You're a sports management professional with a sponsorship problem. What are your options?

Sponsorship problems usually can fit in there buckets: 1) not enough sponsors; 2) existing sponsors not paying; 3) need new sponsors, as the old ones don't continue. Each has its own reasons and ways to solve them.

Try to understand why you are facing problems. These could come from so many different sectors that an easy answer is always the wrong one. Examine your exposure level, find out more about your obvious and indirect competitors, and determine the bottom lines to let you negotiate with a bigger freedom of choices.

Sports needs Sponsorship. Looking for other streams is a short term solution, maybe. However other streams should be there regardless of sponsorship. Let's solve your sponsorship problem: 1) not enough sponsors - more sales (as hard as it sounds it is that simple); 2) existing one not paying - well, I suppose lawyers will sort this part out; 3) need new ones - again - more sales. There are no other magic pill - sell, sell, sell. Sure, you should improve the product, find new products to sell, but in the end of the day - sales are the answer. The days when we opened the doors and clients where lining up - are gone.

Negotiation with existing partner - there are so many levels, that have an affect - legal, financial, personal. All of them should be exploited. In my experience - I have always tried to sort it on personal level with the decision maker. In most cases it ends up finding some sort of payment plan or giving something up. Legal approach is the last I try, if possible, but wouldn't shy away from it, if nothing else works.

Learnings are extremely important. Usually once the problem is behind us, we tend to forget it, as that is not a happy memory. If you don't want to deal with bad memories, find someone in your team, who's task it can be to draw the conclusions and learnings.

Managing sponsorship in the sports industry it's essential to explore multiple options. First, consider renegotiating terms with current sponsors to better align expectations and benefits. If this isn't feasible, seek new sponsors who share similar values and goals with your organization. Additionally, innovating sponsorship offerings by providing new resources can attract interest, such as interactive technology or exclusive activations. Finally, don't overlook strategic alliances with other organizations, as this can bring sponsorship opportunities, thereby expanding the reach and impact of your actions.