I thought since racing was over (for most people) for the year, now would be a good time to look towards getting money for next year. This is a thread for ideas on the following:

1. Finding sponsors
2. Keeping sponsors happy
3. Racing business etiquette
4. Where to find contingency money
5. Best things and amounts to ask sponsors for
6. And anything else I am missing

Please if you have been on either side of the fence sponsor or racer give your views and expectations on the subject. I only race Solo II but this goes for all series.

Thanks Jeff

 

Good idea for a thread. We're in the middle of putting together a comprehensive package to attract some sponsors for this year and would love to hear some ideas. I would especially love to hear some thoughts from anyone who sponsors a car. What do you look for? What swayed you?
-Matt

 

10 tips to keep your sponsor (advertiser) happy
by Phil Veldheer ©2000

1. Keep all the promises you made.

2. Promote your sponsors product or service to the best of your ability and believe in them.

3. Make sure you use your sponsors products or services if at all possible.

4. Send a list of your racing results, displays, promotions and future races at least every three or four weeks during the racing season. I do it every two weeks.

5. Thank your sponsors (advertisers) for their support and mean it. Show sincere appreciation.

6. Keep all financial arrangements confidential.

7. Come up with new ideas or new customers for your sponsor. Make sure your sponsor knows when you either sent them a new prospect or a new customer.

8. Don't do anything to embarass your sponsor. They want a good representative for their company. Not a loud mouth loser. When you lose take it like a man. Go shake the winners hand.

9. Make sure your race car, tow vehicle, trailer and uniforms are spotless, remember you represent your sponsor and you want them back next season.

10. Don't wait until racing starts in the spring to see if your sponsor is going to "re-up" for another season. Get that all handled when the racing season is over in the the fall. That way if someone drops off you'll have all winter to get another replacement. Live by these three words, "Do it now."

 

those are great ideas for retaining sponsors and should be followed by all racers at any level.. As for obtaining a sponsor we have found it necessary to determine what value your race program has. this is usually advertising value. Is the series on TV? What are the ad rates during the program? how much time is your car on camera? Is the race series covered by any major magazines? what type of people read these magazines? what companies advertise in these magazines? newspapers, radio, or whatever? is the team and car available for appearances? At the grassroots level(no TV and limited print coverage) it can be difficult to convice companies that it would benefit them by sponsoring you. We try to stop by some of our sponsors with the car before race weekends so they can see the car just before the race and at the end of the year we send pictures of the car framed with a note from the team(make sure photo shows sponsors name clearly) and basicly keep in touch all the time. I would like to thank my friends at Pennnyweb and Day Wireless

 

Good plug

 

I did not realize this had fallen off of page 2. How many people have used Mazda Comp.? What other contingencies have people applied for?

 

I just thought I would add the following to the thread.

http://www.hksusa.com/FAQ/?id=1560&rsku=0

http://www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?id=9663

These are two excellent areas to read up on for sponsorship proposals.

The mods may want to archive this for those people interested in sponsorships.

 

I run Mazda Comp, couldn't do this without them, and I gladly run their decals prominently..

PaulC