Ahead of the new ESA Sales Certificate, starting 10th January 2017, Course Director Cat Hawkins gives us some insight into the specifics of the course.
The ESA Sales Certificate is an 8 seminar, modular course that runs across 4 mornings. Here I want to dive a little deeper into the seminars, and take a look at some of what we’ll be covering.
During the first morning (seminars 1 & 2) we’ll be looking at establishing a framework. Often, although not always, an individual’s idea of exactly what sponsorship is will be based on their experience to date and will generally be linked to how they’ve come into the role.
So, for example, anyone who has come from an advertising / media sales role may focus on the benefits of sponsorship to deliver brand value, brand awareness and brand preference. Someone from a philanthropy or fund raising background may perceive sponsorship more in a CSR context, so we’ll be looking at this.
We’ll also touch upon how sponsorship integrates into the marketing mix, and examine what sponsorship could, should and can be, in order to help define your own USP’s that can be incorporated into a proposition.
The third and fourth seminars start to become more specific, and we’ll look at how to identify a good fit between the prospective sponsor and your organisation. In part, it’s about what tools to use, what to research and how to bring together a prospects’ list before learning how to articulate that concisely in the sales approach.
We’ll look at tailoring proposals, and how to mold certain aspects in order to make them bespoke, and showcase the research work that has been done in order to establish the rationale between fit, and the business that you’re approaching.
Seminars five and six tackle two of the biggest challenges that sellers face – data and pricing. We’ll be thinking about how significant data has become in the selection of sponsorship opportunities, and examining what steps you may need to take in order to establish a rounded data policy. Data is now a sponsorship asset, so compliance becomes very important.
In seminar six we’ll be looking at three different pricing techniques, and the steps to take in order to audit tangible and intangible benefits, which will allow you to calculate a specific value for your sponsorship proposition. This all goes towards building an effective pricing matrix that can be used, and shared, with your sponsor.
The final two seminars look at how to effectively tap into someone’s mindset. It’s externalising everything we’ve been learning through the previous weeks. What techniques can you use to secure a meeting? How do you go about the best practice approach phase? And how do you close, utilising techniques for closing down objections and moving into the final contract phase?
There is also a final assessment, which takes the form of a written and oral response to a dummy brief. This assessment will be delivered in front of a panel of 3 and will be a good test of all you’ve learnt, giving you the opportunity to apply the techniques in a real-time environment.