We’re excited to welcome Chris Chisman as our new Senior Business Development Manager at Brightelm.
Chris has joined us at an opportune time in the run up to some key events in the calendar year, and offers us some valuable insight into sponsorship strategy, partnership development, and how he supports association events.
We asked him a few questions about his background and how he’ll be involved in the association events community in 2025 and beyond:
What experience are you bringing to the Brightelm team?
I’ve worked in sales and business development in various industries for the past 10 years. In the latter half of the decade, I’ve specialised in sourcing sponsorship for international networking events across the globe.
Throughout my life, I’ve always been a matchmaker; introducing people with shared interests or common goals. As it turns out, you can build a career out of it!
How do you think your appointment benefits our current and future clients?
One of the biggest lessons of my career has been seeing the value in building relationships geared towards repeat business and developing true partnerships between organisations. My aim is to build our client’s contacts within their industry and truly understand their customer’s challenges, helping me to recommend the right package that delivers each sponsor’s goals.
What upcoming events are you looking forward to and think offer valuable opportunities?
I’m looking forward to attending Memcom for the first time May, I’m excited to discover more about the association and membership community and gather insights from other professionals in the sector.
If there was one tip you could give to non-sales event professionals about effective sales, what would it be?
We know how much work we put into creating our sponsorship packages and creating value for sponsors. However, not every feature of your well-designed package is going to resonate with each customer.
I try not to pitch until I have heard about their particular pain points, marketing goals and key aims at events. This way, I can focus on the packages or features that will best contribute towards the particular customer’s success, not spend time on features they find irrelevant or currently achieve elsewhere.
What’s the strangest sales request you’ve ever had?
I once sold a sponsored networking dinner held in the ‘famous’ Viennese Hat Museum. A candlelit dinner in wine vaults whilst wearing a 200-year-old military shako was an interesting experience…
How do you know when it’s time to give up on a prospect and move on?
If I’ve correctly researched a potential customer, I know that the event’s audience is relevant for them so they will definitely get value from attending. Therefore, if they decide not to participate due to budget, resources, time constraints etc., I don’t consider it a “no”, it’s simply not right for them right now.
Put that prospect on the back burner, find out when they’re planning their budget for next year and get in touch with them a month beforehand to ensure your event is on the table for their discussion.
What challenges do you believe event professionals should be prepared for?
Looking to the future, event calendars are becoming more competitive every year, no matter the industry. Coupled with shrinking marketing budgets, existing and potential customers have more choices and fewer funds or resources available.
Therefore, as industry professionals, we need to create innovative packages, curate engaging stories and share statistics that help our events stand out from the crowd and ensure sponsors return year after year.
Could Chris or any of the team help with your association’s next event? Get in touch