Running a conference, workshop or event is a great opportunity to generate sponsorship revenue. I watch so many conferences across the country miss out on opportunities. They sell the traditional exhibitor booth, or “presenting sponsor” of a speaker or workshop. Often it is a cost recovery sponsorship where the organization is just trying to “cover the cost” of the lunch, the band or whatever. To me this is crazy!
People usually go to conferences by choice as opposed to being forced to attend. They are related to other attendees by profession, industry, cause or mission. So they are usually a focused group. They pay money to attend. Yes, they pay to be there so they are looking for value and ROI. If I am a brand, large or small, and this audience can be served by my products, why am I not there? More importantly, why is the conference not reaching out to brands and showing them how the event can deliver their audience better than anyone else? I just shake my head!
Let’s look at it quickly. When you run a conference, do the people attending need to provide their own dinners or are they included? If not, wouldn’t nearby restaurants want to reach these people? Wouldn’t the conference location want to entice attendees to host their next event at the same venue? Are there consultants out there who would want to reach this audience? If so, why aren’t they sponsors? What about suppliers such as Xerox, Grand & Toy and so forth?
Why merely sell booth space to sponsors when you can up-sell them to presenting a speaker, offering an exclusive reception, showcasing their products outside of an “exhibit hall” or having the rights to provide an applicable workshop or keynote address? What can the property offer outside of the conference that it owns or has access to?
As you plan your next conference, workshop or convention, look at what you really own. Determine what it is truly worth in the marketplace and then charge for it. Don’t leave money on the table. Get your value and make sure your sponsors receive measurable ROI.
These are just one person’s thoughts. What have you seen?
Brent,
Let me comment on your recent article on making money on a conference. As you know Brent, I am one of the few people with both a fundraising background and I am owner and President of a Speakers’ Bureau. Many conference organizers, in fact most, organize their conference on a break even basis. Too bad! There are ample opportunities to make money on conferences. Too often the Program Committee Chair is forced to accept a lesser quality speaker because they “do not have the funds” to get the speaker they first envisioned to present. As you know, in the speaking business, you get what you pay for. Let me offer a concrete suggestion to conference organizers. Get sponsors for each session. Many companies want to reach out the members of your organization and one of the best, most tangible and personal ways of doing it is allow a session or keynote sponsor to introduce a speaker or to thank them. It works.
Roger Breault, MCS, CFRE
President
Speakers’ Bureau of Alberta©
http://www.speakersalberta.com
Roger,
I wholeheartely agree with you. The issue is that organizers often don’t organize beyond the logistics. They forget that sponsorship can and should be a major revenue channel for them. But their failture to understand this results in a shortfall of revenue and then they cut costs (speakers and otherwise) and run a less than experiential event. We are now seeign many conference organizers now coming to us to undersdtand better what they have to sell and how to sell it, or seeking our comapnies like Sponsorship Connections to sell sponsorship for them. This is a critical revenue channel and it must be tapped for long term success.
Brent, a couple of reasons come to mind why conference organizers don’t think more broadly about their property assets and opportunities to leverage these – marketing/sales inexperience and fear.
While many are good at setting up the logistics and filling in the content holes, I suspect many conference organizers don’t view their conference as a product offering multiple benefits to suppliers, attendees and potential sponsor partners.
Just importantly, there is a formula approach taken to organizing conferences and selling of sponsorships. Stepping outside of the industry norm is risky (or so it would seem). But without some risk, there cannot be greater returns.