by Mike Brooks, www.MrInsideSales.com

One of the oldest and most used smokescreens in the book is the, “I need to think about it” objection. So many sales reps struggle with this one because they think the prospect isn’t saying no, and so they don’t know how to respond to it.

Unfortunately, what many of you have found out is that your prospect actually is saying no – they’re just saying it in a way that makes it difficult for you to handle it. Well that will end for you today. By using the scripts below, you’ll see if your prospect really does need to think about it, or if he/she is blowing you off. Believe me you want to know now so you can save yourself weeks of chasing and begging a deal that will never close.

The following five scripts were taken from my Brand New Book of Phone Scripts due out next month (look for Jeffrey’s announcement of it soon), and I encourage you to begin using them whenever you get this objection/put off.

Also, if you would like to learn proven techniques and scripts on “How to Handle the Price Objection,” then sign up for Mike’s free Webinar next Tuesday, August 31st. Space is limited so see the bottom of this article for the link to sign up today! How to overcome the “I need to think about it…”

Response #1:

“_________, whenever I tell someone I need to think about it, I usually mean one of three things: 1 – I’m not going to be a deal for whatever reason and I just want to get them off the phone, 2 – I kind of like the idea but I’m going to have to find the money or talk to my partner, or something else is holding me back, and 3 – I really like (more…)

How to ask for and receive sponsorships for public seminars and events

by Monica Wofford, CSP

Jim wanted to venture into public seminars for his business. He had heard it was a great way to fill a room with eager participants and buyers and also that he could get sponsors to cover all his expenses. He had compiled quite a lineup of potential sponsors and was feverishly working his own personal network of business contacts. He approached them all with the same idea: “This is going to be a great event and we would love to have you as a sponsor!” The responses he was getting ranged from “send me some information” to “we just don’t have the budget.” It was disheartening, frustrating, and getting closer and closer to his seminar date. It was beginning to look like he was going to shoulder the bulk of the expenses himself. If that was the case, he was going to be in trouble. He had not been focusing on having paid participants in the room while he was working on sponsors. It was getting more and more difficult and he was actually considering cancelling the event if things didn’t improve immeasurably very soon.

Have you been in Jim’s shoes? Have you worked on getting sponsors for your public seminars or events and found it was way more work than you thought and frankly not as fruitful as you would have liked? There is a way to acquire sponsors for your event. There is a way to ask, timelines to consider, and value to provide them before you even make the first request. Increase your success, and that of your sponsors, with the following tips and guidelines.

Plan Your Timelines WAY Ahead of Time

If you have waited too late to bring sponsors on board, you will have less value to offer them, so plan ahead. Conferences and public seminars usually work best when marketed 8 to 12 weeks out. That means that your sponsorship efforts need to take place 12 to 16 weeks out, or more. If you are seeking big name sponsors with legal and PR departments, you will want to begin even earlier. One organization required us to sign an eleven page contract for logo use and took twelve weeks to finally cut the check, but the name recognition was powerful for our event. Other timelines and dates to consider include: When do your flyers or direct mail pieces go to print? When do your workbooks go to print? When will you send your first marketing email? Each of these items will have your sponsor logos in them and you

will need confirmation from the sponsor before you can insert any logo.

Build Relationships

It is far easier to pick up the phone with someone you know and have worked successfully with, in the past, than it is to make a cold call to a potential sponsor. Organizations and corporations are approached daily with sponsorship requests and if you sound just like everyone else, you are likely to never get that call returned. If, however, you have built up a solid, proven relationship, in which you have provided value, you are more likely to get an audience from a potential sponsor, who will actually listen to what you have to say. These relationships take time and sometimes even if they know you, they will have to say no. The key thought is put more time in building the relationship than you do in asking for the sponsorship.

Provide Value Beyond “It’s a great event!”

Speakers tend to focus the value on what we will provide the participants, or in some cases “How wonderful we are.” Sponsors care far less about how great you are or even how great your content will be. They are most concerned with the value of their dollar and the potential ROI of your event to their bottom line. Consider developing a specific target market and then talking with sponsors who have an overlapping target market. Consider outlining on one or two documents exactly what sponsors get for their investment: radio ads, newspaper ads, x number of flyers distributed, billboards, premiere signage or ad placement in your workbook, category exclusivity etc. All of these are additional areas of exposure and value for your sponsor. Also, determine if you are willing to share with the sponsors your contact list of potential and paid participants. If your sponsor will receive ten thousand names from being involved in your event, they are more likely to consider buying into the sponsorship as it may cost them less than it would to buy this list elsewhere. Consider and remember and share value for them and you may find they are far more interested.

Do What You Promise

One of the fastest ways to keep sponsors away is to sound like an amateur. Second fastest way is to make many promises you cannot possibly keep. Do not promise twelve hundred participants if this is your first event and you have no proven track record. You are still testing market receptivity and unless you tell a sponsor this, you risk them asking for a refund or worse, sharing your tarnished reputation with their colleagues. Be open. Be honest and be conservative. A sponsor is more likely to stick with you if you promise 100 participants at your event and three times that are actually there. In the sponsorship arena, that old saying of “under promise and over deliver” rules, particularly now.

Some will tell you that sponsorship seeking is a numbers game; that you should call, call, call and make them feel foolish if the potential sponsor doesn’t see the connection or value. Nothing could be farther from reality. Sponsors want to be involved in the community. They have a budget set aside for these types of events usually, but they also want to be associated with quality organizations and reputations that will enhance their current customer perceptions in the market. Not everyone you ask will say yes, but all should be treated with the utmost respect, given plenty of time to decide, and given more than you promised. Sponsors can help your event be more successful, as long as you remember that your goal is to help them be more successful, too!

About the Author

Monica Wofford, CSP is

the CEO of Contagious

Companies,Inc. Several

times a year she conducts The Contagious Confidence™ Conference for Women with sponsors such as Office Depot, The University of Phoenix and State Farm. Visit www.contagiousconferences.com or reach Monica atwww.contagiouscompanies.com or 1-866-382-0121.