If you’ve been a member of our Raise a Dream community for any time, you may have heard us talk about the importance of customization and personalization to sponsorship relationships a lot.
You have read our blogs, articles, and emails where we write about avoiding generic sponsorship packages and the old school “gold, silver and bronze” tiered approach. These are quick giveaways to a potential brand partner that you have not done your research, built a relationship with them, or taken time to discover their needs or how to support their goals.
The more that you can do to honour an authentic relationship and find ways to give the “personal touch” (from the first connection through to the fulfillment of an agreement), the more you will stand out and develop long-term collaborations.
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Sponsorship: The Importance of the “Personal Touch”
Here’s another reason to think about those personal touches you can apply to appreciate brand partners and sponsors.
Voicemail messages, phone calls, and in-person visits are a powerful way to say thank you to your sponsors, collaboration partners, funders, and project champions. In fact, sending those quick and personal messages can help you stand out alongside all the other sponsor seekers. A well-thought-out voicemail message (we suggest writing your message and practising it) lets your brand partners know they matter to you.
Drop by their office with a card or some photos of the project that they supported. Going out of your way is remembered!
Sponsorship and community investment staff spend a lot of time on the phone and being pitched to. Imagine picking up the phone to simply hear a positive message about how their support made a difference in someone's life.
No ask, no hidden or ulterior motive.
With all the emails and social media notifications we get (combined with the amount of time we spend our devices), it’s no wonder why the personal touch means so much.
Become a Thank-You Card Champ
I remember several years ago snding a thank-you card to a community investment staff of a company I was building a relationship with. The community investment staff member spent about 30 minutes on the phone with me, and I sent a thank-you card by mail thanking her for helping me understand their brand, their priorities, and what matters to them. She emailed me to say that in four years, she had not once received a thank-you card.
What?
Are you kidding me?
This is a big national brand that does a number of sponsorships… How could it be that no one had sent a thank-you card to the representative that helped pull things together?
Little Actions Can Have Big Results for Sponsorship Relationships!
Appreciation and gratitude are important elements in relationships.
Every action you take shows a potential brand partner what you are like to work with. Make sure they are left with the right understanding of you.
If you need help to understand the sponsorship process and our 7-step sponsorship model, download our free ebook.
Until next time, remember that appreciation and gratitude also requires us being kind to ourselves, too. 😘