In the sponsorship industry there exists anger. Over the last 35 years in this sector, I have seen it lots. And to come really clean… I have exhibited it on occasion. And when there is anger, there is regret but often never full repair. Let me illustrate the types of scenarios where I have witnessed rage and anger so you can try to relate:
- Early on, I worked for the radio broadcast of the Calgary Flames Hockey Club. I was a newbie. I was working with a veteran member of the sales team. We had completed several discovery type sessions and planning sessions etc. At this point a ton of hours and effort had been expended. We were at the prospects office to go through the pitch and hopefully walk out with a signature. At the start of the meeting the prosect said he was looking forward to the presentation but wanted us to know he had bought the Calgary Stampeders (CFL team broadcast – our direct competitor) that morning but still wanted to see the proposal. The lead … the veteran from our station got up, called the prospect an idiot, how could he waste our time like this, and he hoped that his entire campaign with the Stampeders failed and then stormed out. I stood there dumbfounded. I apologized, left the proposal and said I would be in touch. I learned a lot that day about managing anger and frustration. I stayed in touch with the prospect and eventually 2 years later had him in the Flames broadcast… lol he refused to work with that “veteran” of the station.
- Occasions where a sponsor cancels or does not review after they have said everything was great. We can get very angry and perhaps say things we might regret
- When internally in your organization people want money but do not want to give of assets or “true partnerships” and they feel entitled (in the sponsorship person’s mindset). They feel the money should come but they should not have to give up anything even though they have endorsed the organization should be in the sponsorship game! You lose your temper and mind because this was a HUGE deal. And perhaps your job…
- Or if you are a brand and the new CMO comes in and kills the programs you worked so hard to make great ROI deliverables but they don’t like live theatre of cricket or whatever.
Too often we get angry and that leaves scars that never quite heal. Here is a great story or analogy. I cannot remember where I originally saw or hear it… but it is worth repeating…
There was once a young boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to give him a bag of nails and a hammer. He told the boy that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
On the first day, the boy drove 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news. The father then suggested that the boy pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. Verbal wounds can be just as lasting as physical ones. It won’t matter how many times you say ‘I’m sorry,’ the mark is still there.”
Let’s all try and control our temper. There are enough scars in our world already, inside and outside of our sector. Let’s do a better job with this that we can control.
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