter that provided insights into how to attract and sell a sponsorship for a podcast.
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, what was that?\u201d is how I initially felt. Gulp.
I had no idea how I would provide value in an area where I had not developed mastery. However, instead of letting the fear of the assignment linger, I quickly told myself that the recipe that would result from the assignment would give me with another example to share how a podcast could be used as a tool to collect the primary research needed so the chapter \u2014 a book chapter outside of my expertise \u2014 could be done and done efficiently.
And in full transparency, doing the research, filled in a skills gap for me so I know have what I need in order to close a big sponsorship deal on behalf of Onward Nation. I will share the news toward the end of this year \u2014 but oh my \u2014 it\u2019s exciting to think about. Game changing.
So, for today\u2019s lesson, I will share the full sponsorship recipe with you. What I learned along the way, from whom I had the honor of learning, and how you can take and apply the same knowledge to attract the right sponsor for your podcast.
Okay\u2026so how did I do the research?
In order to write a great chapter for the book, I knew that I needed to interview the right expert. So my first call was to Wendy Keller, my exceptional literary agent and great friend. She orbits the distant moon of awesome \u2013 she is otherworldly. Yes, I\u2019m kind of a big fan.
When I shared my challenge with Wendy, she quickly said to me, \u201cOh, I know exactly who you should interview for the chapter.\u201d
BA-BAM. And that\u2019s another reason why you need the right inner circle, Onward Nation. Why you need to surround yourself with the right experts, the right mentors, and friends who are moving at the same pace and tempo you want to be moving at.
Five minutes later, Wendy had connected me with Linda Hollander, one of today\u2019s leading authorities on the topic of sponsorships. Both Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine have featured Linda as the industry leader in how to sell corporate sponsorships. Linda has over 20-years of experience as a business owner. Her clients and sponsors include Microsoft, FedEx, Citibank, Mattel, Bank of America, Marriott, Health Net, American Airlines, IBM, and Wal-Mart. Her client list reads like a \u201cWho\u2019s Who\u201d in corporate sponsorship.
Just go to www.sponsorconcierge.com to find Linda.
Wendy suggested I interview Linda then transcribe the interview and turn it into a chapter for the book. Brilliant.
I followed Wendy\u2019s blueprint \u2014 interviewed Linda \u2014 and viola \u2014 Chapter 16 with deep expertise from one of the industry\u2019s leading experts on the topic was done.
And I was a heck of a lot smarter after having learned directly from Linda. Rock solid awesome!!
But in order for that to happen \u2013 I had to set my fear and ego aside and focus on the assignment \u2013 and let go of the fact that I didn\u2019t know something about the world of podcasting. I am taking you so deep behind the green curtain here because I want you to see \u2013 everyone deals with fear \u2013 everyone has obstacles \u2013 everyone is uncomfortable from time-to-time in their business \u2013 everyone deals with the imposter syndrome.
Everyone.
But the true measure of greatness \u2013 is whether you will let it paralyze you \u2013 or \u2013 will you push past it and walk toward your destiny. I believe in you, Onward Nation. You are just one phone call or one interview with an expert away from finding that missing piece that will ignite your business to the next level.
Have the guts to make the calls, Onward Nation. Get out there and leverage your podcast as a tool for collecting primary research from top experts \u2014 even if your expertise lies outside the area being researched. The interviews you conduct will provide your podcast listeners and true fans with exceptional value, just as Linda did for you.
And the transcripts of your interviews can be converted into chapters for your book.
So here we go\u2026let\u2019s dig in to learn how to master a new skill\u2026the skill of attracting the right sponsor for your podcast\u2026a sponsor who can provide financial resources to support your show\u2026but more importantly\u2026a sponsor who can lend their brand to you\u2026and in doing so\u2026provide you and your show with additional credibility.
So you can get the full context of what I learned from Linda, I am going to share the specific questions I asked Linda \u2013 so you can model them \u2013 revise them \u2013 and then use them when you interview your industry experts.
