How can you balance conference needs with your sponsors?

Even more practical: build a draft agenda, an example floorplan and a revenue model along with that budget so that you can create a proper sponsorship deck.

This is such an important step and often not dealt with properly before diving into sponsorship sales. You also need to align what your goals are for sponsorship and what you can realistically execute onsite. Did you contract enough space to host an exhibit area? What kind of onsite branding can you offer? Nailing these details along with what Sarah noted will help you create a powerful sponsorship prospectus.

Balancing needs with sponsors involves clear communication and alignment of goals. Understand sponsor objectives, tailor packages to meet their marketing goals, and ensure their brand is integrated seamlessly into the event. Regular updates and collaboration help maintain a mutually beneficial partnership, considering both the event's success and sponsor expectations.

To build off of Sarah & Wendy's contributions: a sponsorship deck is the place to showcase your research findings and encourage buy-in from stakeholders and investors. Theme, audience, budget, and timeline are important but make sure to really touch on the desires of your desired sponsors for the event. What will they get out of this experience? Is the risk-reward ratio in their favor? Will this event help them in achieving one or more of their current goals? Is the intent to build a lasting relationship or is this for a short-term campaign? These are all considerations made in the past with teams I've worked with to deliver value-adding events.

To balance conference needs with potential sponsors, set clear goals for both sides. Define sponsorship benefits that align with conference objectives, ensuring mutual value. Establish transparent communication channels to understand sponsors' expectations and customize packages accordingly. Regularly evaluate and adjust goals to maintain a symbiotic relationship.

Agreed 100 %. I like to create win/win situations. I find it best to work with sponsors who have like minded goals. So do some research before you even approach the sponsors. Check out websites, examine print and visual communications, get a "feel" for marketing strategies. Then see how best your objectives align with theirs. For instance, if you are all about the vegan experience, it may not be wise to approach a fur company, unless they specialize in "faux fur!" Realize that companies have funds allocated to market their products, but you must convince your sponsor that his spend will see a worthwhile ROI. Remember win/win!

Also....be sure you can answer the questions they will ask. Who is going to attend the event? How many people? What kind of access to sponsors get to the attendees for networking? Being able to communicate the value of your conference to potential sponsors is huge - because they won't always see it themselves straight away. Make sure it is clear that your event will help them meet their goals.

It is a good idea to work with a planning team, decide on an agreed upon theme for the upcoming conference based on previous feedback from participants. Plan a budget with the expected attendees registrations and a proposed budget based off previous or similar conferences. This will help the planning team look at needed Sponsors for the conference. The team could look at different level of sponsors and can consider offering the sponsors conference benefits based on level of sponsorship. Members of the planning team can form a group to reach out to vendors based on the theme of the conference and the needs of those intended to register for the conference.

I think market research provides the basis for not only how sponsors frame their products, but also gives the analytics on the who and how it will reach their target audiences with relevant data. Knowing your sponsors goals will aide you in creating campaigns that will help create revenue.

From my perspective - as the organization's budgeter, decision-maker, executor, and justifier of events - event organizers do a pitiful job of reaching out to me first. My colleagues in other areas of the business (e.g., clinical SME, operations, solutioning, sales) receive regular emails from event organizers, who inexplicably cannot add me to their mailing lists. So I have to scramble to accommodate requests to participate in shows I don't know about, which makes me look unprepared and reactive.

Providing a list of benefits and exclusive benefits for each sponsorship level or item that can be sponsored (such as a lunch, keynote, beer garden, mile 21, goodie bags, etc..) is paramount. Start small with a few levels or items for your first event, then add more each year. Make sure you don’t just say that $5,000 is the sponsor amount for the shirts of your event because it will cost you that amount to buy 500 shirts, just so you can say it won’t cost you if a sponsor underwrites it. Instead, make the amount of the shirt sponsor $8,000 showing the sponsor that the value of their logo on the shirt as the main sponsor is worth $8,000 of value based on 500 people wearing them and showing them off with their logo on social media.

Providing a clear vendor prospectus that outlines what a sponsor or vendor can and can’t do is very helpful - as someone who speaks to many people, but can’t make final decisions on sponsors or vendors, it really helps to have a clear understanding of what the money can buy when going back to a supervisor for approval. It can also be helpful if you’re holding an annual event - write a great prospectus once, then update the dates and sponsorship amounts every year!

