Sponsor Help
 

Sooo here is a quick background....I'm 28 and own a Marine business which obviously is going to take the major race expense for 2013. My question is how do you guys format yourselves and try to aquire more sponsors either industry or local. Do you guys email, cold call, or just shoot the BS with people.

Im just looking for a little help this year

There are so many sponsors out there it should be easy.

I understand im looking into how people go about seeing which sponsors fit their team and how they solicit them

Do you have a schedule yet to market with? Do you have any ROI verification programs in place? Bottom line, cash for decals on the side of your boat are basically a thing of the past, what can you and your team offer a potential "advertising partner"?

this is what im looking for help on

I have used all 3 methods. Most national companies are only going to do product support. Don't turn your back on these deals as everything helps, plus you begin a relationship with a company that could expand if you represent them well. As Trent said, the days of cash for decals are mostly over. One way many teams have offset costs is to contact local businesses at race sights and trade billboard space on boat for food or lodging. Again everything helps.

And don't call or contact a company and ask for sponsorship. It is a marketing program.

Step 1: A schedule, w/o this you are pi$$ing in the wind, any advertiser that is putting in any kind of financial backing wants to know the MSA and demographical reach of the markets you will be racing in

things within your control
Step 2: Is your team setup in a corporate structure? LLC, etc Once you receive monies from advertisers Uncle Sam is looking for his cut, not necessary, but my recemendation is to set it up separately from any other business that you have

Step 3:you have to be setup socially, you need a team website, team facebook fan page, twitter, etc, these provide concrete numbers to potential's

Step 4: What is your pricing? either a tier system(ie gold, silver, bronze packages, etc) or creative sales techinques. You need to have an introductory marketing packet as well as a fully comprehensive marketing packet

The above just skims the surface and basically pointers if you are going after sponsors of 10 G or higher. If your after the smaller 500, bumper sticker kind then its kind of winging it, luck, etc

A little tidbit, for every 100 people you speak with you will get 1 maybe, for every 100 maybe's you might get lucky enough to get 1 committal

Now some, including myself have stepped in poop and gotten lucky at times, but getting an advertising partner of any kind of merit takes a ton of blood, sweat, and tears.

The biggest thing of all. Your phone. Answer it, return calls. It not only shows professionalism, but its the core of how a business is run. Some people in offshore think running and hiding gets things done.

:drink::drink::)[QUOTE=F1-00 Racing;3860657]Step 1: A schedule, w/o this you are pi$$ing in the wind, any advertiser that is putting in any kind of financial backing wants to know the MSA and demographical reach of the markets you will be racing in

things within your control
Step 2: Is your team setup in a corporate structure? LLC, etc Once you receive monies from advertisers Uncle Sam is looking for his cut, not necessary, but my recemendation is to set it up separately from any other business that you have

Step 3:you have to be setup socially, you need a team website, team facebook fan page, twitter, etc, these provide concrete numbers to potential's

Step 4: What is your pricing? either a tier system(ie gold, silver, bronze packages, etc) or creative sales techinques. You need to have an introductory marketing packet as well as a fully comprehensive marketing packet

The above just skims the surface and basically pointers if you are going after sponsors of 10 G or higher. If your after the smaller 500, bumper sticker kind then its kind of winging it, luck, etc

A little tidbit, for every 100 people you speak with you will get 1 maybe, for every 100 maybe's you might get lucky enough to get 1 committal

Now some, including myself have stepped in poop and gotten lucky at times, but getting an advertising partner of any kind of merit takes a ton of blood, sweat, and tears.

The biggest thing of all. Your phone. Answer it, return calls. It not only shows professionalism, but its the core of how a business is run. Some people in offshore think running and hiding gets things done.

You guys do a great job representing your marketing program partners.Keep up the great work as everyone in our sport benefits from corporate involvement.

[QUOTE=waterboy1;3860672]:drink::drink::)Very well said.Excellent advice.

