Club Plan Template Strategic Planning

Bowls New Zealand Incorporated

CLUB PLAN – THE CLUB

Club Plan – Sponsorship

Good sponsorship is critical to the financial viability of your bowling club. With declining traditional membership clubs need to maximise revenue from all other sources, more particularly sponsorship, grants and casual bowls.

How well you do it will directly impact on:

- how well your club balances its books for the year

- Whether you are cutting into any financial reserves or topping them up

- Whether you are moving your club forward or running it down

If your club is one that is having trouble funding greenkeeping equipment, coaching aids, basic maintenance etc then you need to be urgently working on developing or refining your club sponsorship plan, in addition to looking at your other processes (membership plans, grants applications etc).

Let’s face it … if your club’s revenue is too little for too long the choices quickly become limited. For this reason a number of bowling clubs are currently having to consider amalgamation or closure.

“Doing nothing is an option, but it is not a viable long term alternative”

For Grants Applications and Casual Bowls please refer to the respective club plans.

Some of the existing sponsorship issues

- Many clubs have never really put much effort into securing sponsorship in any structured way

- Clubs take sponsors for granted and see sponsorship as more of an annual donation without much obligation on the club

- Clubs often don’t see things from the sponsors point of view

- Clubs don’t actively manage the relationship with their sponsor

- Club members often do not support the club sponsors even when they have the opportunity to do so

Sponsorship is not a one way arrangement … its give and take … each party needs to know what responsibilities they have and need to feel they are getting value from the relationship. Sponsors have choice … there are plenty of other places they can put their money. Too many sponsorships are lost after one season because a bowling club does not pay attention to the basics.

What to Do

1. Get a few thinking people together … a Sponsorship Sub-Committee

Seek out people in your club who have an appreciation of businesses and who can see things from the sponsors’ angle.

Have A Plan!!

2. Think what your club has to offer a sponsor

Make sure these are things your club can deliver on - don’t make promises you can’t keep.

Usual opportunities are:

· Signage … in and on your club rooms, green surrounds, on membership cards, on coasters, on sponsors flags, and sponsors logos on club uniforms

· Advertisements … in your club handbook, in the club newsletter, on the club website, on scoreboards, fliers or display cards on tables

· Product display eg vehicles on tournament days, or static display in the clubrooms

· Tournaments … either as primary sponsor with naming rights, or as a secondary sponsor

For each of these category areas think about what any sponsorship would be worth in dollar terms… on a scale from more valuable to less valuable. Think of ways your club can package more exposure for more valuable sponsorship arrangements, eg a significant tournament sponsor may attract a package of … tournament naming rights, website advertising, scoreboard signage, green signage and a media management plan designed to maximise sponsor exposure

Don’t undersell the value of what you are offering but at the same time try to ensure your sponsor is getting value for money. You want to have them back year after year so try to find a good balance.

Sell sponsorship for renewable periods eg if a scoreboard sign is sold for say $300 + GST for a three year period it ensures an ongoing revenue stream. Businesses are quite receptive to this approach … they see just $100/year (+ GST) as an affordable way of exposing their product to the bowling club members, and you’ll get another $300 (plus inflation + GST) in three years time. It is even more palatable for the sponsor when you tell them you provide the sign, and arrange the signwriting at your cost (approx $50).

Hint – Price your sponsorship at GST exclusive … why miss out on 12.5%?

3. Think who you might target as a potential sponsor

Identify a list of possible local businesses within your club members and in reasonable proximity to the club. Think also of associated suppliers who may see your club as a worthwhile place to market their products (clothing suppliers, sports shop etc).

Try to avoid having sponsors in conflict with each other eg more than one car sales firm, rest home etc. This is especially so for the bigger value (eg tournament) sponsors and perhaps less important for lower value sponsors eg scoreboard signage

Be open minded about the types of sponsorship you might be able to secure … some sponsors may be happy to give Cash while others may be more inclined to Product or Commission. Everything has a value to the club.

Identify what your club hopes to get from each sponsor and where the sponsorship should fit in your overall plan eg product could be so many kegs of beer a year, cash to give out as prize money for tournaments, commission from sponsors based on the amount of product your members purchase from them etc.

4. Develop a Proposal

This is really important for the more significant value targeted sponsors. The quality of the content and how it is presented needs to be very professional to stand out from clubs competing for the same sponsor’s dollars.

Key elements of a good proposal:

· Punchy and positive

· Makes the sponsor feel they are dealing with a competent club which will give them value for money

· Professionally presented eg colour/photos/bound, no spelling mistakes or typos

Proposal Contents:

· Section 1 … about your club (location, number and buying power of members, club profile, achievements, upcoming opportunities for exposure)

· Section 2 … sponsorship opportunities available, including tournament programme

· Section 3 … actual sponsorship (cost/product/commission) club is seeking

· Section 4 … benefits to sponsor

· Section 5 … club commitment to the sponsor

· Section 6 … Cost to sponsor (+ GST)

· Closure … thanks for considering proposal and in anticipation of a positive outcome and an ongoing relationship

5. Proposal strategy

Presentation of the significant sponsorship proposals should be done in person. Make an appointment with the key decision maker. Don’t post it or walk off the street and expect to get due attention.

Where a more formal proposal is not being presented you should still leave the sponsor some background information about the club for them to weigh up (see attachment ‘Why Sponsor Sample BC?’). If they haven’t made up their minds straight away it gives you a reason to ring them to see what they thought about the information you left.

Also … Don’t be too easily rejected … If a potential sponsor is disinclined to be a primary sponsor or to the level you are seeking they may be quite happy to be a lesser sponsor.

As a last option they may be willing to donate product for club raffles etc. Suggest to them if they’d like to make a donation of some form of product they’ll get a mention during the prize giving and be listed at the club as a donating sponsor … often a business will come up with some form of giveaway.

Follow up any such presentation with a letter summarizing the outcome and thanking them for their time and contribution to the club etc. Start as you mean to go on!

6. Manage your Sponsor

6.1 Appoint a liaison person

Once you have secured a sponsor ensure you appoint a suitable member of your club to look after them. Their role should be to contact the sponsor regularly, preferably in person. The contact does not have to be much, perhaps a quick call to say ‘Hi’, and to update them on what the club is up to. The frequency of contact will vary on the sponsors needs, maybe around once a month initially.

Regular contact with sponsors will allow your club to build a relationship over time, provide feedback between both parties and enhance the chance of them renewing their sponsorship when it is again due.

6.2 Involve sponsors socially

Many sponsors would appreciate the opportunity or offer to get involved socially in your club, allowing them a chance to promote their company or product on a face-to-face basis with your members.

There are many ways your club can do this for your sponsor, in addition to inviting them to the tournament prize giving to say a few words and shout them a drink.

Suggestions:

- Invite your sponsor in to your club for a drink, on a regular basis, on one of the

busier club social nights, maybe Thursday or Friday

- Involve sponsors and their staff in a Business House competition, or a twilight evening

for non-bowlers, corporate evening or “have a go night”.

- Allow sponsors to use the club venue for a staff meeting, product launch or social event

… offer your club premises for free and make a profit from food and beverage

consumed during the event.

6.3 Give them feedback

Sponsors like to know the arrangement is working. Ideas for giving them feedback include:

· Club members identifying themselves as bowling club members when supporting that sponsor

· Members showing their membership cards to get further concessions

· Sponsors collecting buyer information for major purchasers

· Collecting receipts from members’ purchases from the sponsor so real information can be provided on the degree of bowlers support .. perhaps have a monthly or annual lucky draw from the named receipts as an incentive

With members’ permission the sponsor may also be able to market directly to members’ home addresses.