| Golf outings are a staple of athletic fund-raising. But are you getting the most out of yours?
Making the Most of Your Golf Outing
If you want to make money on your golf outing, the solution is simply to maximize sponsorship opportunities.
One of the best ways to get sponsors involved is to offer companies a way to get their name and logo in front of your crowd of golfers and, believe me, they will open up their checkbooks.
There are, or course, the traditional tee and cart sponsorship programs. You can expand these opportunities by enabling interested parties to sponsor give-away items (such as shirts or balls), lunch, the social hour, or the post event dinner.
And don't forget about soliciting a title sponsor for the entire event. A title sponsor receives major name recognition, its logo will be on give-away items, and the company receives a foursome.
Determining Pricing and Benefits
How do you figure out pricing and benefits? It depends mainly on what the market will bear, but you can start by looking at your costs. For example, you should always solicit a golf ball sponsor, which allows you to give the participants a sleeve of balls to take home with them. Put the sponsor's logo on the balls and provide the company with a foursome at the event. The cost for the sponsorship is approximately the cost of the balls and for the four golfers to participate.
Obtaining and Retaining Sponsors
A key factor in obtaining and retaining sponsors is to give them more than they might expect. For example instead of using the stick-in-the-ground signs, make an engraved wooden plaque for each of the tee sponsors. Then you can display the plaques at the appropriate tee boxes during the event, then give the plaques to the sponsors to take home or hang in the office. Sponsors love it!
Thank You Gifts
To sow the seeds for continued success, provide both the participants and the sponsors with gifts at the event. In most cases, you can put together a fine gift bag for each participant without spending a lot of money. Major sponsors can receive something for their offices, such as an engraved clock. Smaller sponsors can be given additional golf balls and specialty items.
Thanking everyone involved and providing them with mementos is all part of the process - the process of developing and sustaining sponsors.
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