Cleveland Guardians
Real Deal Coaching - 300% Return on Investment
The Situation
The Cleveland Guardians engaged SNI to provide their sponsorship staff with coaching on a multi-million dollar negotiation. The Guardians had a sponsorship agreement come up for renewal and the client was looking to spend less and get more.
In the meantime, the Guardians had targeted the category as one of their areas of growth and therefore needed to free up or create new inventory and, if possible, increase the client’s spend.
The SNI Solution
In order to effectively coach the staff and ensure that everyone was using the same language, SNI conducted a short training program to introduce the staff to the systematic approach and tool that would be used throughout the process. The client learned how to most effectively prepare, precisely define their goals, discover the other side’s interests, and make better proposals.
Thereafter, SNI provided live Deal Coaching to the Guardians through phone conferencing and email. SNI’s Real Deal team provided the Guardians with experience and an objective perspective, and guided them with everything from their preparation to corrections on email, phone, and meeting scripts used to communicate with the other side.
The Impact
“Thank you for a great learning experience. Not only did the Deal Coaching produce an immediate return on investment, it also implemented a systematic approach for us to negotiate future deals more effectively.”
–Ted Baugh, Director of Corporate Partnerships
“I have to admit that at first I was very skeptical that SNI could have a big impact on our negotiation. We had a long relationship with the client and it seemed hard to believe that an outsider could help us reach an agreement. SNI did a lot more than that, not only did they help us reach an agreement, they changed the dynamic of the relationship. We reached a deal that was considerably above our highest goal and strengthen the relationship in the process. The preparation, the scripting, and counsel were outstanding. Needless to say, we have engaged SNI for several other deals.”
–Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
The Result
When the Guardians approached SNI, they were simply hoping to get a deal done and considered, because of reduced market conditions, doing so at a 30% discount from the previous contract. Because of SNI’s involvement, the Guardians secured a 26% increase in revenue while also securing a decrease in the inventory and exclusivity included in the deal. Not only did this swing translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Guardians were able to significantly grow the category by adding new partners with the inventory they were able to withhold. The result – the Guardians realized a return on investment with SNI of over 300%, in the first year alone.