Handling sponsor requests for custom packages
A prospective sponsor has asked for a package that is not on your list, and someone on the committee has already said it sounds reasonable.
The short answer
Treat a custom request as a change to the approved inventory. Check it against the inventory, the cost of delivery, existing exclusivity and the event purpose, then give the approver a clear choice: accept, adjust or decline.
Nobody should say yes in the conversation. The reply to the sponsor is that the request has been noted and a decision will follow by a stated date.
Why custom requests need a gate
A single exception, once granted, becomes the reference point for the next sponsor. Sponsors do talk to each other, and a benefit given to one can quietly reduce the value of what another already bought.
A gate does not mean refusing. It means each exception is decided by the person with authority and recorded.
Five questions to ask about any custom request
- What exactly is being asked for? Write it as a list of concrete items, not the sponsor's description of the effect they want.
- Is each item already in the inventory, and is it available, or held for someone else?
- Does it touch an exclusive category or a right already promised? Run it through the rights conflict checker.
- What will it cost the organiser to deliver, in money, staff time and programme space?
- Does it fit the event purpose and the programme as the committee agreed it, and does the venue or a supplier have to confirm it?
The three possible answers
| Answer | When it fits | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Accept as asked | All items available, no conflicts, cost covered, approver agrees. | Updated inventory lines and the approval. |
| Adjust | Part of the request fits. Offer what is available, or swap an equal-value item. | What was changed and why, and the sponsor's response. |
| Decline | Conflicts with another sponsor, the programme or the purpose. See declining a sponsor. | Reason, date and who decided. |
What not to do
- Do not create a one-off item that no one has costed or assigned an owner to.
- Do not offer discounts as compensation for a benefit you cannot supply. See managing discount requests.
- Do not promise audience outcomes, such as meetings or leads, as part of a custom package.
- Do not let the sponsor's deadline set the approver's deadline.
Worked example · Fictional example
A request for a private session
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
A fictional engineering supplier asked a professional institute for a closed 30-minute session for its invited customers on the conference day, in a breakout room. The secretariat noted it, thanked the supplier and said a reply would follow within five working days.
Checks found the breakout room was already allocated to a member workshop, the session would need a facilitator from the organiser's team, and no exclusive category was affected. The approver offered an adjusted version: a 20-minute slot in the open programme with the same speaker and a reserved table in the exhibition area. The supplier accepted, and the two inventory lines were updated.
Use this yourself
Custom package request form
Complete one form per request before anyone replies with a decision. Attach it to the sponsor record.
- Sponsor and date of request:
- Request as a list of concrete items:
- Matching inventory lines, and their status (available, held, sold):
- Exclusivity or rights conflicts found:
- Delivery cost: money, staff time, programme space:
- Dependencies on venue or suppliers:
- Fit with event purpose and programme:
- Recommended answer (accept, adjust, decline) and reason:
- Approver, decision and date:
- Reply sent to sponsor, by whom and when:
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- Requests are rare and the approver is easy to reach.
- The inventory is current and shows what is held or sold.
- The team can cost a request in an afternoon.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Requests keep arriving and each one is decided differently.
- Several sponsors have rights that could conflict with an exception.
- Delivery depends on venue and supplier decisions that are not confirmed.
Want a standard route for exceptions?
An Event Blueprint can include a short exceptions procedure within the sponsor workstream: who receives a request, what is checked, who approves and how the inventory is updated. Your team still holds the conversation with the sponsor and makes the commercial decision. A planning pack gives that decision a documented route.
Questions organisers ask
Should we have any custom packages at all?
It is a choice for your committee. Some organisers keep standard packages only. Others allow adjustments inside set limits. Either works if the rule is written down before the first request arrives.
Who should approve a custom request?
The person named in the approval authority for sponsor changes. If none is named, decide that before replying to the sponsor.
Can a custom package be priced below the sum of its parts?
That is a discount decision with its own consequences for existing sponsors. Handle it with the approach in discount requests rather than inside the custom request.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.