Five Tips To Help A Driver Or Team Obtain Sponsorship

Column By: ROBERT SYMONDS / RPW – WOODHULL, NY – In today’s racing world, a lot of things are hard to come by. A lot of us can agree that sponsorship can be one of these things. Whether you live near or far from an urban area, companies can be a little reluctant to hand out money especially to just anyone off the street.

We have compiled five tips to help obtain sponsors for your upcoming race season. If you have a race team or even a race track, these tips could help you.

Tip 1: Look early. If you are reading this and think ‘I better get out and get some sponsors for next year,’ you’re most likely already too late. Bigger companies try to get their budget for the next year completed at the start of their fourth quarter which is at the beginning of September. This gives them enough time to find out where their money can be distributed including marketing/advertisements, which is where you would come in. It is important to make sure that you get your word out by the end of the regular season or at the end of August to be sure you get that sponsor for the next race season.

Tip 2: Schedule a meeting. When you contact a company for potential sponsorship, try to schedule a meeting with the marketing team and/or owner. Preferably in person or even a meeting over the phone; a meeting is a great way to making a connection with the company. A meeting is the best way to convey your goals of their sponsorship towards your team and their goals of marketing in other areas to possibly get more customers/clients.

Tip 3: Prepare a presentation. During the meeting, a good way to convey your message is through a presentation. Microsoft Office PowerPoint, prezi.com, and Google Slides are different types of presentation software and websites that can be used for the presentation. Points in the presentation to mention is: background info about yourself, what you plan to do during the season, how this will relate to the company, and your goals (short term – long term). Remember that companies like to talk about business. If you start talking about how it will relate to their company, really make a point of how many people attend the races that you will be racing/coordinating. The more people that see or hear the companies name, the more that the people could become customers for the company.

Tip 4: Be prepared to sell yourself (figuratively). Quite basically tell them how you plan on being successful. Numbers don’t lie. Let the company know of your past racing experiences. Give them a rundown of the positives that you have had in the past race season. If you don’t have a prior driving experience, don’t be afraid to mention how much you have been involved in racing and how you propose this will help you become successful. One other point to make, let them know that marketing at local race tracks work well.

Tip 5: Make a lasting impression. As mentioned at the start of this article, sponsorship doesn’t come easy. During meetings it is best to keep in mind to make a lasting impression. Relating to the company’s goals, admirations, and/or how they operate could give you a chance to make a lasting impression. This impression could get you a sponsorship from companies as well. Some sponsorships in racing are long lasting sometimes up to 20 years or more with both race teams and businesses growing together.