"𝑭𝑬𝑬𝑫𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝑮𝑰𝑭𝑻" - Doug Villhard

In life and in business, there are times when you will look to ask others to partner with you. A sponsorship, a partnership, a collaboration…asking a business or individual to work with you can be a nerve-racking process.

Thankfully, we have Steve Cooper at First Mid to help us prepare students for these kinds of conversations!

During badge business, CEO students are given very little advice/assistance. They look to partnering with businesses to offer sponsorship spots on their badges to help cover the cost.

𝐇𝐎𝐖 they ask and 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 they ask for is also completely up to them.

Bobby Marcus and Zach Cohn bravely volunteered to represent their class as they stepped into a conference room with Steve and asked for a badge sponsorship. Their conversation was live-streamed for the rest of the group and together, with Steve, the entire group was able to talk through and digest 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧.

A few key takeaways from this meeting:

• Present a clear ASK. Follow through on whatever you promise to your partners
• Present a clear GET. What are these businesses getting in exchange for what they are giving?
• It is OK if a business says “no!” Be prepared to walk away. Don’t look at this as a failure, sometimes it just is not the right fit.
• Communication with your team is key. You have to have a clear game plan so everyone knows what is being presented. Send in your decision makers!
• Know ahead of time where your line is. Understand your value and the value in what you are offering.

We would like to shout out Bobby and Zach for their willingness to use their conversation and constructive feedback as a learning experience for our entire group and for Steve Cooper for taking the time to help our students gain the gift of this valuable experience!