Its mid afternoon on a dull Thursday in the wild northern City of Newcastle. Just a week away from the NARC Magazine 3rd birthday event. Nearly a dozen of the North East's top Live acts will play to celebrate three years of the North East's serious music press.
Carling & Goldschlager amongst others such as King of Shaves, have all been brought to the table as sponsors (me) and the production looks set to be a turning point in the City as far as 'cool' Magazine events go ( fingers crossed!).
The challenge with any event, in this case Music driven, is finding willing sponsors and partners to support the grassroots/emergent and aspirational end of the event scene. Combine a regional Music title, with the North East ( an all too often neglected region of the UK) and your setting yourself up for a tall order - when looking for those sponsor dollars. However, if you have developed your 'Diamond Dozen' then like me you should be able to attract those important sponsor dollars.
The 'Diamond Dozen' are your key relationships, the contacts whose products and product strategies you most understand and that you have developed 'empathy' with. My particular strength over the last few years has been working with the Drinks industry - so my dozen are made up of key decision makers, Brand Ambassadors, Regional Marketing and Marketing Director level 'Diamonds', who I know, understand and respect - and most importantly they respect me and the work I produce.
Networking is something you either can do naturally as a skill or something you learn. But much like 'active listening ' skills, they need to be honed, and you can always learn something new. Being genuine is the key, getting a business card from a potential contact is easy, but generating a 'Diamond' for your 'Diamond Dozen' is something which takes time, a lot of listening and a lot of 'relationship chatter'.
Understanding the industry sector of your 'Diamonds' is essential, know what their brands are doing, know what their close competitors are doing, and be prepared to compliment, critique and support your 'Diamonds' throughout any industry chatter. Remember to call them, talk about their brand, what they are up to , do coffee, lunch really engage your potential 'Diamonds'. The effort and investment will pay off.
Do your 'Diamond' a favour, what are their interests? Invite them to your events, and make sure you give them as much hospitality at the event as is available. They will remember!
Ok, so now its time to 'mine' the 'Diamond Dozen' - But how and with what?
If you understand your 'Diamond Dozen' you will know what their brands are doing this season ( and next), and you will also understand what 'properties' will be of interest. They key is to get a short presentation and some key breakdowns, demographics and a short overview of the 'property' to your 'Diamond dozen' as soon as you have the property to market. Make sure your email is personal, includes something that links their brand aspirations to the property. Then text them to say you have emailed them something really interesting and would appreciate their feedback.
Now, in these 'difficult economic times' , you might only get one of you Dozen to bite. But once you have one, its always easier to get support from your wider contact base. No one wants to be the first to put themselves on the line, but people are always happy to share the responsibility, consciously or unconsciously.
Finally, remember your 'Diamond Dozen' might also be someone else's, what makes them truly yours is regular contact, a developed relationship and success. Your 'Diamonds' want success just as much as you, share success and your 'Diamond dozen' will be yours!
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