Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament (Part 3 of 3)

Before reading on, if you haven’t checked out part 1 or part 2 of this blog post series, we encourage you to do so now!  For those of you returning, welcome back and we hope you find the final portion of Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament helpful!

Offer Sponsorship Incentives
Add bonuses and incentives once you’ve gained your sponsorships!  For example, you may want to consider giving your sponsors, or even your players, a discount if they’re able to assist you in acquiring additional sponsors.  For your big title sponsors, use cross-promotion incentives (i.e. include a special offer from them on your website if they agree to promote the event on their site).  Distribute literature about your sponsors and consider the option of offering multi-year discount agreements (i.e If you agree to be our beverage sponsor for the next 3 years, we’ll give you an x% discount off of your total sponsorship package cost).  Consider rewarding your most loyal sponsors by giving them exclusive privileges and perks based on the number of years they have supported and contributed towards your event – or rewarding them with category exclusivity — for example, if a vodka company is your beverage sponsor, give them the peace of knowing that they’ll be your one and only beverage sponsor for the entire tournament.

As you can see, there are many different ways to increase sponsorship sales by offering perks, bonuses and rewards … so get creative!

We thank you for taking the time to read our 3-part blog series on Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament.  If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to reach us via telephone at 800-827-2249 or send us an email.  We look forward to hearing from you and hope that the insight you’ve gained through this series of blogs will aid you in selling more sponsorships this season!

Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament (Part 2 of 3)

For those of you who haven’t read Part 1 of Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament, we encourage you to do so before pressing forward.  For those who already have, welcome to part 2; we hope you can pick up some valuable pointers!

Teach Your Committee How To Adequately Sell
As silly as it sounds, it’s vital for your everyone in your committee to be on the same page and know the appropriate sales process. Be sure to set sales goals for each member and start selling early! Be sure to use multiple methods of contact, such as personalized letters, telephone calls or better yet,  personal visits to your potential sponsors. Instruct your committee to ask open-ended questions, have an objective prior to each sales presentation, listen carefully to what your sponsor has to say, implement the necessary follow-up steps and last, but not least,  follow up!

The 3rd and final part of Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament will be posted next week, so stay tuned!  And as always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to give us a call at 800-827-2249 or email us any time!

Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament (Part 1 of 3)

In this day and age, it’s surprising how many golf committees don’t utilize sponsorships in a way that could get them the most bang for their buck.  Which is why Hole In One International is here to help give you some great tips on selling sponsorships at your next golf tournament!

Offer a Vast Variety of Sponsorship Options
Sure, chances are you’re working on securing hole and title sponsors… but were you aware of all the other types of sponsorships that are out there?  Beverage sponsors, donation sponsors (who contribute to your raffle/auction items), trade/barter sponsors, contest/event sponsors… the possibilities are endless!  It’s important that after you build your sponsorship list(s) that you also build a prospect list and categorize them appropriately — you’re obviously not going to want to approach your favorite locally-owned deli to inquire about them being your Title Sponsor… although you might want to consider having them as your lunch sponsor!  Having issues finding prospects for sponsor leads?  Be sure to consult with individuals who are already advertising locally in your area, previous event sponsors, area chamber members, current suppliers, etc.  Internet research is also valuable, as you’ll gain insight as to any new companies in your area that have opened up.  Be sure to list out all of the benefits and features of each package in detail — sponsor signage is a great addition, as it will give your committee an added opportunity to sell more sponsorships!

There’s more where that came from: stay tuned for part 2 of Selling Sponsorships At Your Golf Tournament for more helpful tips.  If you have any further questions, feel free to give Hole In One International a call at 800-827-2249 or email us any time!

7 Tips on Marketing your Golf Tournament

Feeling frustrated or slightly disappointed in the turnout at your last golf tournament? Don’t fret! Here’s 7 of our favorite tips for marketing and advertising your golf tournament!

1. Set a goal! When planning your golf tournament, it’s important to identify and write down specific goals that you would like to achieve. And while you’re at it, consider setting up a multi-year plan so you can track your progress!

2. Know the famous phrase “Location, Location, Location“? Well, it applies to golf tournaments too! To help your tournament stand out, make sure to take the location into careful consideration.  Don’t hesitate to scope out multiple golf courses/golf clubs until you find the one that suits the needs of your business/organization’s golf tournament best.

3. Having celebrity guests at your tournament can be a real plus — not only is it exciting for all of your players and other attendees, but it makes you, as a tournament director, look more credible.  And dont worry, you don’t necessarily need Kim Kardashian or Tom Cruise on your guest list … depending on your community, local “celebrities” such as news reporters, radio show hosts, city and state officials will be just as big of hit with your tournament participants.

4.  Indentify who will be on your committee. Here is one situation where the more hands you have, the better (And don’t forget to think in terms of who can help you with achieveing your goals…)

5.  Get social!  If you haven’t already, this is the year to create a presence on the big social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.  These pages take very little time to set up and  they’re a great way to not only help advertise and recognize new sponsors but also attract new, younger golfers to your event as well!  When it comes to Facebook, encourage people to ‘like’ your event page by offering them a chance at a sweepstakes prize (i.e. “Like us to win a free driver!”)  These are all great ways to freely advertise… and with services like PayPal, you can even allow your players to register online through your website!  Talk about simple!…

6.  Sell It! Identify your potential players and sponsors and get out there and SELL it. (Read more about this here on our blog on March 16th at 11am PST).

7.  Sweeten the Pot …  Adding the chance to win multiple giant prizes is an effective tactic for generating buzz about your event. Adding a $25,000 putting contest or giving every player the chance to win a new car is sure to help you attract attention to your event.

 

If you’re interested in learning more, don’t hesitate to contact us at 800-827-2249 or send us an email!  We’d love to help make your next tournament a success!

Fun Ways to Qualify For a Million Dollar Shoot Out

If you plan on holding a Million Dollar Shootout, then you’ll need to pre-register/pre-qualify your players prior to the event.  Deciding the best course of action to take when it comes to qualifying your players can be quite confusing at times.  After all, there are a vast number of ways to go about doing so.  So how are you supposed to know which method will be most beneficial for your company or organization?  Let’s take a look:

Fundraising
If your goal is to fundraise, then the simplest way to qualify players would be to hold a raffle.  Depending on how big your company or organization is, you can charge anywhere from $1 to $2 upward toward $20 or $50 for an individual to enter a raffle and have their name drawn for a shot at $1,000,000.

Another way to help fundraise would be to have a silent auction.  The individual(s) with the highest bid received at the auction will then have the opportunity to participate in the Million Dollar Shoot-out.

You could also hold a merchandise sale and have the top 1-2 consumers who have spent the most money be the qualifiers!

Skills-based
Skills-based qualifiers are another great way to narrow down your players.  Having a longest or straightest drive contest or closest to the pin contest will help narrow down your players and determine who will be able to participate in the Million Dollar Shoot out.

If you’re having an actual golf tournament and the Million Dollar Shootout is to take place after the tournament, another option would be to take your first/last place team members and bring them back for the shot.

For added fun, be sure to offer consolation prizes to the other participants so they don’t leave empty-handed, whether it be a t-shirt, a sleeve of golf balls or perhaps a pro shop gift card where players can purchase merchandise or a free round of golf at the golf course!

For more ideas on how to qualify, be sure to visit our website!  You can also give us a call at 800-827-2249 or send us an email.  Happy qualifying!



6195 Ridgeview Court Suite A | Reno, Nevada 89519