So here we go\u2026
For my first question, I asked Linda\u2026
\u201cPlease take us back to the beginning and your first event so business owners reading this can have the full context of what you have accomplished.\u201d
I asked Linda this for two reasons: 1) it is an easy, soft question that helps develop rapport at the beginning of a conversation when two people are just learning about one another. It would be inappropriate if I asked Linda to share all of her deepest and most valuable sponsorship strategies as the first question. That would be way too abrupt. So focus on building some rapport first. And 2) because I always wanted to know Linda\u2019s backstory because it is wonderful context to know that she came from nothing \u2013 and yet \u2013 she pushed herself to be more \u2013 and despite the odds and the fear \u2013 she was successful in securing Bank of America as her first sponsor. She is amazing.
So in Linda\u2019s words\u2026
She had the privilege of working with some great top tier sponsors but it wasn\u2019t always that way. Many of her clients early on in her business were women so she wanted to start the Women\u2019s Small Business Expo to deliver even more value to clients. But she needed sponsors because putting on an event is cash intensive. Ultimately, her first sponsors were Bank of America, Wal-Mart, and IBM.
She had never done an event in her life. She had no idea how to do an event. She had no experience. She had no following. She had her parents on her email list. She put her brother-in-law on her email list, too. They weren\u2019t going to tell her no. If she could have put her cat on there, she would have done that. But despite how she started out, she was able to attract several top tier sponsors.
And when her event attendees came, they would ask Linda, \u201cHow the heck are you getting these sponsors? We thought you had to be a big company and have all this experience and track record,\u201d and Linda said, \u201cAbsolutely no.\u201d Then Linda knew there was a need in the marketplace for training business owners how to attract sponsors.
She lost a lot of time and money when she first started to learn the sponsorship game. It took her six months to get my first proposal together and she lost $75,000 in the process.
Linda told me, Onward Nation that it was painful, it was excruciating.
Some people wouldn\u2019t even talk to her because she was a micro-business. But, there were also people who said to Linda, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019ll talk to you. I\u2019ll help you.\u201d Then she said to herself, \u201cWhen I learn this stuff, I\u2019m going to teach other business owners how to do it.\u201d
Amazing backstory don\u2019t you think, Onward Nation? Does that help push some of the fear or apprehension aside for you? She started with nothing \u2013 no following \u2013 nothing \u2013 and she went out and did it anyway. She is rock solid awesome.
Okay, let\u2019s press on. Next I asked, Linda\u2026
\u201cLet\u2019s start off with some definitions. When we hear \u201csponsor\u201d that could mean different things depending upon someone\u2019s business model. What does sponsorship mean, what does a sponsor want to sponsor, are they programs, events, or businesses?\u201d
Linda shared that the definition of sponsorship is \u201cConnecting a company with people who can buy things.\u201d If you know people who can buy stuff, then you can get sponsors. Linda wants you to know that it is a lot simpler than what most business owners think.
In fact\u2026here\u2019s what is \u201csponsorable.\u201d
- If you have a business \u2014 that could be sponsored.
- If you host a radio show
- If you host a podcast
- If you host a television show or YouTube channel, or a blog
All of that can be sponsored. And of course, if you host events like Linda, you can get sponsors because sponsors love live events.
If you\u2019re a speaker or an author, you can get sponsored, because as a speaker and an author you have access to an audience \u2014 a fanbase of people \u2014 who know your work and know your book, and as a speaker you command the platform.
Companies don\u2019t have people who can speak, who can command a platform, or capture the attention of an audience. So that is a huge advantage for you, Onward Nation!
At this point in my interview with Linda \u2013 I started feeling excited and actually really confident.
And the fear, you might ask? What fear? HA! Linda had me so completely energized by the possibilities I was learning from her!
Next I wanted to learn about the pitfalls \u2013 the common mistakes business owners make when they head down the sponsorship path so you, Onward Nation \u2013 and me \u2013 could try to avoid the same $75,000 mistakes Linda had experienced.
So I asked Linda\u2026
\u201cWhat are some of the biggest mistakes you see business owners making time and time again as they pursue sponsorships?\u201d
She let me know there are a few mistakes to be weary of, and she\u2019s made all of them, so the lessons she could share were directly from her hands-on experience.
The first mistake is, believe it or not, is not asking for enough money.
What?!? I thought to myself!
Linda went on to explain that asking for too little money can hurt a business owner because they are, in effect, telling a sponsor they don\u2019t have anything of value to offer.
Linda often gets calls from business owners who are trying to sell their $500 sponsor package. They\u2019re going to be presenting to a busy, stressed-out person inside a company, and if they see a sponsor package priced at $500, they\u2019re going to think the business owner doesn\u2019t have anything of value.
In the sponsorship process, you have what\u2019s called your \u201cChampion,\u201d and this is the person within the sponsoring company who loves you, but they have to sell you and your program to their colleagues, their team, and their boss, and maybe the people working under them to get it approved. Onward Nation, your pricing strategy needs to communicate value in order for them to do that.
For most of Linda\u2019s clients, what she sees them typically win is between $10,000 and $100,000 in annual sponsor fees.
If you do an event, if you have a podcast, or something else that is episode-to-episode, bundle everything together for the year and sell an annual sponsorship because you\u2019re going to be more successful in properly positioning yourself with sponsors.
The second mistake business owners make is not using an industry standard proposal.
According to Linda, your sponsor proposal is one of the most important but least understood documents. You have to use an industry standard format or you will not get funded.
Your proposal must look amazing and have the right compelling benefits.
So to recap, Onward Nation \u2013 the two biggest mistakes you need to avoid are asking for too little money and not having a good proposal.
Okay, I was really intrigued by what Linda was teaching me, and I knew that in order for the lessons to have the most value to you and to the readers of my book, Linda and I needed to drill in deeper on the topic of sponsorships for podcasting.
So I asked Linda\u2026
\u201cLet\u2019s say you\u2019re a podcaster. Sounds like you would try to sell an annual sponsorship of your show instead of weekly episodes, but you would also package in your entire platform including social media, email lists, webinars, events, etc., right?\u201d
In Linda\u2019s opinion, yes, you want them to sponsor your entire brand \u2014 not a single show.
It took Linda a while to figure this out because at first she started to have sponsors for her events and then thought, \u201cWait a minute, I\u2019ve got a whole brand here.\u201d When she had them sponsor her brand, she made a whole lot more money. Instead of a business owner saying, \u201cI\u2019m a podcaster,\u201d you should brand yourself as a \u201cmedia company\u201d who does podcasting because sponsors are not quite in love with podcasting yet. It\u2019s still new. It\u2019s still cutting edge.
But if you say you\u2019re a media company, Onward Nation then their ears are going to perk up.
Then they\u2019re going to be interested.
Talk about your podcast, but then talk about the other things you do such as, email blasts, social media, maybe even YouTube. Talk about all of the touch points you have. Then Linda took me back to the definition of sponsorship; \u201cConnecting a company to people who buy things.\u201d
Onward Nation, you need to tell your prospective sponsors how you can connect them to people who could but their stuff.
At this point in the learning from Linda, I was feeling really confident about the steps, the process, the upside, and the mistakes that needed to be avoided in order to save time and cash. Then I had another spark of fear \u2013 but in full transparency \u2013 it was probably more ego than fear \u2013 when I had the thought, \u201cWait a minute\u2026if I sell a sponsorship for Onward Nation to a Bank of America, for example, doesn\u2019t that diminish our own brand in some way?\u201d
So, I took the opportunity to ask Linda because I figured if I was thinking it \u2013 and could potentially turn that into a roadblock \u2013 then maybe other business owners would be asking themselves the same question. The best way to push that aside was to ask the expert.
So Linda\u2026
\u201cDo I diminish my own brand if I go get a sponsor?\u201d
And she put my mind at ease by letting me know that she is asked that question a lot because as business owners, we want to be independent, we don\u2019t want to have a company influence what we\u2019re going to say, and we don\u2019t want the appearance that we\u2019re biased.
Linda has never had a sponsor try to influence her content in 16-years of doing this. And if they ever did, she would just say, \u201cHey, that\u2019s not part of the program.\u201d Onward Nation, you design your program \u2014 the sponsor writes the check \u2014 that\u2019s what goes on with sponsorships.
