Sponsorship question

[Blix666]

If a company is giving you discounts due to the fact that they know you're whorin' their name out to others or simply faithfully using their product, is that considered sponsorship? My idea of sponsorship has always been a little more grand than that but I see and hear the term being used very loosely lately. Just wondering.... :lick:

[Not All There]

i consider those partial sponsors, with there support you can get further. Such as a discount makes it more possible to get a good part, but in my experiences, some discounts really dont do that much so there are limits. Usually I consider a sponsor to provide a large amount of goods, parts, or funds in order to be legit. Simply running a product (which you paid for) with a sticker on the car I wouldnt count. PSG for example is giving out one of there skid plates for free along with the decals needed to represent them for a sponsorship. B&G Sports gives me 2 annual donations usually along with making t-shirts and such for us. Red Bull provides us with tons of redbull for each event as well, and with that help we can race and prepare better. I do agree its used loosely alot tho.

[409industries]

I agree, the term is used very loosely. In the world of snow/skate/surf a better term is used for guys that get free stuff to whore the name out, but aren't paid ... this is called "Flow" or "flow team".

Some of our sponsors are flow, others are much more involved. I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics between each of them but it will be apparrent which ones are more involved in the racing program once the graphics come out on the new car ;)

[Blix666]

i see...what do you guys (Not All There Racing) do other than RallyX?

how'd you go about getting Red Bull to sponsor ya?

[Drew84]

RedBull sponsership FTW :mrgreen:

[409industries]

Yeah energy drink sponsorship... good idea. I got hookups at LOST energy drink... might have to see if they want to FUEL our drivers ;)

[Blix666]

hey drew...i'll be @ brad's house shortly for pre-race inspection...swing over

[bergdh]

I would hope that your not reffering to me and my loose term of sponsorship. While some of us may get free stuff, of flow. I have found that starting out most people want to see results and how them giving you free stuff will benifit them as a company. So we have been able to get mostly big discounts on parts and a car in exchange for advertising for our "sponsors". While we still paid something, in this case I would count this as a sponsor.

You have to take what you can get at the start!

[Not All There]

definitely, start small, to get a reputation and record to earn more and more.

Along with dirtbikes (enduros) we started with off road trucks racing in the Mickey Thompson Tough Truck series, that truck is now somewhat retired and waiting for a rebuild to do more CORR style races once I have a much better income lol. Possibly in the next 5 years or so.

Red Bull is key haha, especially for late nights in the garage before race day and the long drives. They offered to help us out after some relationships I had with people on the mobile energy team as well as their local office. One thing lead to another year after year. Its been awesome.

[409industries]

They offered to help us out after some relationships I had with people on the mobile energy team as well as their local office. One thing lead to another year after year. Its been awesome.

If youre looking to get sponsored, its not super easy. You have to look at it from the company's perspective, as what they have to gain by giving you product, etc.

I try to look at it more from a relationship point of view. Build strong mutually beneficial relationships with the people at the company and things will naturally progress on their own.

I have to admit though, sometimes dumb luck and knowing the right people helps out too...

[UP2MTNS]

If youre looking to get sponsored, its not super easy. You have to look at it from the company's perspective, as what they have to gain by giving you product, etc.

I try to look at it more from a relationship point of view. Build strong mutually beneficial relationships with the people at the company and things will naturally progress on their own.

I have to admit though, sometimes dumb luck and knowing the right people helps out too...

I 2nd what Aaron just said about 'relationships'. You're basically selling yourself, and you have to sell value....but a lot of 'sales' is who you know and how well you know them.

In my experience in the past year of 'racing' at the amateur level, but now with 4 sponsors, I'll let you know what I did, and you can see if that can work for you....

1) You have to give before you can receive. Talk to people you've done good business with before....they already know you because you've bought from them, you've already spent $$$ with them, so at the least, they'll listen to what you have to say. Maybe they'll give you a small discount on future services (minimal risk to them). This is how I got each of my sponsors attention.

2) Like Aaron said, you have to tell them 'what's in it for me?' Put together a professional letter that describes who you are, what you're looking for, and most importantly, what you've done and what you will be doing for the rest of the year (as far as events, etc). I listed rally schools/races I had already done (including how I placed), I listed my current raking, and listed everything I was going to do for the rest of the year. Shows your committed and tells them where you'll be pimping out their products.

3) Be professional, all the time. One of my main 'value' points in my letter is how active I am on this forum, Cobb Forums, RallyXPortal, etc...and the fact that I'm *respected* on all these forums. I purposely don't get into internet bickering crap (which is why you won't find me on NASIOC) No one wants to sponsor a dick.

4) Be upfront about what you're asking them; with one potential sponsor, I said, "I'm about to buy $XXX in products, will you give me X% discount in exchange for your decals on my car?" To my surprise, he gave me a larger discount than I was expecting. Also, give them a range/options...don't pigeon hole yourself.

