Sponsorship can make or break an event. The larger your event is, the more likely you’ll need sponsors to help you bring it to life through funding, products, or services. That said, even the smallest events can benefit from a partnership with the right sponsor.

So, how does sponsorship work? At its core, it’s a business relationship, and a wide range of organisations will sponsor events for various reasons. Media outlets do it in exchange for exclusive coverage or access, venue partners may offer free hosting (this could also mean digitally) for publicity, and prize sponsors may provide products you can use in giveaways. There are also straight-up cash sponsors, who provide money to cover your expenses.

Here are some insider tips on how to approach sponsors for an event and turn those initial relationships into successful long-term partnerships.

1. Sponsorship is a numbers game

It’s natural to focus on that one ‘perfect’ sponsor that is a match made in heaven for your event. But if you’re just starting out and are looking for your first sponsors to make your event viable, you may want to avoid being too picky.

Make a long list of potential sponsors and move through them one by one. Where possible, be direct. Yes, you’re looking for partners to help make your event a success, but you’re also after financial support, so try to make that clear as early as possible. Confusing brands and setting expectations that no sponsorship fee will be involved can risk wasting time, particularly if you’re on a time limit and don’t have months to develop a relationship.

Remember this: “no” is the second-best answer after “yes”. What you want to avoid is a really long, drawn-out process where a potential sponsor umms and ahhs, but never commits. This ultimately wastes your time, because the longer it goes on for, the less likely it is to close. This is especially true if you’re talking relatively small money. Of course, if you’re asking for six or seven figures then negotiations are likely to take longer, but if you’re asking for a few hundred pounds or even a few thousand, it’s likely they know if they can (and will) sponsor pretty quickly.

So push for a “no” if you can’t get a “yes”. Don’t take it personally and keep trying other potential sponsors until you get the answer you’re looking for.

2. Understand value before talking price

Rather than creating specially tailored pitches, it can be tempting to present your list of event sponsorship levels and benefits like a fast food menu. But try to avoid going down this path.

Instead, once a potential sponsor has shown some interest in your event, insist on having a call with them first to understand their objectives. Once you’ve established what they want from the event, how valuable access to your attendees is to them, and (hopefully) more information on their budget and decision-making process, then you can write a completely bespoke proposal.

Ask yourself, “Why would they, in particular, want to fund my event?” and go from there. This makes you look more professional and gives them something they’re much more likely to say “yes” to because it’s based on what they value.

3. Consider their motivation

During that initial conversation, try to establish early on if your potential sponsor’s intention to sponsor is being driven by ego or return on investment (ROI). This will be a big help if you’re wondering how to convince sponsors for an event.

Some companies will sponsor things like sporting and cultural events just because they want their name associated with them. This type of sponsorship is a way of showing the world they’re on top and doing well, so their focus on ROI will probably be limited. More and more though, sponsorship decisions are driven by ROI.

It’s good to understand what the potential sponsor is most concerned with so that you can tailor your pitch appropriately. This should also inform your event sponsorship levels and benefits – that is, what the sponsor will get back in exchange for their money, time, or goods.

When negotiating a sponsorship driven by brand awareness, you should focus on visual impact: how their brand and their name will look at and around the event, how often it will be shouted from the rooftops, and how being associated with your event will elevate them in the eyes of their peers (and potential customers). To help close these deals faster, play on exclusivity and the fact that their closest competitors are also interested.

When negotiating a more ROI-driven sponsorship, you’ll want to focus more on metrics such as social media engagement and revenue from ticket or merchandise sales. Determine how you’ll help them measure their return and what you’ll do to support them in achieving their goals. To help close these deals faster, explain how the value of their sponsorship compounds over time, so the earlier they commit, the better the ROI they’ll enjoy.

4. Timing is everything

It’s no secret that budgets are tight these days. If you turn to a budget holder mid-way through their financial year and ask them to fund your event, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to unless an event is already factored into their plans.

The best time to speak with potential sponsors is when they’re setting their budgets. This is often around Q4 for those who work to the calendar year budgets or Q1 for those working on a financial year. This may be months and months in advance of your event, so bear that in mind.

5. Stand by your event with a guarantee

Events, and particularly new ones, are an unknown quantity – even to the organiser. So asking a brand to commit large amounts of money with no guarantee, other than your best intentions and good word to back up their investment, can easily be a deal-blocker.

Of course, as an organiser, this can present financial issues if you spend the sponsor’s funds and are then asked for money back after your event doesn’t go to plan.

To manage this, set your guarantees on a sliding scale, so you’re never in a situation of giving all the money back. This way, you can manage your costs to ensure you have some contingency budget left over. Or better yet, they could be based on providing free, additional value against the next event so it doesn’t affect the financials of your current one.

