Lori A. Manns With Quality Media Consultant Group LLC

Intro: [00:00:03] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by on pay. Built in Atlanta, on pay is the top rated payroll and HR software anywhere. Get one month free at on pay. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Lori Manns with Quality Media Consultant Group. Welcome, Lori.

Lori Manns: [00:00:42] Thank you, I’m so happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, I’m so excited to catch up with you. For those who don’t know, share a little bit about Quality Media Consultant Group. How are you serving folks?

Lori Manns: [00:00:51] Well, we are a business consultancy firm specializing in advertising, marketing and sales solutions to help small business owners grow and scale their businesses for maximum impact and revenue.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:05] And today, we’re going to talk about a topic that probably not a lot of small business people consider as a go to move at first. And you’re saying maybe they should and that is sponsorship. Can you talk about what that is and how entrepreneurs can leverage that?

Lori Manns: [00:01:21] Absolutely. You’re absolutely right, Ali, because a lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners don’t realize how big of an industry sponsorship really is. It’s 25 billion annual dollars are spent in the world of sponsorship each year. And a lot of times we think of like the natural things for sponsorship, like sports teams and entertainment concerts and things like that. But they’re major corporations, Fortune 500 corporations that work with entrepreneurs and small business owners all throughout the year. And so sponsorship is basically selling the exclusive rights to a company to partner with your organization or your small business in exchange for media. It could be anything. It could be media that you give them. Like if you have advertising on a platform, you could also exchange for signage, you could exchange for digital assets. There’s so many things that you can add in your sponsorship arsenal that a sponsor may be interested in. And so that’s why I like to talk about this topic as a possible revenue stream for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:47] Now, if somebody says, Hey, that sounds interesting, what would be some baby steps they can be doing today to make their company or service or platform more attractive to create these sponsorship partnerships?

Lori Manns: [00:03:04] That’s a great question. One of the things that I always tell my clients is to increase your brand awareness, and that is because most corporations do not need us to help them get the word out about their businesses. But they do have initiatives that they want to penetrate in their target market and they want brand loyalty. And so as a entrepreneur who’s interested in working with sponsors, if you have penetrated your target audience and created brand awareness for your company and you have some engagement, whether that be through social media or whether that be your website or whether that be a blog or podcast or whatever it is that you have that you utilize to create brand awareness for your company, then that is an asset to a sponsor. It shows that you already have a audience that they can tap into and potentially get some brand loyalty through you and through a partnership with you. So that’s the first thing work on your brand awareness.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:17] And then how do you even identify the right person in the organization to have these conversations with? Is there a director of sponsorship in companies or is this an advertising function or a marketing function? Like who is the person that makes this buying decision?

Lori Manns: [00:04:33] Well, that’s also a great question. It’s going to depend on what it is that you’re trying to get a sponsorship for. And so there are many departments within a corporation. For example, if you are. A small company or an entrepreneur, and you are a human resource consultant and you work with businesses to help them get their human resources department up and running. Well, then you want to talk to somebody at a corporation who’s in the human resources department or possibly supplier diversity. So it just depends on what it is that you do. And what it is that you’re trying to get a sponsor to fund as to who you would talk to within that corporation. So that’s why you need to work with a professional consultant and coach like me. So you could be trained on precisely who the person is that you want to talk to, what you need to say to them in order to be attractive to them so that you can position yourself as an asset and show that you have some synergy with that company and with their goals so that you can demonstrate that alignment and they would be more attractive and attractive to you.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:56] So what’s your backstory? How did you get into this line of work?

Lori Manns: [00:06:01] Well, I spent 19 years, almost 20 years in radio sales and marketing, and I worked for two stations in the Atlanta area. One was Cox Media and the other was CBS at the time, and CBS is now Odyssey. But I sold radio advertising and also digital assets because we had the Internet and streaming and live streaming as well. So selling radio advertising and digital assets to major corporations gave me the experience to know how to navigate the world of sales as it pertains to sponsorship. And when I became an entrepreneur in 2009, I decided that this was a topic that a lot of small business owners, especially the micro business owners and solo entrepreneurs, they had no knowledge of. And so that’s why I wanted to educate them about ways that they could partner with local companies in their area, as well as corporations, so that they could develop a revenue stream that would really help them grow their businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:21] Now, you mentioned that one of the key points is to emphasize brand loyalty over brand awareness on behalf of the enterprise sponsor partner. Are there any other kind of do’s and don’ts that you would recommend a entrepreneur or a small business kind of taking advantage of when it comes to building this kind of sponsor package? Is it a one size fits all or is this something you’ve got to kind of customize for every conversation you’re having with an enterprise level sponsor partner?

Lori Manns: [00:07:54] Well, I believe it’s something that deserves customization. I wouldn’t go in to one corporation with the same pitch that I would go in with another because you actually have to do your homework to develop that sponsorship proposal based upon what their unique needs are. And you don’t want to have a canned sponsorship proposal that you send out because they truly may not be attracted to that. And then again, they may. It just depends on where they are in terms of their goals and initiatives. So one of the things that you can do is to. Always have some recommendations, testimonials and case studies that you can provide to a sponsor to demonstrate your expertise in the area where you navigate. So whatever industry you’re in, whatever area that you represent in your business, whether it’s a niche or whatever it may be, you must have some case studies and testimonials and recommendations from satisfied clients and or partners that you have collaborated with in the past to demonstrate your reputation, your work ethic and all of that good stuff so that you can show your credibility and show your level of expertise. Because once again, a corporation, they have the brand name behind them, they have the big dollars behind them. And they also have a lot of you know. Protocol procedures and whatnot that they have to follow to be able to justify why they worked with a entrepreneur like yourself or a small business like yourself. So if you have some of that due diligence that you’ve done to demonstrate your expertise, your credibility and your reputation in the marketplace, that’s always going to put you above some of the folks that don’t have that.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:02] Now, what about in terms of the deliverable back to the sponsor? What are some of the expectations they’re going to have from us if they’re going to if there is to be a good, healthy partnership?

