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Finding sponsors for an event or campaign can be difficult, tedious, and monotonous, but it doesn’t have to be. Lee Wiggins, a successful entrepreneur and business man, has been on both sides of the fence and has a few tips on how to make it easier. Over the last few years, Lee Wiggins’ company, GPD Investments, has sponsored multiple events and organizations. These include meetings at the Dubai Race Club and children’s charities. Lee Wiggins has also had the responsibility of gaining sponsors for his own events. Here are a few of his tips on how to find willing sponsors: (1) Be Prepared Lee Wiggins notes that you need to be prepared from the very beginning when talking to potential sponsors. They will likely want to know who your audience is, so make sure you can provide specific details. The more concrete the better. Lee Wiggins likes to let potential sponsors know how many people will be attending the event and what their demographics should look like. Determining your audience will also allow you to seek out sponsors who may have a specific connection with the customers. (2) Have Sponsorship Levels If you do not have different levels of sponsorships, you are missing out. Lee Wiggins likes to offer a variety of sponsorship levels so as not to shut anyone out. Different levels allow people to fit the sponsorship into their specific financial situation. Lee Wiggins makes each level just enticing enough to encourage sponsors to reach up. (3) Meet Face to Face While letters, phone calls, and emails have their place, nothing beats a face to face conversation. Lee Wiggins prefers to make all requests for sponsorships in person. It’s easy for a company to throw away a flyer they receive in the mail, but it’s much harder for them to kick you out of the door. It is amazing what a personal connection can do. (4) Drip, Drip, Drip Lee Wiggins refers to following up with potential sponsors as ‘drip campaigns.’ He calls them this because of the way he communicates with these sponsors on a regular basis. Lee Wiggins touches base with sponsors every couple weeks, like the slow drip of a faucet, to make sure they don’t forget him. (5) Keep Sponsors in the Loop Once Lee Wiggins has secured sponsors, he continues to cultivate his relationship with them. If you can build a strong relationship with sponsors, it is likely you can secure their support in future endeavors. http://www.grantspace.org/Tools/Knowledge-Base/Funding-Resources/Corporations/Corporate-sponsorship
http://www.idealist.org/info/Nonprofits/Dev2#Step1
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