What's Your Point of Pain?
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Does the phrase “where do you hurt” come to mind at all when you think sponsorship? As a property selling sponsorship you need to remember the goal is not to sell what you have, but instead to help the sponsor achieve their goals. (A paradigm shift for many.) This past week I have talked with so many sponsors and companies who are tired of being “pitched” packages. They complain that the properties don’t know anything about them “but think they have the solutions to our woes”.
This is where I say, the job of the property is to determine where the sponsor or prospective sponsor “hurts”. They need to find out what the issues are (sales are low; sales are so high they cannot deliver quality product; they have a PR issue or too many staff or too few staff). No matter what it is, find out where the sponsor hurts. (And sponsors need to tell properties where they hurt to make this work!)
Once you know where they hurt you can build the program with the right benefits and concepts and activation plan from your property to help them stop hurting. It works and everyone wins. So remember, find out where the hurt is and help make it go away!
Brent Barootes is President of Calgary-based, Partnership Group.
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