Tiered benefits for different levels of sponsorship engagement has an extremely high return on investment. It's similar to choosing a subscription tier from a service - you do so because the offerings in that tier align with the value you're hoping to get out of that service. The concept is the same when attracting sponsors for events of any size. A rule of thumb I operate by is to not make each tier's offerings out of the reach of what you can provide in that moment. Don't make promises you'll have a hard time delivering on before making any money.

Value in my book is loyalty to previous sponsorship. Be sure to reach out to past year sponsors first and give them a first right of refusal

Have authentic conversations with sponsors and create a space where you and those you are partnering with can exchange your expectations. People often miss the mark by establishing elaborate sponsorships packages without consulting potential sponsors and understanding why they are investing. While confirming your event goals, mission and values align, leaving space for clear communication can produce amazing sponsorship experiences that mutually benefit all parties.

In my opinion, this is a really important part. I've had experiences where pitching sponsors is something organizers focus on, but once the agreement is signed and payment is made, communication drops significantly. It should be the other way around. When you already have a sponsor that believes in your idea and the value your event can bring them, you should give a lot of attention to ensure they are happy with their commitment, making sure they receive as much value as possible. This approach not only makes it easier to have them as sponsors for the next event but also shapes your reputation as event organizers.

This is why we have two sponsor team roles -- sales and fulfillment. Sales will own the engagement and close the deal, but the Fulfillment team will own sponsor communications post-sale. In some cases, Fulfillment is included in final sales conversations to ensure the sponsor sees how the team works together. Regular communications are sent to all confirmed sponsors and the Fulfillment team reaches out regularly to follow up on deliverables and answer any questions the sponsor may have.

In my opinion communication and collaboration are essential tools necessary for success when creating a valuable relationship with those that you intend to build relationships with. These elements provide a framework for networking and invaluable creativity in your organization.

Having a clear communication plan for stakeholders, team members, and functional managers is invaluable for events requiring sponsors. Detailing what channels and cadence communication will occur sets a level expectation for everyone. Using a platform like Slack or Asana can be helpful for medium to large size teams, while email threads can work perfectly well for smaller size teams.

Show appreciation by adding extra value post-event, e.g. promote your sponsors by sharing their job ads. It's a win-win for the sponsors and your professional audience. :)

Post-event debrief meetings with sponsors are a good way to get feedback and further build trust in the working relationship. Don't just send a survey (which they may or may not complete) and forget about it. Send the survey, yes. But follow up. Ask for a meeting. Have a conversation about what worked and what can be done better next year.

I think sponsor appreciation and feedback is very important to future success. By doing this we create a positive experience with the brand, we bring awareness to the product and build a relationship with the sponsors that will help create a successful partnership. As a result, sponsors learn what they need to do better to achieve better sales or future success and we get to work collaboratively together to make the partnership stronger.

With events, the pre & post-work drives home the impacts of the event. Post-work involves surveys and feedback, but the key in tying it together is to give an honest and promising review of the project as a whole. What went well? What can be improved on for future partnerships? Was the expected value delivered, and, if so, how? I typically top off my post-work follow through with a Thank You gift in the form of a handwritten note or a gift card for coffee depending on the depth of the relationship with a specific sponsor. Personalized "Thank You's" are never out of style.

What I’ve learned from about our partners: - Meaningful connections transcend turnover in your organization. Do share what you’re own members prefer in terms of out reach before, during and after the event. - Are they the right sponsor for your event? Sorry, but all money is not good money for your event. Make sure you’re not bringing a hard-sell company to a low-key membership. - In relation to the “right sponsor,” boldly dig in during the preconf meeting and ask sponsors to send their most experienced pros for your members. - On the preconf call with sponsors and exhibitors I suggest and challenge them to attend some of the Ed sessions. Why? A non-threatening introduction may go a lot further. Many happy returns!

Every show organizer wants sponsors to promote their participation at the event on social media -- so make it super easy for them to take this action. Create social media graphics for them. Create example social media post copy they can easily copy and paste to their social media profiles. Anything you can do to remove the friction here will make it easier for them to post about your show on social media and increase the overall awareness of your event.

Make sure the needs of each party are related. Realistically matching desired goals. Don't waste people's time on this because it doesn't show your company's concern for participants.