SPEAKER SPONSORED BY

Stand & Deliver

Linda Pereira , M.Ed. CDMPExecutive Director, CPL Events & International

Meeting Industry Conusltant

With corporate sponsorship of meetings and events reported to have dropped by more than 50%, this presentation will address the issue of How to win sponsors and influence people. Are sponsors more savvy at measuring their return on investment or have we lost the art of delivering highly tailored sponsorship opportunities?

The party is over.

With every kind of company scrutinizing every dollar, chopping unnecessary spending and keeping close tabs on even the appearance of excess, only the most essential meetings are likely

to survive.

“As we move forward, [meeting] money will be invested, rather than just spent.”

The world has changed forever and "business as usual" is a thing of the past. Obtaining sponsorship and support for

meetings is like getting blood from a stone, and the new economic climate requires a more creative and professional attitude.

During this time:

• Survival tools for acquiring sponsors and exhibitors

• Practical examples of successful financial support for conferences

• The business attitudes and language necessary to gain sponsorship & exhibitor buy-in

• New approaches and creativity for financing and organising association events

• Use new tools and methods of acquiring sponsors and exhibitors

• Change your approach to sponsors and exhibitors

• Develop new financing models for association events

Showcasing Your Talents:

Attracting Sponsorship

Whoever said that if you

wanted something in life

then you have to go and

get it was not far wrong.

1. Has your association adopted any initiatives recently as regards diversity & sustainability?

2. Has your association added any new member benefits over the last two years?

3. Has your association added any changes to your major event in the last two years?

Showcasing Your Talents:

MONEY

pragmatic choice

Sponsors

• Language of business

credentials ▪ experience ▪ facilitiesstaff ▪ commitment to quality

reputation ▪ guarantee

• More important to

Sponsors than PRICE

Host “Vendor Days” on facebook & the ACS Network where we feature sponsors & exhibitors for active discussion

Innovative Marketing pieces

You have to WOW them, but without breaking the bank

CREATING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

• Through Innovation ( Technology/ CSR and Sustainability)

• Through Creativity ( New products and new emotions)

• Through marketing alliances (Having Sponsorship Ambassadors)

• Through communication and visibility (efficient marketing across mediums)

28%

Average revenue that executives and business travelers estimated would be lost without in-person meetings with clients

77%

Customers who require or prefer in-person meetings

81%

Corporate executives who believe that a slow economy calls for more contact with clients,not less

Is your headset on backwards?

Harvard Business Review

Survey of over 2,300 Harvard Business Review readers concluded that 95 percent of business (corporate) people said they believe that face-to-face meetings are key to success in building long-term relationships, and 89 percent agree face-to-face meetings are essential for "sealing the deal."

The average business in the U.S. would forfeit 17% of its profits in the first year if it eliminated F2F opportunities. It would take more than three years for profits to recover

Business Travel ROI

$1US invested in business travel drives…

$12.50 US in revenue…and...

$3.80 US in profits

WHAT BENEFIT CAN I GET FROM YOUR EVENT THAT I CANNOT GET FROM ANOTHER ONE?

Branding your event..

• What is your BRAND?

• What is your trademark?

• What is in it for me?

Are you a source?

Half the challenge is selling the flowers, not arranging them.

It’s the image you project before & after you create the design

Talk business

notlogistics

Linda Pereira – International Meeting Industry Consultant

1. Identify what makes you unique

2. Contact former customers

3. Reward repeat customers

4. Publish a company newsletter

5. Support a cause or project

6. Develop a positive public image

7. Offer quality guarantees

Back to basics

NEGOTIATE

2. Unconventional & irreverent

• Constant creative renewal is required

• Fresh & memorable

• 3D street art, projections, buskers…reverse pickpockets, ‘happenings’…

• Free demonstrations

• Posters by local artists

• Graffiti Jam

Results

rate of return in experience centre area

increased by 160%

Top Five Best Tips for Attracting Sponsorships

#1: Remember That Sponsorships are Partnerships

#2: Acknowledge What Your Sponsor has done for you

#3: Guarantee Sponsorship Category Exclusivity

#4: Do Research Before Approaching a Sponsor

#5: Communicate Openly and Regularly with Sponsors

LINDA’s TIPS

1. Don�’t sell too cheap.

2. Request a realistic amount of money.

3. Run the event like a business.

4. Don’’t beg.

5. Talk the meeting as it pertains to increasing the sponsor’’s business.

6. Add value to the package.

7. Use the sponsors as a carrot billboard.

8. Generate exposure for the sponsor.

9. Know the difference.

10. Don’’t promise what you cannot produce.

11. If you can’�t talk business, or you can’�t write an effective letter, or you can�’t develop a proposal, or don’’t understand selling, you must hire someone to do it for you.

12. Research the potential sponsor.

13. Networking is not about who you know…

14. Mass mailings don’’t work.

15. Develop a relationship with the your sponsors.

18. Involve them in the planning of the meeting.

19. Put it all in writing.

20. Once you have made a commitment, the sponsor’’s needs come first.

So…

Produce it...

Shout about it,

Create a buzz,

Make it easy,

Make it rewarding,

Make it accessible,

Make it worthwhile

...and they will buy in!

This has been a Memorable Networking Moment…

Linda Pereira

PCO

& MI Consultant

linda@cplevents.pt

SPONSORED BY: