Getting corporate sponsorship for your event is more than just getting the money to cut down the cost of production for your event.
It is also about convincing your potential sponsors that being a part of your event is a fertile investment that would yield plump profit for them.

All it takes to do this is paying attention to certain details that would make the possible sponsors see you as a serious minded business partner and not just someone begging for funds.

Know Your Event.

It is essential that you define what your event is about. What is the purpose of the event? Is there a particular message you intend to pass? Is it an awards ceremony or an evening of relaxation?
Determine who your target audience is. The information will set the pace on how well you do on the sponsorship radar.

Target The Right Company

It does not matter how creative a spin you put on it, if the target audience, mission and value of your event is not in line with that of the company that you approach, you would not get what you are asking for.
If you are organizing a children’s party, approaching a liquor company would not be a wise idea. It would however, be easy to get a beverage production company like Cadbury or Nestle interested in offering to sponsor the party.

Draw Up A Sponsorship Proposal

A well packaged proposal presents you to the company as efficient, detailed and serious. It should contain every information that the company will need to deliberate on to make their decision. A good proposal should generally have the answers to these questions:-

{a} Who is the organizer?
Let the company know who you are and what your mission and objectives are. If you have an organization, explain what your primary goal is and why you feel that this event is the way to achieve it.

{b} Give details about the event you are organizing.
Bearing in mind that you have done your research well on the company, tell them who your TARGET AUDIENCE is. This demographic should fall in line with the target consumers of the company. A liquor company will be easy to convince to sponsor a concert with young adults as the attendees.
If this is not your first event, you should put in statistics and pictures of your past works to show your capabilities.

{c} What will the company benefit?
This is the most important question to answer in your proposal. Companies sponsor events for three basic reasons;
1) To enhance the company’s reputation and image {Especially if the event falls within their Corporate Social Responsibility}
2) To generate publicity, high visibility and media coverage.
3) To provide the company with a focal point for marketing among target audience.

With these three reasons in mind, you should be able to show clearly, what need of the company your event will meet.

{d} By what methods will the sponsors target the audience?
Are you going to have advert spaces in your programs for them? If there are souvenirs, will the company logo be placed on them? Will they have a chance to speak at your event or present an award?
Be very clear on what you are offering. For a media house, you could offer to give free seats or tickets to a paid event.

{e} What are you asking for?
You have to be clear on what you want from a particular company. Some would not offer money but will be available to help with the event organization. It will be wise to research on the sponsorship history of the company. That way, you know what their company policies approve of.

{f} What is the assurance of profit?
Justify the level of assistance or cost that you are asking for.
Can you guaranty the audience that you are targeting? What publicity methods are you employing to make sure your target audience do attend the event? You should be able to balance out the cost and benefit for the sponsoring company.

Extras

Other important tips would be to know your competition. Event planners are constantly on the prowl for sponsors, what makes your event more attractive than theirs?

Also remember that each proposal must be customized to the taste of each company that you approach.
One key point to note is that companies need time to go through your proposal and hear your presentation before they make a decision. Some companies would take as much as six(6) months or even more before making a decision. Try to find out the policies of the company and submit your proposal early enough.

After the event, whether a company responded favourably or not, always send a thank you note. Also attach to that, pictures and reports on how well the event turned out. That could turn the table in your favour if and when you do send them another sponsorship proposal.

This is good stuff! Thank you.

Rocktation: This is good stuff! Thank you.

Glad you found it useful

Thank you for this post, today, its very useful for me.

I like this! Op, thank you.

@Op very useful post.