How do you sponsor an event and get personal introductions at the same time?

So how can sponsoring help you to be visible to the business community and gain the right contacts? It is actually quite simple, you need to find events that are visible to the audience you are interested in.

Find out:
Whom you wish to do business with
Which sports they like

What community events they like Where the upper management families live
and their community involvement

The events that they watch are the ones that you should sponsor. For example, if you want to target the business community in Pleasanton and you find that most of the executives belong to the Rotary club, and that the club has a number of community events for which they are always looking for sponsors, then you should take the initiative to either join the Rotary club (you need to be invited by a member) or find out how you can offer a sponsoring role.

Once you offer the sponsorship, you may find that members of the club are more open to talking with you and helping to support your business in the community. All service and community organizations are looking for sponsors, you just need to find the ones that give you the visibility that you need in the community. You want the business leaders to be aware of your involvement, and also be aware that you are open to their fund-raisers for good causes.

Whether you want to believe it or not, money does talk, as long as the money is used appropriately. You should not sponsor things that you do not believe in! Only sponsor and help others where you have the same philosophy and the same interests. Nothing is worse that sponsoring only for the glory and not for the belief in what the organization does. Organizations are also looking for straight donations.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com