Music Funding 101
How Long Does It Take To Get The Money?
This is the million dollar question (pardon the pun) that bands have, especially since few band members have several years of commission sales experience (which is what a sponsorship campaign essentially is: a commission sale for the band.) For those band members that do have such experience, you can apply your sales cycle experience to sponsorships, based on the price point you are seeking. For band members without commission sales experience, here are some guidelines:
Sponsorships under $5,000 USD made with "interested individuals" can take just a few weeks if the band is the right fit. This is because there is a certain mental acceptance that people have when the price is below this amount. Also, most credit cards nowadays can charge this much, so it can become a quick "purchase" when the decision is made (if you can accept credit cards).
From $5,000 to about $12,000, made with interested individuals, takes four weeks or more. At this point, credit cards are rarely used, so a check or money transfer must be set up (which takes thought and possibly a trip to the bank). And if the sponsorship is with a company owner, then another four weeks might be added to give him "time to go over the business implications."
$12,000 to $25,000 takes twelve or more weeks. For an interested individual, this amount becomes a sizable portion of his income, and must be given some thought. For a company owner, it is a good sized advertising expense. $25,000 to $50,000 should be given at least sixteen weeks, and any higher dollar amount should be given twenty-six weeks or more.
Like any sales process, however, the amount of time is going to be directly tied to the amount of outside commission sales experience that the member of the band has who is talking to the sponsor. A lot of musicians are very anti-business, and even anti-people, and the above timelines are probably not going to apply if they are this way. To these musicians I say, read every single TalentFunding.com article three times, and/or get a funding rep.
On the flipside, however, band sponsorship is a relatively new opportunity, so even a bad salesperson might make an early sale since the sponsors don't want another sponsor to take their "pick." Either way, the way to improve the odds of finding the best situation is to be in contact with as many prospects as possible. That way you are not stuck working with someone that really doesn't fit your situation.
Bands should not approach the sponsorship-seeking process as "all or nothing." It will be tempting for many bands to put all their current shows on hold until some money from a sponsor is received, which will then "solve all the problems." Bands should not do this; instead they should set aside a certain number of hours each week that they can talk with prospective sponsors, and they should be able to keep up this activity for at least the next FULL YEAR. That's right: Bands should approach the sponsorship search process with a commitment that they will continue searching for at least a solid year.
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