When planning an event, one of the first questions that pop out is how you are going to fund it. Not all event planners have their own established company with quite the marketing budget, so you’re going to have to seek out ways in order to finance it.
Finding event suppliers, however, is a daunting task. Not all proposals get a positive response so expect to have a few rejection letters. Good thing there are a few strategies you can use to attract event suppliers and make your event look worthy of sponsorship.
- Create a Strong Proposal
Landing the right event suppliers is very much like looking for a job. You just don’t go about sending the same generic cover letter to every company — yours have to stand out. What you should bear in mind is that suppliers often get proposals, sometimes on a daily basis, so ascertain that yours has that “wow” factor.
First, describe what you and your company does. What is your mission? Who or what benefits your work? You should also describe your demographic audience and include the estimate of the amount needed. All these should strike a chord with the supplier.
- Sweeten the Deal
Suppliers won’t agree to fund or help with the event if you don’t offer them incentives. The world of event organizing is a give-and-take relationship, so you have to sweeten the deal. Among the things you can offer them are discounts for customers that buy or sign up, freebies, or include the suppliers logo in all your promotional items. You can also offer to mention their company in your emails or blog posts, or during the event.
- Create Relationships
Let’s say you are a noob and don’t exactly have a name yet in the industry you are trying to penetrate. What you can do is reach out to other companies within the same industry and propose a joint event. This way, their suppliers will recognize your brand and will ultimately create a better reputation for you.
- Follow Up
Reaching out to suppliers via email or a call might sound easy, but remember that you may not always get the response you want or any response at all. This is where a strategic follow up is a must need. After your first email, set a deadline in which they are able to response. If you don’t hear from them by that date, send a follow up letter.
Include the original email and add necessary info if you must. Suppliers get a ton of emails, so make sure your info is readily available by the time they notice your follow up email.
