Why Your Blanket Sponsorship Proposal Is Garbage

Many people think sponsorships are as easy as generating one good proposal and sending it out to thousands of potential sponsors. But the fact is blanket sponsorship proposals are like trying to put out a grease fire with a super-soaker.

Not only isn’t it efficient, but with grease and water, well, that is just a bad situation in the making. Let’s take a look at five reasons blanket sponsorships don’t work.

1. No Two Companies Are Alike

What one company needs, the other may not. Company A might have a hole in their advertising budget to fill, while the other is just looking for a great marketing strategy to invest in. If you offer the same thing to both companies, they aren’t getting their needs met and will immediately decline your proposal without much thought.

When you focus on their individual needs, you are much more likely to get positive results and cash in hand.

2. Generic = Garbage Can

There is no pop or pizazz to your proposal. A generic proposal is a red flag to a sponsor because to them you are not showing them how a partnership with you will truly benefit them. It shouts “gimmie, gimmie!”, instead of ‘let’s build a great relationship and reap the benefits together.”

By tailoring your proposal for each company, you show your thoughtfulness and ability to stand out from the crowd.

3. When You Assume…

When you assume all companies have the same needs, you completely discredit their motivations. Every company has different missions and goals, even if they serve the same market – or even have a similar product.  The bottom line is this: if you are not concerned with what a company needs, why should they bother with what you need?

4. Rocky Reputations

Once you have submitted a blanket sponsorship proposal to every company you can think of, you automatically get the bad reputation that comes with it. Don’t think that company execs and competitors aren’t talking to each other. Once you are found out, you will have to work twice as hard to get in front of decision makers.

So take the time and create individual, customized requests. In the long run it will be easier to take the time to craft a proposal that works for each company rather than try to make up for the sour taste you put in their mouth with a blanket proposal.

5. How Would You Feel?

Put your feet in the shoes of the decision maker who gets your generic proposal. What if you got this proposal from someone else? If you are really honest with yourself, you will see it probably doesn’t fit with your vision and is no where close to the past sponsorships you have awarded. Not to mention, there is nothing special about this proposal and the ideas aren’t even creative. You are just being used for your money. What would you do?

Sponsorships are great to have, but they do take some work to make possible. Take some time and craft each proposal with a little creativity and individuality. Your efforts will pay in the end.