Sponsoring a Racecar is About Racing?

Sponsoring a Racecar is About Racing?
Andrew J. Waite - www.racefree.com

I have never been able to understand why racers approach new sponsor prospects and lead off the conversation with their need to fund their race program. For me this compares to entering a party and approaching the prettiest female stranger in the room and asking for sex! Unsurprisingly, and at best, you'll be turned down 999 time out of a thousand.

Most marketers have become extremely sophisticated. They have budgets and objectives that must be fulfilled within the fiscal year or the company will find another marketer. They do not have time to listen to half baked racing sponsorship ideas. Sellers and sales departments are the same. Hit the sales goal or we will find another sales department.

Then you show up with your great race program and expect them to drop everything and fall all over themselves to give you money to go fast! Well get in line. If this company is worth anything they have heard from a hundred racers before you and either said no and passed, or said yes, and gotten burned.

Why is it then that guys like me have been pulling millions of dollars our of all manner of sponsors for race programs, many which you have never heard of. Simply we offer plans and programs that promise increase sales. We then make a huge point to deliver.

If you are selling a racing sponsorship DO NOT open by selling racing. The driver is immaterial and no one cares about the livery or your series. The only thing the company and (clearly the title of the) person you are approaching is interested in is increased sales. Would you like to sell 10,000,000 more bars of soap? What president or sales vp will say no?

So how do you position your program to help in increasing sales? Simply creating a killer pitch and delivery plan based on a little research and business sense.

1. Who is the prospect company and what do they sell?
2. What companies (names and classes) buy from them?
3. Who (companies, names and classes) should buy from them? Some or more??
4. How can you use the race team to put these two companies together, generate sales and reap a reward for being the business catalyst?

This requires being nosey. "Fortune rewards the inquisitive." Anon. Pick a prospect and go to work.

There are a ton of ways to research delivered by the internet and various local, business and trade web sites. If they are publicly held, get an annual report. Get on their investor or PR email list. Research, research, research. Work out what and how they sell and how they can do more of this and profitably.

Planning and strategy requires a strategic audience

After you understand their business and what they are trying to achieve you now must craft a few choice phrases that say you understand a specific revenue or sales need you know how to serve this need ("snake oil" prohibited) you wish to present it to someone who cares, and to someone who won't steal your idea without giving you due credit. I hate it when articles end by saying...."if you want to know the rest of the story buy my book!" So here is the promise. Buy the book (money back guarantee) read it and call me if you have questions. If you do not get at least a couple of ideas that get you funded, I have failed and as we both know, in racing (or life) this is not an option.

Andrew is author of the Great Money Hunt