If you knew the easiest, most effective way to secure support from your potential sponsors, would that help you in your job? HCEA has developed Sponsorship Solicitation Guidelines designed to do just that. The guidelines were developed by an HCEA committee that included exhibit and marketing professionals at some of America’s leading medical companies as well as healthcare association meeting organizers.

1. Develop a listing of what sponsorship opportunities are available, identifying those for which commitments already have been made (include for each as much additional information as possible, for example, why, where, when and applicable cost);
2. Use plain 8 1/2” x 11” paper (non-colored paper, to allow adequate copying quality for distribution to the different people/departments it may need to be distributed to);
3. Assemble ALL requests/opportunities into one packet;
4. Make sure to cover all areas - not just Annual Meeting (e.g. advertising, CD-ROM, in kind requests should be included as well);
5. Identify special milestones (e.g. association’s 50th Anniversary) far in advance;
6. Establish one primary contact (e.g. association Exhibit Manager, Jane Doe); additional copies should/may be forwarded to other identified individuals and noted on original to primary contact.
7. Recap/summarize to each company all the sponsorships from that company in the previous year;
8. Identify any commitment deadlines (dates);
9. Identify how sponsorship will be acknowledged.

Our panel recommended that associations provide the above to all prospective sponsors no later than June of the year preceding the calendar year in which the sponsorship is needed. This enables sponsors to incorporate the requirement into their budgets.