Lori Manns: [00:10:16] Well, those deliverables can vary. And again, the basics, you know, people always think, well, we’re going to put their logo on our marketing assets. Well, they don’t so much care about that. That’s like gravy. But you really have to get in there and and do a real analysis as to what’s going to move the ticket for them. Are they looking for return on investment or are they looking for penetration in the market just to help them promote a new program or a new initiative? So it just depends upon what they’re looking for as to what deliverables you should be promising them. But of course, you know, one of the things that all sponsors like is media. They like to get their name out there in the public and make sure that they have some penetration in the media.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:11] And then when an entrepreneur is working with you or do you work primarily with entrepreneurs to help them get sponsorships, or do you work with sponsors helping them match up with the appropriate entrepreneur?

Lori Manns: [00:11:25] I work with entrepreneurs to consult with them about how to get sponsors so that they can establish relationships and get sponsors on their own.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:36] So are you doing that via, you know, kind of hand-holding, consulting to help them individually or is this group or do you do events?

Lori Manns: [00:11:45] I do events and group as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:49] So how does it work? Do you have an upcoming event or is there can you explain what what a session or a workshop looks like with you and your team?

Lori Manns: [00:11:59] Absolutely. I have an event coming up called Sponsorship Sales Secrets Live, and it is September 23rd and 24th. And it’s a virtual event where I teach entrepreneurs how to get sponsors and grow their business.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:15] And then what? Like, what can you expect by attending this event?

Lori Manns: [00:12:20] Well, they are going to get practical tools, tips and strategies for how to sell. The first day we do sales mastery and the second day we focus on sponsorship selling, and they’re going to get actionable strategies and tools that they can implement that day and learn how to go out. And first of all, who to target, how to sell, how to overcome objections, how to get to the right decision maker. There’s a ton of information that I share over this two day event to help entrepreneurs get sponsors and grow their businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:56] And then the two day event. How many is it? An hour a day? Is it all day? Like, what’s the.

Lori Manns: [00:13:02] Well, it’s Friday and Saturday, September 23rd and 24th from 10 to 3. So it’s 4 hours. We take a break at noon and then we come back at one. So it’s 4 hours of great content. It’s a working seminar where I also give you some assignments and I do some hot seats and basically go over your sales pitch and your sponsorship pitch right there on the spot. So you walk away with knowing how to put that pitch together.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:35] And you said there’s still space available if somebody wants to attend.

Lori Manns: [00:13:39] Absolutely. There’s still space available. And I would love for everyone to check it out at sponsorship sales secrets.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:49] Sponsorship sales secrets dot com. And if you go there, you can check it out. And again, like, do you have like how how sponsor ready do you have to be is that somebody that could just be considering this or is somebody that’s totally new or it’s for veteran sponsor people?

Lori Manns: [00:14:08] Well, sponsors want to work with you at any stage as long as you can demonstrate what I said before, some brand awareness and credibility and interaction with your target audience, whether you’re just starting out or whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur, you can pitch sponsors. And so it’s the gamut because when I first became an entrepreneur, I did not have a track record. I had only been in business a year, but I was able to still get sponsors. So it’s not something that only experienced entrepreneurs can can use that as a revenue stream. It’s for anybody.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:50] So if in your career thus far, is there a story you can share, maybe a client you worked with that you helped get a sponsorship and take their business to a new level? You don’t have to name the name, but maybe explain what their service was and how they were able to build this sponsor package to attract the sponsor.

Lori Manns: [00:15:10] Yeah, well, I’ve had clients in various industries throughout the years that I’ve coached and consulted with. I had one entrepreneur who had a nonprofit that focused on financial literacy for young people, and she came to this event and just by the information that she learned while she was there, she took what I shared with her and what I taught at this very same conference that I’m talking to you about today and was able to go out and get a Fortune 500 company to sponsor her nonprofit. And that happened within just a couple of months after she left the Sponsorship Sales Secrets Workshop that I am referring to.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:00] Well, congratulations on all the success again. Could you give the coordinates for your firm if they want to learn more there and this event.

Lori Manns: [00:16:09] Yes my firm is quality media consultant group and you can find us at WW W quality media consultants dot com. And also this event is called Sponsorship Sale Secrets Live. It’s taking place September 23rd and 24th virtually. And so that means you can join from anywhere and you can register at sponsorship sales secrets.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:38] Well, Laurie, thank you so much for sharing your story, doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Lori Manns: [00:16:44] Thank you. Lee Canter, you are awesome and I just love Business RadioX and you guys do a great job. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:51] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Intro: [00:17:00] Today’s episode of Atlanta Business Radio is brought to you by on pay. Built in Atlanta, on pay is the top rated payroll in HR software anywhere. Get one month free at on paycom.