Tip: Kill the Clutter

Before I get started, I must go back to my educational upbringing and let you know that my training - and good fortune - came from a Vocational High School in Massachusetts where my trade specialty was in Industrial Design (which centered on everything to do with creating art and graphics).

That knowledge has been such a payback for me throughout my career. This may sound strange to some of you but in all my years of taking on start-up franchises and fixing others, I have never permitted the corporate sponsors to purchase "specific locations" for signage and or publications. Yes, we have always given higher consideration to those that are investing top dollar. Where you get hurt is in laying out your sponsor’s messages.

I’ll use my sport of hockey as an example: we recently sold...

… Recruit and date first before presenting the Marriage Proposal. The old saying, never kiss on the first date.

… Avoid only calling on a client, despite what your relationship may be, if it’s continually just to “Sell an Idea” or “Ask for a Favor”. The client will get tired of your voice. Like a real life marriage, you need to keep your partners off balance. Keep the relationship interesting and fun for both parties!

… If you are in position to do so, one of the best (trade) deals you can make is with your local Cookie Design Company. They can developed your sports team uniform (or business logo) cookies. For the price of a small ad or some tickets, you can secure 15-20 deliveries over a year. Perfect opportunity to surprise a client when something special happens, welcome a new...

Jim Loria offers up several simple, but often overlooked tips to making a successful sale:

In order to achieve a high level of success, salespeople have to manage a multitude of different relationships. Some will be static, some will grow and some will break down. It is up to the salesperson to set relationship priorities and to decide which relationship to advance and which relationship to put on hold.

Some salespeople get addicted to a relationship to the point that they ignore the potential for closing the sale; other salespeople get so addicted to the thrill of closing that they stop caring about the customer.
It’s important to recognize that you have to alter your attitude according to the individual’s personal characteristics. Scan the prospect’s office for clues that rev...

Going back to the mid 1980's when I was first a ‘baby’ in the sports marketing world, we developed a unique niche by packaging the team’s community programs to our sponsors, a practice that most businesses had never before seen nor been asked. Back then, most sponsorship proposals were about as vanilla as you could get, including the usual mix: a program ad, game tickets, a shootout promotion and a giveaway item.

We took life’s everyday jobs and integrated them into our partnership packages. We created special monthly fundraising events that brought our players out from their helmets & uniforms and into the community with charity projects like "pumping gas", "delivering pizza", "waiting restaurant tables" and "bagging groceries" just to name a few.

I can remember once proposing ...

One of the best sponsorship ideas I've ever created involved Kraft Foods in Kansas City, MO years ago. Their goal was to sell product. Mine was to sell tickets. My young daughter, bless her heart, one day, spilled a box of Macaroni & Cheese out of our kitchen cupboard and out of that we created a "Noisemaker Night" promotion!

The innert elements to the sponsorship worked this way: We brought in the Food Bank as the outlet to receive all donations after finding out from my research that this group worked very closely with Kraft in their community initiatives. We secured the retail partners for shelf space and media partners for supplying free promotional advertising. Each element was included into the package. The event SOLD a "Semi Trailer" load of Macaroni & Cheese boxes over a two...

It's tough to get a job in any industry right now, let alone the sports and sponsorship industry. One of the many questions I’ve constantly received over the years is “what advice would you give me to get a job in the sports business?” Have you thought about how you can backdoor your way in?

If you are one of those currently looking for a job, don’t discount the impact that you can have by working with a charitable organization. I would venture to say that if you research the top ranked non-profit groups in your city, each more than likely has a working relationship with a pro (or minor league) sports team as a fundraising anchor!

Here’s the secret: Many of those sports team organizations are also paying close attention to the management and staffs of those non-profit groups. A...

WRITING AND PRESENTATION SKILLS.
PROOF CHECK.
FIRST APPEARANCE.

Whether you’re a professional salesperson or a newcomer in the field, the above stated qualities are just some of the important essentials to GETTING YOU TO "YES!"

What makes a meal so delectable at a restaurant? It's the “presentation” of the meal placed on the dish! In sales, it's the presentation, the knowledge of your product and your look that can help cement the deal. But even if you look like a million at your presentation and there's a glaring type-o or two in the proposal, there's a possibility your package's net worth could be reduced if you don't pay attention to the fine print!

I learned this early on in my career when I was presenting a sponsorship package and this particular meeting was with a fe...

Have you ever sat down and thought about how you generate new sales leads? Here are a few of my personal experiences, as a sports team executive, that can be tailored to any rep in the sales business...

Invest in your local city newspaper. Browse through articles and advertisements. Great way to pull up new businesses and learn of the top contacts for that company! Every paper will also have a business section or at the very least, dedicate one day each week to discuss the hot business topics in your local market area. You’ll learn who the movers and shakers are, those that received job promotions and the new executives coming to the city. Some communities will actually publish a local Business Journal, which doubles your opportunity to find new leads!

Check your local newspaper...

Key Learnings is an ongoing collection of insights and stories from thought-leaders within the sponsorship industry. Today's key learning comes from Jim Loria who has over 30 years of sports management experience and for the past 10 years as served as President of the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede.
Everything starts from your first appearance.
Dress appropriately (shine your shoes and clean your fingernails). You'll find that being a success no matter the profession, starts with your very own mental makeup.

Sales work and athletics are tied together: they both can play on your nerves and they're exhilarating! The key is to be consistent over a long period of time versus great for that one moment. Same in the sales world. What good is it when you've sold a million dollar sponsorship...