• Survey
  • Book Becky to speak
  • The book: Small Town Rules
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Finding local conference sponsors

By Becky McCray

Do you have conference sponsors? Are companies willing to pay you to attend a conference and represent their brand?
The awesome table
The Awesome Table at SOBCon ’09,
an expensive but well-worth-it conference.
Becky McCray, Neenz Felaefine, Paul
Merrill, and Sheila Scarborough.

In some fields, it’s considered common practice. In other fields, it’s practically unheard of. I remember hearing legendary former Texas Governor Ann Richards speak, when her tour was sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. So sponsor relationships come in all sizes.

There are several guides out there to finding these kind of sponsors to send you to a conference. My recommendation: Want to get Sponsored? You’d Better Be Sponsorable by Peter Shankman. He covered how to create an effective pitch statement and an example of providing value to your sponsor through blogging and other promotion.
But what if you could work with local business? How would your approach need to be different?




Why local companies are a better bet for sponsors

Your local community is full of businesses capable of affording sponsorships. Your local network is probably where you have your strongest connections. You know more local business leaders than you do national corporate leaders. And you can help a local business more directly than you can most national companies.
Local businesses are less interested in you giving them blog posts or promotion at the event (especially at a national event that might not even be near their market). But you do have something they are interested in: information.
Offer your local sponsors the benefit of what you’ll be learning at the conference. You might share it with them by doing a presentation or consultation with their team. Maybe you can do a presentation to a civic group on their behalf, extending that sponsorship into the community. (I’m betting your local sponsor would be happy to bring you as a guest speaker to their Rotary meeting.) Find a way to share something of the knowledge you’ll be gaining or to gain attention in the community.

Sit down in person with the potential sponsor, and talk through what they need and what you can offer. Find a way to benefit both of you. There is no short cut. You have to dedicate the time to find the right exchange of value.

Thanks to Todd Jordan for helping to refine these ideas.

Next week: Not finding conference sponsors? Sponsor yourself.

New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Downtown is your town’s core: How to make your case - February 22, 2021
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020

February 10, 2011 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, planning

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Adele McAlear says

    February 10, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    Becky, The exchange of money for information is exactly what I offered last year to attract sponsors to offset the cost of attending SXSW (where we met in person for the first time.)

    Other things I offered: I videotaped sessions that my sponsors were interested in, then transcribed the video so that the content could be sliced, diced and searchable. I also went out of my way to meet people that were pertinent to my sponsors’ businesses and provided a report of those conversations and their contact information. I did an executive summary of the experience, relevant to my sponsors’ needs, and had the whole thing (1 1/2 inches thick) spiral bound. I burned the video to DVD and sent that along too.

    The sponsors were impressed with the results. So much so that one of them is sponsoring me again this year :)

    My only advice when you are seeking more than one sponsor is to make sure they are not competitors. Complimentary businesses in the same industry work best.

    (And, my thanks also go to Todd Jordan who last year encouraged me in my quest to find sponsors.)

    See you at SXSW!

    Adele

  2. Becky McCray says

    February 10, 2011 at 4:40 pm

    Adele, you went above and beyond for your sponsors. Not only did you give them good info, but you proved to them that you took your responsibility seriously. Great work! Thanks for sharing that real-world experience.

Trackbacks

  1. Getting your money’s worth from conferences says:
    March 18, 2013 at 11:15 pm

    […] Finding local conference sponsors. How to work with local businesses to sponsor you to that big event, and what is in it for them. […]

  2. Not finding conference sponsors? Sponsor yourself says:
    March 19, 2013 at 11:03 pm

    […] week, we talked about finding conference sponsors from your local network, working with local businesses. Today, let’s talk about being your own […]

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2021 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in