[QUOTE=waterboy1;3860684]Did you catch yourself? I saw the other post... :lolhit::party-smiley-004:

They:angry-smiley-038::whistle::riding::circle::party-smiley-048::cheer::poopoo: And Kiss alot of A$$ Botom line i think OPA would be better of with event partners and then let the funds flow around let all teams benifit there is strenght in numbers. Its hard to walk up to a complete stranger and expain how he should hand you a check to put a sticker on a piece of fiberglass that may or may not make it to the next race that may or may not happen "Trents Schedule Ideas" Dont count on 1 dime mark unless you already have it in the bank!!!
I think one way to ease your cost is to find a PAYING person to ride with you. Again next to impossiable I have been lucky to have great people like yourself and Rob in the boat which dosent bring in cash but something far more valuable, SWAG Like motors drives parts and tons of help. Get your boat running tow it to whatever races may happen park next to us wrench on my junk all day long and i promise a great time and i buy the pizza, The Patrone my friend? Well your on your own there lil buddy!:lolhit:


Love just another dumb boat racer

Event partners are certainly needed, but the reality of it is the event partners help with the costs associated with putting on a race. Of course, the more that can be attracted, the better it is for the entire organization. Sponsors or Marketing Partners are what individual teams can try to attract to offset their costs.

Most of the teams already are sharing expenses between drivers/throttleman. The addition of sponsorship money or product support helps ease the sting.

The truth of it is that there is no one right way to get a sponsor. Some might fall from the sky, some might take years to cultivate. For some teams, the effort is not worth the results. In our case, we have been fairly successful getting product support and hope to build on the relationships we have. But you need to show your partners/sponsors what they are getting. You can't take the money and run. You need to justify their investement in your team. You need to look and act professional. You need to represent them the way they expect. Are they after TV exposure, are they interested in the fans & spectators, do they use social media? If it was easy, everyone would have one.

Nicely put and dead on SBracing!!!! And to add to another dead on comment of yours that we shouldnt expect OPA or any org make our boats competitive, the associations give us sites to race at. We the racers need to be proactive and not count on the association for anything but the schedule of sites and ENFORCEMENT of the rules. Next we'll be hearing that the associations need to wipe our butts. For the better part, most racers have successful businesses that allow us the privilege to race. How do we keep them successful? By busting our tails and having the right people in the right places.

Quit waiting for handouts folks, they aint coming. Get off your a$$ and be proactive and not reactive

Are you telling me that we agree on something again???

Lets not make it a habit....:snide::lolhit:

I love when Trent agrees with something:party-smiley-004:

Does anyone want to share with us what they get as far as sponsorship?
I have gotten free rooms at sites but IMO I would rather pay the $100 per night than going threw what it takes to get them and then what you have to do to make them happy. The good news is if you make them happy then most likely they will do it every year which is nice. Its all about relationships that carry year to year.
A partner in the boat should be helping pay for the experiance. I put a value of $1500 min. per race. This can come in different ways. Some bring nothing to the table so cash is the only way for them. Some bring towing and mechanical skills that help. Some how your partner needs to have skin in the game.
Cash from a sponsor LOL
Work on your suppliers for sponsorship. What ever business you are in you most likely buy materials or services. If you buy enough and they dont want to lose your business then lean on them. You never know.
To get a sponsor like Amsoil or Geico you would need to have years of racing under your belt and a proven track record of being a quality team. IMO winning has less of a value on it to a sponsor. They are looking for the teams that represent well,speak well and have the ability to make all the events they want you at.
Good luck guy's.

cold call, get the info for whom is in charge or the marketing dept. Make a call another day to them so now you have a contact point. Ask for their email. get ready for a lot of no's and not interested conversations. Have a proposal drawn up with different levels of marketing levels. Talk to your friends for "personal" leads or to be able to drop their name on calling in. Most emails get trashed into junk unless they know they are expecting it. Mailing in a proposal without the invitation of sending it in is the same junk mail. We offer ours in both an email and hard copy printed and bound. Usually when you call you have a few minutes to peek their interest. make the opening conversation good. research what the company currently sponsors, and resurch their market and know their product. Its a lot of work, a whole lot but worth it. Just dont offer your services for free or cut your toes by not producing as you stated.. Dont talk about yourself and your record and such, but focus upon your plan to push/market for them, sure a few pieces about winnings and such is nice, but its not your record of wins most look for but how well your going to be for them upon showings, representing, and personable for them to push their product...