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REB asked Top 50 Women in Real Estate-ranked agent Donna Etchells about her sponsorship do’s and don’ts. They are pretty straight forward: do stick around after the game; don’t expect the dollars to start rolling in immediately.
There are always people with their hands out looking for sponsorship deals, Ms Etchells told REB, and supporting a club (or similar) in the community can be an excellent way to promote your business in your local catchment area.
But to get the best return you really have to be present at the club as much as you can, she said.
“It’s not just about giving them the money and putting the signs up. The best value is when you are physically engaged within them,” she added.
“Things take time and people need to see that you are there for the long haul. You have to put the time in.”
Ms Etchells’ McGrath Sylvania estate agency has sponsored a lawn bowling club for close to eight years. She says it didn’t show much of a return until “probably the fourth year”, but now the investment is paying off handsomely.
“Along with sponsoring its main tournament, I go there every Thursday night and help them do their raffles. It has cost me a fair bit of money over the time, but now a high proportion of my business comes from somebody who has had some connection with the bowling club.”
She said people need to know you are committed first, and then they will be more inclined to want to support you.
When choosing who to sponsor, Ms Etchells recommended considering two things: values and demographics.
“You have to be quite selective. Your target’s values have to be in line with your own and it has to have the right demographic for your business.
“With its more mature clientele I figure that the bowling club will attract people that at some point in time are probably going to have some real estate needs,” she said.
[Related: Why marketing only goes so far in getting deals ]
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