Score Your Sponsorship Program Like a Sponsor Would

See your event through a marketing director’s eyes and find out exactly where you’re losing deals.

Here’s something most show organizers never think about.

Every sponsorship prospectus lands on the desk of a marketing director (or other decision-maker) who has information from two or three alternative events sitting right next to yours.

That person is not reading your prospectus in a vacuum. They’re comparing. They’re scoring your event (whether they realize it or not) against a set of criteria that determines where their budget goes.

And here’s the uncomfortable part: the way you see your sponsorship program and the way that marketing director sees it are likely two very different perspectives.

That gap between what you think you’re offering and their perception? That’s where lost revenue lives.

This self-scorecard is going to put you in that marketing director’s seat. You’re going to score your own sponsorship program using the same criteria that sponsors use to make buying decisions.

It takes only a few minutes, requires uncomfortable honesty, and will show you exactly where your program is strong and where it’s costing you.

At the end, you’ll get a personalized, downloadable PDF with a breakdown of your program’s strengths and weaknesses, plus action steps to start shifting sponsor perceptions and opening the door for stronger deals.

Scroll down for the Scorecard!

 

The Sponsor’s Decision Framework: Key Criteria that decide where the money goes

Before you answer the questions, you need to understand what you’re measuring. When a marketing director evaluates your trade show sponsorship opportunity, they are (consciously or not) running it through five filters:

  1. Audience Relevance: 
Does this event reach the exact buyers I need? Not “a lot of people.” The RIGHT people.
  2. ROI Measurement Potential: 
Can I take results back to my leadership team and prove this was worth the spend? Or am I just hoping for “brand awareness” and crossing my fingers?
  3. Competitive Landscape: 
Why should I sponsor THIS trade show instead of the other two in my industry? What makes this one worth more of my budget?
  4. Sponsor Experience & Opportunities: 
Do the event organizers view me as a partner in the event vs simply an ATM machine? Are they easy to work with?
  5. Ease of Buying: 
How simple is it for me to say yes? Or is this going to be a drawn-out, confusing process that makes me want to just go with the event I sponsored last year out of convenience?

You’re going to answer three questions in each of these categories. No rounding up. No giving yourself credit for things you’re “planning to do.” Score based on what’s true right now, based on the materials and processes you currently have in place.

These questions reflect the actual decision-making criteria that drives sponsor buying decisions. You’ll get an overall score plus a breakdown for each of the five categories, along with real-world perspectives.

Okay … let’s get started!