Four Reasons Your Sponsorships Aren't Selling
Posted: 8/18/2009 10:21:13 AM by
Diane Knoepke | with 0 comments
The economy. You have a built-in explanation for any drop in performance. So put that net of excuses to good use—go deliver a death-defying high-wire act. You won't die, and you just might be the star.
Self-orientation. I'm an only child. And I married an only child. I know all about self-orientation. (See? I’ve used “I” way too many times in this paragraph already.) The good news is that being self-oriented is not the same thing as being self-absorbed or self-centered. The bad news is it's a distinction without a difference in sales. Whether it's trying to sell a program just because you need to fund it, or telling prospects information about your property that they don't need to know to buy the deal, it's not doing you any favors. Don't be an only child at the sales table; be a Gosselin or a Duggar. Those kids know it's not about one of them, the payout is in the assemblage.
Asking for permission. I had a boss once (pre-IEG) who always said "don't ask for permission; beg for forgiveness." She wasn’t some rogue wild child of a manager; we got a lot done under her leadership because once the strategy was sound and the plan complete, we didn't wait around to execute. When you've done your homework, secured leadership buy-in, and have leveraged your resources appropriately, stop asking for permission from your colleagues, prospects, and audience. Instead, show them how right your strategy is and all of the benefits it has to offer to each of those groups. Do that and your days of begging for forgiveness will be over.
Everybody is out to get you. Buckle up, Kiddos, it's a bumpy world out there. If you don't think your organization can do a better job with sponsorship dollars—for your sponsors, audience, and your organization—then you don't deserve to make the sale. That’s what ethical selling is all about—don’t sell the customer what he doesn’t need, but absolutely sell him what he does need. If you saw Rick Jones' speech at the IEG Conference in March, you've heard this before. Rick delivered most of his presentation in a pirate hat to illustrate the point that because sponsorship dollars are scarce, you're going to take money away from someone else's sponsorship coffers in order to be successful. So stop feeling bad about that (eh hem, self-orientation) and get out there and pillage.
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Filed under: IEG, IEG conference, selling, how to get sponsorship