First, think long and hard about why you are considering it and what you hope to achieve from your association with the event.

Is your motive business or altruistic? Each reason is likely to demand a different return on investment. Are you interested in a one-off event or should you seek longer-term exposure?

Are you prepared to invest over a period of time to allow the relationship to build? Have you acknowledged that there may be further costs to pull the most out of the sponsorship such as trophies, staffing, and production of merchandise?

When you receive any sponsorship proposal, examine it very closely.

If a written document is not forthcoming, insist that one is prepared to clearly state what is expected from both sides of the relationship. It will also quickly indicate if the sponsored party is prepared to give the sponsor value for money or take the investment and forget you.

The relationship should be one of equal benefit.

Is there a clear business basis for the sponsorship and does it support your overall company values and communication strategy? Are there better ways to achieve your goals at a similar or smaller cost? Ensure that the initiative complements your company brand, ethos and reputation and reaches your target audience. This latter point is probably the most important, but most often over looked.

A low cost opportunity to sponsor an event which has little interest to your natural customer can be an expensive waste of money, unless your strategy is to sound this out as a new market.

Finally, avoid conflict with any other sponsor products or services; ask for confirmation that you will be the only sponsor from your business sector.