Another very successful tactic is to simply factor in the risk upfront by providing a discount off your original pitch price to allow for risk (with no clawback). This can be a win-win as they feel they have negotiated a great price and you know exactly how much money you have to work with.

6. Understand the message

It’s important to remember that sponsors want to convey a message. Perhaps they want to let people know about a new product launch or want an audience to see their altruistic side. Find out what the message is and how you can help them communicate it without being disruptive to the attendee experience.

Often, sponsorships will be easier to clinch with companies that have recently rebranded, launched a new product, changed their senior leadership, or have some other significant shift in brand or strategy that they want to promote.

Once you understand what it is they want to say, you can then help shape your sponsorship proposal around that core message and how it will be best articulated to your audience.

7. Gather data to paint a picture

When it comes to sponsorship benefits, stories are more persuasive than dry facts and figures. Even for decision-makers who care about ROI and metrics, painting a picture with your data will help to persuade them more than simple statistics.

For example, rather than saying, “We’re going to have 100 marketing directors,” try, “Nine in every 10 handshakes you’ll make this evening is going to be with a verified decision-maker at one of your prospective customers,” or, “Together, our attendees are in charge of over £10 million in IT budgets and over 70% are actively looking for a new solution this year.”

Of course, to paint a really compelling picture, you’ll need to gather that data. For newer events, the best way to do this is by asking your attendees key questions at the point of registration, which is easy to do using Eventbrite’s custom questions feature.

You can ask them if they’re actively looking for new solutions, if they’re a decision-maker or influencer, or what their annual budgets are, for example, and then use their answers to persuade potential sponsors that you have their prospective customers gathered together in one room.

Even without specialist event technology, social media can provide a wealth of useful data about the reach of your event and how much your attendees interacted with one another and your brand.

Plus, once you’ve run the event once, you’ll be able to credibly show sponsors that you’ve delivered a successful event before. If you can grab some testimonials, that will go a long way in the future.

8. Don’t forget about those Nos

It’s easy to take a short-term view of your event. But if you’re in it for the long haul and plan on running your event many more times in the future, it’s worth keeping all your potential sponsors engaged – even if they said no to you this time.

In fact, you shouldn’t just forget about them until you’re planning your next event and starting the whole process again. You should actively encourage them to attend your upcoming event and wow them with what a great job you’ve done.

There’s no better proof that you can deliver on your promises (and that they’re missing out) than by having them there to witness it. It could just be the key to sealing a deal for your next event.

9. Sponsorship value extends beyond the event itself

Everyone’s looking for scale when considering how to deploy their marketing budgets. For a small sum, you could reach thousands of highly targeted Facebook users. So how will your event compete with this?

The key is to offer your sponsors some truly amazing benefits. As well as giving them access to a highly engaged, curated audience on the day, you could also offer access to your digital footprint to maximise the value of their investment.

Think about featuring them on your blog, across your social media accounts (consider an Instagram takeover, for example), videos, executive interviews, joint PR, pre-event webinars or taster sessions… The only limit is your imagination.

Pitch them a fully integrated digital and physical campaign and you’re much more likely to get a favourable response than just offering them their logo on a banner at the event.

10. Go the extra mile

Once you’ve gone through the hard work of winning a sponsor, don’t lose them. Turn them into long-term strategic partners of your event.

The surest way of achieving this kind of relationship is by over-delivering on what you promised. For example, don’t just leave them to find their target customers at your event. Find out who their top five prospects are and when they arrive at check-in, introduce them to your sponsor. If it’s not convenient for the prospect to meet right away, find out when it would be and arrange for them to meet at that time. Many virtual hosting platforms even allow for this function at an online event.

This is the kind of hands-on, proactive approach that’ll help your sponsors achieve the ROI they’re looking for – and set you apart from the competition.

11. Get creative with online events

The overheads of online events are generally lower, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t still need sponsorship for your virtual programme. And remember that virtual events now have such a strong presence on the event landscape that sponsors will benefit from reaching your online attendees, too.

Online events give your sponsors the chance to reach a global audience and there are lots of activations you can use to make it valuable for them to fund your virtual event. For example, sponsorship benefits could involve an email package promoting them to your virtual attendees, features on your social media channels, or prime placement on your livestream banner.

Think creatively – shout-outs from speakers, branded breakout rooms, or surprising attendees with the delivery of your sponsor’s products are a few of the more unique ways that creators are giving virtual event sponsors added value.

Setting yourself up for sponsorship success

With these tips, you’ll be well on the way to securing high-value sponsorships for your next event and creating positive relationships with chosen companies. Remember to keep it personal throughout, from writing your pitch to looking after sponsors both during and after the event. Not being afraid of the word “no” and actively fostering relationships with those who turned you down will also give you a good foundation for the future. Finally, choose the right moment to pitch and remember that it’s all about the numbers.

Learn how to write an effective event sponsorship proposal with our handy template.