Also, the promotion of your sponsor does not have to be outlandish or in your face. The promotion can be elegant and understated, such as signage, banner ads, or things you put on your website. And if you do recommend a company like when Linda was working with Citibank, and she would recommend Citibank, she would disclose it by saying, \u201cI need to disclose that Citibank is my sponsor,\u201d and then you are in integrity by disclosing it.
So know Linda was removing trap door after trap door and each and every excuse I was letting creep back into my mind. I was loving this conversation and the opportunity to learn from someone who has been so successful in this arena \u2013 but for me \u2013 even more important \u2013 was that she had scraped her knees, and busted an elbow, a time or two. She had the in-the-trenches experience that I love and really value.
And if you have been listening to Onward Nation, you know I am a big fan of success secrets\u2026those things\u2026that if we apply them give us the ability to make stochastic jumps onward to new levels.
So I asked Linda\u2026
\u201cAre there any secrets to success business owners need to apply in order to be successful in attracting a sponsor?\u201d
Linda let me know that a secret is to make your sponsor the star. Most business owners when they try to get a sponsor, they fall into the trap of talking about what their business does, they might say things like, \u201cI\u2019ve have this great podcast, I have this great book, I have a great business, I have a great non-profit, or event, etc.\u201d
Business owners can sometimes talk about themselves and that\u2019s not the way to get a sponsor.
The way to get a sponsor is to talk to the sponsor about what you can do for them. Say, \u201cHey, Mr., Ms. Sponsor, I\u2019m going to educate people about your products and your services. I\u2019m going to help you increase your product and your brand loyalty. I\u2019m going to help you grow your customer base. I\u2019m going to help you drive sales and traffic.\u201d
Do you see the difference, Onward Nation?
You\u2019re saying, \u201cHey, the sponsor is the star\u201d and your prospective sponsor is going to look at that and say, \u201cHey, this business owner understands that it\u2019s about me and not about them.\u201d
You\u2019ll tell them a little bit about what you do because they have to understand it, but mostly what you\u2019re going to tell the sponsor is \u201cHere\u2019s how I\u2019m going to benefit your company, here\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do for you.\u201d
Okay, Onward Nation \u2013 at this point in the interview, my confidence was soaring. I was beginning to think through the pitch and presentation \u2013 my thoughts were going to sales strategy and other ideas were firing. But, an essential component to any strategy is timing. How long would something like this take to pull together?
So I asked Linda for her help about timelines\u2026
\u201cLet\u2019s talk timelines. How fast does, or maybe how long, is the sales cycle you typically see for attracting $10,000 to $100,000 sponsorships?\u201d
Linda started by reminding me that sponsorships are a relationship business. You need time to develop relationships with companies. Here\u2019s where it\u2019s going to be maybe a little bit of a shock to business owners. Linda recommends eight months to a year before you need the funding to start approaching prospective sponsors. Linda went on to tell me why.
If you\u2019re approaching Microsoft, FedEx, Staples (those are called the \u201cTop Tier\u201d sponsors), they have a process. You have to apply and you have to wait for them to approve it. They like to have a lot of lead time because whatever you are doing you have to talk about how you are going to work with their company, what kind of a program you are going to build together, and it takes time to develop that depth of a relationship.
It will take time to get your first sponsor.
But, Linda also shared some thoughts on how to complete the process quicker. There are \u201cTop Tier\u201d sponsors and then are \u201cSecond Tier\u201d sponsors. In the banking industry (and banks are a great place to find sponsorships, by the way), Linda has worked with Bank of America and Citibank. They are top tier. But there may be a local community bank where you live, Onward Nation. There may be an up and coming player in the banking industry you might want to work with.
That won\u2019t take as long because it\u2019s easier to get to the decision makers and to get that process of sponsorship started.
The amazing thing about sponsorships being a relationship business is that there is something called renewals in sponsorships. And renewals are magic. Renewals are your cash machine because if a sponsor likes you, they can fund you this year, next year, and the next year. Linda has sold multi-year sponsorships with FedEx and Citibank. Her clients have had multi-year contracts with Verizon, Dole Foods, and Black and Decker just to name a few.
It\u2019s not a quick cash strategy. It is a long-term strategy to fund your business, Onward Nation.
