How to keep existing sponsors happy

Q from an athlete: What’s something I can do to better stay in touch with my sponsors?

This can apply to athletes, agents, managers, business owners or anyone else who works with sponsorship partners. Keeping your sponsors updated and in the loop is one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for a successful renewal.

A great way to do this is through a ‘Quarterly Update Email’. This is something that you write once per quarter and email out to all of the partners that you work with.

The audience may include:

• Brand partners

• Speaking hosts

• Appearance hosts

• Charity partners

• Product or In-kind partners

• And even people you’re hoping to do business with

Topics you should cover in a quarterly update:

• Recent activations or things you’ve done for your current paying sponsors (these guys get the spotlight first)

• Recap social posts you made for sponsors that did very well.

• Share engagement statistics. Include screenshots. Sponsors will LOVE this level of transparency.

• Share a testimonial that you may have received from a sponsor, company or from a recent event (this shows other companies what they are missing)

• Talk about what’s coming down the pipeline (events, competitions, business plans or even scheduled time off)

• Add any personal notes you want and then sign off with a thank you

These don’t need to be super long or wordy. Keep them brief and to the point. Remember, most people will read this on their phones.

This is something you can do 4 times per year that will have a huge impact on your book of business as an athlete.