5) Lastly, don't be a hoe. ha! But seriously, while its nice to get free/discounted stuff, it can hurt to represent bad products. Getting one sponsor will help you get two, having two sponsors can help you get three. (this is how I got my 4th sponsor....when my local mechanic saw my 3 new sponsor's decals on my car, he offered to do the same....I now get free alignments and tire mounting from him. Lucky? maybe, but he saw I was serious, and if other vendors see value, maybe there's value in it for him too.)

I have a sponsorship letter I'd be willing to share if anyone's interested.

my .02. I'd love to hear how other folks picked up their sponsors. But if your last name is Unser or Andretti....forget it, I already know. :tongue:

[Not All There]

3 years ago I sent out at least 10-12 letters a week for a 3 month period searching for help to get some suspension for one of my trucks from California. No exaggeration, Id keep sending and sending not expecting any response. One thing I will not do is send my skeleton letter out tho because thats my trade secret lol. Very gracious of you to offer yours up.

Hard work pays off, but you cant go in expecting anything from the get go. One thing I hated was people coming up to me with their frustrations as to why no companies will just give them money. Some expect to say, hey my names is blah blah and I race so can I have $2000. Obviously the answer is no, but whats scary is people expect it to just be given to them. As mentioned, you really need to sell yourself and show what you and your company/team are made of in the utmost professional way. Even companies who say, "sorry not interested this year" stay on it year after year. The more you can build up in their mind the better. If your persistent it shows your legit, and around for the long haul, not just someone who wants to take money/parts and run. You always have to offer something in return and plan to have that ready.

When you can form relationships with the companies that best always, I have been lucky to gain the support I have. And when things are going well, I make sure to show my appreciation.

[UP2MTNS]

hmmmm, maybe i shouldn't give out my letter....LOL

[Blix666]

I would hope that your not reffering to me and my loose term of sponsorship. While some of us may get free stuff, of flow.

i'm not referring to anybody in particular berg...i surf many different car forums and forums for all kinds of other competitive activities and in general, a lot of people talk about how they're sponsored.

the point of this thread was to get more input on what sponsorship actually is and how it can be obtained. thanx not all there and up2. that's exactly what i wanted to know! :D

[UP2MTNS]

RedBull sponsership FTW :mrgreen:

any CORPORATE sponsorship FTW....haha.....big money, big money, big money!!

[BlueRu]

No whammies!

[UP2MTNS]

here's a cool related thread on specialstage.com
http://www.specialstage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28361

[Blix666]

nice...

[Blix666]

well, i've sent out 2 letters requesting sponsorship and hope to hear something positive back. wish me luck! :| :wink:

[409industries]

Hawk Performance denied me this week :( hee heee

[Reason]

There's a shop that I go to does sponsoring. They sell you parts at the wholesale price they get them for and they do free installs on anything. But they want you to spend some serious cash off the bat.

[UP2MTNS]

There's a shop that I go to does sponsoring. They sell you parts at the wholesale price they get them for and they do free installs on anything. But they want you to spend some serious cash off the bat.

sounds like a deal to me.....I've spent serious cash on my car, and time. If I can get parts at wholesale, AND not have to spend my own weekend installing them....sign me up for that. Right now, my 'tuner' sponsor is only giving me 10% off labor.

As I do better this year, I'm hoping I can increase that for my turbo swap/tune.

[Reason]

They also have a AWD dynojet there.

[subyspawn]

There's a shop that I go to does sponsoring. They sell you parts at the wholesale price they get them for and they do free installs on anything. But they want you to spend some serious cash off the bat.

is the shop on the east coast?

[Reason]

There's a shop that I go to does sponsoring. They sell you parts at the wholesale price they get them for and they do free installs on anything. But they want you to spend some serious cash off the bat.

is the shop on the east coast?

Yes it's in CT.

[subyspawn]

There's a shop that I go to does sponsoring. They sell you parts at the wholesale price they get them for and they do free installs on anything. But they want you to spend some serious cash off the bat.

is the shop on the east coast?

Yes it's in CT.

doh! long drive for free install...

[Blix666]

There's a shop that I go to does sponsoring. They sell you parts at the wholesale price they get them for and they do free installs on anything. But they want you to spend some serious cash off the bat.

is the shop on the east coast?

Yes it's in CT.

doh! long drive for free install...


ROAD TRIP! :D :shock:

[Blix666]

turned down by one of my prospects...

"Dear Joe,

Due to the nature of our business, we talk to competitors all day long. Everyone is looking for sponsorships and we can not discount everyone. Consequently, we limit our sponsorships to top runners and close friends."


the other company i mailed is still considering my proposal...we'll see!