One of my Mentor Program clients called me today to let me know the results of advice I'd given. About a week or so after his event, he began a round of calls with clients to debrief. He told me how good it felt to speak with a key sponsor who was really impressed by my client's follow up.
The sponsor also was very pleased with their partnership and shared other feedback – ways my client could improve another component of his event. That led to a conversation about other ways the two might partner on this event next year and on other events the organization produces that the sponsor is also interested in.
Of course, my client is excited about the possibilities of developing this business. But he was more genuinely excited about the potential of this relationship. By just being himself – a warm, caring, generous person – he's easily building his sponsorship business.
And that's how it works with the right partners.
Making that post event call is really important. He hadn't made those types of calls last year, so when it came time to contact sponsors for the 2012 event, he was uncomfortable, unsure, and nervous. But now he has closure to this year's event which already led to the opening of next year's. Most importantly, he created another link on the chain of this relationship.
