
Rob Sharp – Interview Summary
Recently I had a very interesting chat with Rob Sharp from YBI Creative. The interview is divided into two parts:
But for all you time-poor sponsorship seekers I have summarised the interview below…
5 common mistakes sponsorship seekers make:
- Poor spelling – have your sponsorship proposal proof read by someone other than yourself.
- Sending the sponsorship proposal to the wrong person – make sure you have established a relationship with the person who can say yes.
- Sending a sponsorship proposal before making a meaningful connection.
- Not abiding by their sponsorship and brand guidelines – use the right logos and colours etc.
- Not finding out why you were unsuccessful – use this as an opportunity to improve your sponsorship seeking skills.
3 golden rules for a successful sponsorship:
- Never give up – keep learning and trying and you will succeed.
- Make a strong marketing case.
- Communicate with your sponsor meaningfully and regularly.
Key Points:
- Research. Research. Research.
- Start with a verbal. People respond better to someone that they feel they know already.
- Establishing who you should be talking too immediately.
- Have a unique selling proposition / define your angle.
- Establish a connection with the potential sponsor’s brand.
- How do you fit with their existing marketing strategy?
- Understand the potential sponsor’s message.
- Turning the intangible into the tangible – make sure you can track exposure.
- Sponsorship is a risk…the sponsor can get quantifiable results from other marketing opportunities.
- Unique experiences are the key.
- What are the sponsor’s key performance indicators (KPIs) – address them directly.
- Make the sponsor feel comfortable that they won’t get egg on their faces – make it as easy as possible to sell the opportunity internally.
- Time your proposals with the sponsor’s planning and decision making process.
- Place the emphasis on value, not on costs.
- Put in place strategies to quantify results.
- Don’t talk numbers until you have established a relationship.
- Provide indicative investment requirements at the right time.
- Understand that the sponsor has to leverage or activate the opportunity. And this can require an investment of 3 to 5 times what they are investing with you.
- Package your proposal in a way that best communicates with the potential sponsor.