What Happened After the Plane Landed..

And What it Has to Do with Sponsorship & Business Development

Written by: Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE

The Moment Everything Slowed Down

I was on a flight last week from Cleveland to DC for a client meeting and had quite an experience that stayed with me long after the arrival.

We had landed and began taxiing to the gate. Like most flights, people were ready to get the heck out of that plane. You could feel the shift almost immediately. Phones came off airplane mode. Screens lit up across the cabin. Seatbelts were still fastened, but bodies leaned forward in anticipation. Overhead bins were already being watched. A few people were halfway out of their seats before the plane had fully slowed.

It was a familiar rhythm. Everyone waiting for the same moment. The ding. The signal that it was time to move. And with it a quiet urgency. Not aggressive, but present. A subtle push to be first into the aisle. First off the plane. First to whatever comes next.

Then the flight attendant, Jenny, started announcements on the intercom. Her tone was calm. Grounded. Different from the pace of everything happening around her.

After the typical taxi instructions, she delivered a message that caught passengers off guard.

She reminded us that not everyone on the plane was traveling for something fun like DisneyWorld or the Tropics. Some people, she said, were heading into difficult situations. Some were carrying something heavy with them from home. Others anxious in their minds. Things we could not see in each other.

That line lingered because at that moment, the plane was no longer just a group of people trying to get somewhere. It was a group of people, each carrying something different.

Then she said something simple and heartfelt.

“Be kind to each other as you leave the plane. We will be here with a smile and a hand if you need it.”

It was not long. It was not complicated. But it changed the moment.

Same Situation. Different Outcome.

As if Jenny's announcement wasn't impact enough, it's what happened immediately after that was something I had rarely seen in today's chaotic world of air travel.

People did not rush.

They moved slowly and intentionally. They helped each other with bags. They let others go ahead of them. There was no urgency. No edge.

It was the most relaxed deplaning I have ever experienced.

At the front of the plane was Jenny. She was smiling, making eye contact, and shaking hands with passengers who stopped to thank her.

Nothing about the situation had changed. These are all busy passengers looking to get off the plane and head to their respective destinations.

Same plane. Same people. Same process.

What changed was the frame.

Jenny gave people a different way to experience the moment.

What This Has to Do With Sponsorship

I started thinking about this moment in regards to the areas of business development and sponsorship. 

Most organizations approach sponsorship conversations the same way most passengers approach deplaning.

With urgency. Get through the meeting. Present the information. Move to the ask. Try to secure the outcome.

But urgency creates tension. And tension creates friction.

Influence Before Information

What Jenny did on that plane is what the best business development executives and sponsorship professionals do in high stakes conversations.

They change how the moment is experienced for their prospect or partner.

Instead of leading with what they think the sponsor needs, they create context for why the conversation matters.

Instead of listing programs, they connect their work to something the sponsor is already thinking about or has publicly supported.

Instead of pushing toward a decision, they create clarity around what the decision represents.

The Real Work-The Experience

Jenny didn’t give us more information. She gave us context. She changed how people felt in the moment. And behavior followed.

In sponsorship and business development, this is often the missing piece. Sometimes business development executives and sponsorship professionals focus on what to say, what to show, and what to send. But not enough attention is given to how the moment is framed before anything is discussed.

Sponsors don’t just evaluate your opportunity. They experience it. And that experience is shaped early. It is shaped in how you open the conversation. It is shaped in how you position the opportunity. It is shaped in the tone you create before the details ever come into play.

Something to Leave You With...

I have thought about that moment on the plane several times since and here's what I love about what happened.

Although everyone slowed down, everything worked better. People moved with more ease. More awareness. More intention.

In sponsorship and business development, the same principle applies. Those who create momentum are not always the ones who push harder or move faster.

They are the ones who change how the moment is experienced. And the moment you change the experience, you change what becomes possible.

Lori Zoss Kraska, MBA, CFRE, is the founder of Growth Owl, LLC and a Strategic Revenue Architect and Fractional CSO. With more than 25 years of experience, she helps purpose-driven organizations and entrepreneurs secure corporate partnerships using language that resonates with decision makers and moves capital. Lori has a strong track record of connecting leaders to Fortune 1000 companies and building transformational sponsorship strategies. She is an Amazon bestselling author, speaker, and trusted advisor. Contact Lori at lori@thegrowthowl.com.