That\u2019s why Linda recommends that business owners go for a one-year contract because one-year is about enough time to really analyze the relationship and if the sponsor wants to continue. If your sponsorship is from event-to-event, or episode-to-episode, a sponsor is not going to see that much growth as far as return on investment, so they are less likely to renew.
Now it was time to begin formalizing the recipe \u2013 I could see the individual ingredients \u2013 but I needed Linda\u2019s master skills with the recipe to help pull it all together so I could see the result outcome she was already envisioning.
So I asked Linda\u2026
\u201cLet\u2019s get tactical and think about key steps in the process, the action plan, things that are going to improve the probability of success. If you were to give business owners one, two, or three things they need to do, what would those steps be?\u201d
Linda was kind enough to share a three-step process to attracting a sponsor.
The first part is to do what she calls the \u201cSponsor Wish List.\u201d
The wish list is the list of companies that you would like to have as sponsors. Remember in your sponsor wish list to include both Top Tier and the Second Tier sponsors. Most business owners when they start their wish list think only of Top Tier sponsors. Go deeper.
Since Linda and I had already talked about the banking industry, she then shifted to talk insurance.
Yes, banking and insurance may be perceived by some business owners as boring industries. Everyone wants glam sponsors like fashion, cosmetics, and accessories. But the boring companies have the money.
Let\u2019s take the insurance category, you\u2019re going to think of State Farm, and AFLAC, and all the ones that have paid to be top of mind. Then go a little deeper by doing some Google searches into smaller insurance companies, the up and coming brands, because the up and coming brands need you to get their name out.
Linda told me that these second tier companies are outstanding prospects because they don\u2019t have the brand awareness of the big brands and will be more open to what you have to offer, Onward Nation.
Linda then shared a tangible example of that in practice. She worked with a company called Evolution Insurance Brokers. Nobody has ever heard of Evolution Insurance Brokers, and that is exactly why they sponsored her. They wanted to get the word out about their company. They\u2019re not AFLAC, they\u2019re not State Farm, they\u2019re not the big players in the industry.
But, Onward Nation\u2026the second tiers have money to invest. Linda was not able to disclose exactly the value of the sponsorship with Evolution Insurance Brokers, but it was 5-figures.
Step two is preparing your professional proposal. Linda recommends writing what she calls an \u201cIndustry Standard Sponsor Proposal.\u201d
The full sponsor proposal is about eight to ten pages in length and here\u2019s what it includes:
- A description of your \u201cproperty.\u201d Onward Nation, write down the word \u201cproperty\u201d because what you do now is called the \u201cproperty.\u201d Your podcast is a property. Your book is a property. Your speaking business is a property. Your business, your event, your non-profit, whatever you are doing is called a property. You want to describe that.
- You should include your sponsor\u2019s goals, which should be similar to what we talked about earlier in this chapter, such as increasing brand loyalty and customer base, and educating people, and driving traffic and sales, and all that.
- You should include a one-page marketing plan. It includes all the ways you\u2019re going to get the word out about the sponsor. Sponsors are interested in this because marketing is the difference between a good idea someone has in their head and something that actually has legs and is sustainable.
- You should include your demographics. Whether your demographics are mothers, the parent market, the entrepreneurial market, the urban youth, the baby boomer market, you need to describe your demographics. Include any testimonials you have.
- You should include your sponsor fees like the ones we\u2019ve talked about.
- The last thing, and here is how Linda and her team write proposals differently than anyone else in the country, is storytelling.
You want to have good storytelling inside your proposal. Linda calls it \u201cpassion points.\u201d
Linda is able to sells sponsors because she doesn\u2019t just put in the proposal what\u2019s called your \u201cpretty bio.\u201d The pretty bio is your education, and the awards you won, and your experience. All of that is nice but what you want is to be vulnerable, you need to make a human connection, because you\u2019re not just pitching to a faceless cooperation. You are pitching to a person, a human being, and you want to show your humanity.
In Linda\u2019s story, she talks about how she was in the poverty trap. She talks about how she was in an abusive relationship. Her story has helped her secure sponsors because you want them to see you as a real person.
The emotional connection is important, Onward Nation. You want to put beautiful storytelling in there. If you don\u2019t want to include your own story, put the story of someone you\u2019ve helped through the work you do.
Be sure to include some emotion. Business owners often make the mistake of thinking, \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to impress them, and I\u2019m going to put facts, and figures, and statistics in there.\u201d But unfortunately, that is not going help you rise above the competition. Be human.
All of the proposal ingredients from Linda really had me energized, Onward Nation. But then I started thinking about tools and other resources that I might also need to know about in order to make the process of selling a top tier sponsor as efficient as possible from a time perspective.
So I asked Linda\u2026
\u201cAre there any other tools, any other resources you think business owners ought to study to make this process as efficient and effective as possible?\u201d
Linda shared that her website at www.sponsorconcierge.com includes two free gifts. One is the \u201cNumber 1 Secret to Getting Corporate Sponsors.\u201d And the second is that she does free sponsor strategy sessions with business owners so they can book a sponsor strategy session with me. During the sessions, she takes a look at what you\u2019re currently doing, and together, you develop a success strategy to attract the right sponsor.
To close out the interview, I asked Linda if she had any final advice that she thought we might have missed during our discussion.
Linda closed by sharing how important it was for business owners to know that they can do this. The number one question Linda is most often asked is, \u201cWhy would a sponsor want to work with little ole\u2019 me? I\u2019m just getting started. I\u2019m not a big company. I don\u2019t have a track record. I don\u2019t have a big following.\u201d
And Linda said to me, \u201cStephen, please know you can do this. You have value. You have things a sponsor is going to be attracted to. You just need to package it in the right way.\u201d
She reinforced the point by telling me the story about how she got her first sponsor\u2026
Linda lives in Los Angeles, California, so when she first had the idea to do her initial event, she was driving around in her clunker car and she of course was stuck in a traffic jam. She looked up and see a billboard for Bank of America and there\u2019s a woman featured within the billboard design, so Linda thinks to herself, \u201cOkay, they\u2019re trying to get the women\u2019s market.\u201d
Immediately, she starts doing self-sabotaging and thinking, \u201cWhy the heck would they talk to me? I\u2019m just working from my home from my kitchen table. I\u2019m not a big company. What the heck am I going to offer Bank of America?\u201d
But Linda\u2019s dream and mission to help people was so strong that she couldn\u2019t get it out of her head. So she got the courage to make a call to Bank of America and finally got the person who could greenlight the sponsorships. She finished her proposal, got everything done, and had an appointment at their office \u2013 and she was super nervous.
Then he said to Linda, \u201cWell, let\u2019s see your proposal,\u201d and she handed it to him. And he said, \u201cOkay, well we\u2019re going to go for this level of sponsorship,\u201d and it was a five-figure sponsorship.
Linda had to act like she did this all the time so she said, \u201cOh, great,\u201d and then had to shake his hand but her hand was so clammy she had to wipe it off!
She got back in my car and did the happy dance right there in the parking lot! She drove home and waved to all the Bank of America branches on her way home.
You never know what\u2019s going to happen, Onward Nation. It all starts with a thought. It starts with a dream. It starts with a vision. We\u2019re taught to have these big dreams but we\u2019re not taught how to finance the dreams, and dreams take money, and that\u2019s where sponsors come in.
You can do this!
Hold your head up high. Know that you have quality and you bring value to your sponsors \u2014 and \u2014 you can fund your dreams.
So with that said, Onward Nation\u2026
I want to thank you for taking the time to be here with me today. It is an honor to have you here \u2014 thank you for tuning in \u2014 your time is sacred and I am delighted you chose this episode to be what you listen to, study, and take with you on your morning run, or maybe Onward Nation has become part of your daily commute, or in some other way has become part of your morning routine.
However our daily podcast fits into your daily routine \u2014 I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn and share each day from today\u2019s top business owners.
And if you haven\u2019t already downloaded your copy of our 12 Success Strategies eBook, just text the word \u201conward\u201d to 6-6-8-6-6. Again, text the word \u201conward\u201d to 6-6-8-6-6 and we will send it right to your Inbox.
Onward with gusto!