How-to Beat the Recession

How-to Beat the Recession
By Milt Gedo (c) - www.sponsorship-101.com

Open any newspaper or turn on any television news program, and you’ll hear the word “recession” or even “depression” thrown around, along with all the necessary hand-wringing that goes with it. I’m not a financial guru (as my accountant will attest), so I don’t really know if the U.S. economy is in recession, depression or just a slow-down, but I do know one thing: Corporate America will always have the need to sell and market their wares effectively and efficiently, and motorsports marketing remains one of the best methods to achieve results.

If you’ve read my columns for the last 12-18 months or so, you know that I’ve been preaching the decline of “traditional marketing” (i.e. newspapers, magazines and television) in favor of “consumer driven” marketing, such as mobile marketing and event marketing. I recently saw the results of a survey that demonstrates this trend. The survey was conducted by Gfk Roper September 11 through October 10 of this year, and asked adults (18 and older), “What do you do during TV commercials?” The findings are interesting:

-52% of respondents claim they “Talk to others without paying attention to the commercials”
-51% responded they “Get up and do something else before the show comes back on”
-44% replied they “Switch to another channel”
-43% of respondents “Fast-forward through the commercials while using a DVR”
-26% of respondents said they “Turn the sound down on the TV or mute it”

Here’s the most important finding of all:

-Only 13% of respondents stated they “Sit and watch the commercials”

If you were the VP of Marketing for a company, and were responsible for spending your advertising budget in the most effective and cost-efficient way, how would the findings above make you feel about television advertising? Technology and consumer mind-set is changing the way companies look at advertising.

At a race event, the commercials are the race cars! When a fan watches a race, either in person or on television, they’re not going to “talk to another person to avoid seeing the sponsors”, “get up and do something else”, “switch to another channel”, “fast-forward through the race”, and no REAL race fan will ever turn the volume down or mute it! For fans who attend a race event, even walking through the Manufacturer’s Midway is not considered commercials “to be avoided”. The Midway at most motorsports events is more like a carnival, where fans can buy merchandise, get autographs and have a good time… all the while being bombarded with marketing messages. As I’ve mentioned, motorsports is the “original mobile marketing” venue, and remains the best value in marketing today.

So how can this information help you, the sponsor-seeking racer? Clearly, as corporate America tightens its belt, every dollar spent will be closely scrutinized… including advertising budgets. I believe the trend of spending less in traditional advertising and shifting those funds towards mobile or event marketing will continue and even pick up speed. Every serious race team should be prepared to capitalize on this trend.

When you sit down to create the list of actions your race team can offer a potential sponsor (Step one of my proven Six-Step program), you should include a heavy bias towards mobile and event marketing. Sportsman race teams are at a real advantage here, because you can offer a lot of these actions at a fraction of the costs of a Professional team. True, a Sportsman team can’t offer the same exposure at a race event as a Professional team (Television coverage, preferred parking in the pits, hospitality opportunities, etc.), but once you’re away from the track, the playing field is leveled.

In these tough economic times, the lesson is: Companies will always have the need to sell and market their products, and savvy racers/race teams know how to capitalize on this fact. Take advantage of the shifting market trends, and GET SPONSORED!

New Sponsors? It's a Numbers Game

photo by Mulsanne

New Sponsors? It's a Numbers Game
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

It's a numbers game my father told me - to find a great woman you just need to meet more women.

Well, what about sponsors?

The Formula:

Number of new sponsors = (Number of prospects you contact) x (Percentage of contacted prospects you close)

So, to get more sponsors you need to contact more prospects and/or increase your closing rate.

The closing rate is going to be dictated by your skills and economic conditions. Now, you can't do anything about the overall economy or a business's financial position, but you can improve your skills by...

• Educating Yourself - Read every sponsorship book you can get your hands on. You only need to get one good idea for a book to be worth it.
  
• Role Playing - Get your family members to play potential sponsors so you can work on your pitch. This should also help your confidence when you do the real thing.
  
• Becoming a Veteran - No shortcut here, the more experience you have in searching for sponsors the better you'll be.

As you can see, one of the ways to improve your closing skills is to make more closing attempts. How do you make more closing attempts? You contact more prospects.

In the end it really does come down to how many prospects you contact - (1) by directly increasing your odds and (2) by helping improve your closing skills through practice.

So, did I take my dad's advice on women? You bet, the best thing I ever did.

Advanced Team Funding: Niche Racing Business

Advanced Team Funding: Niche Racing Business
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

I'm a huge advocate for starting a business to help fund your race team.

The story of RacingSuits.com:

This domain name was included in a large lot of names I purchased in 2000. I had every intention of developing each into a viable Internet business. Fast forward to present day: I own over 350 domain names and have turned a handful into successful websites. Looking at how long it took me to turn those domains into sites, I now realize I would need 10 lifetimes to develop them all. So, I've begun to sell off some of my portfolio. Last month I auctioned off RacingSuits.com.

I don't know what the new owner is going to do with the name, but what a great domain for starting a highly focused racing business where you did nothing but sell driving suits and accessories. I hope he makes it a huge success.

Here's how you can create a successful racing business:

• Pick your Niche - First look at where your passions lie. About any topic can be turned into a viable business, but your odds of success will be greatly increased if you do something you enjoy.
  
• Pick a Profitable Revenue Model - Most racers are very busy, so the last thing they need is a service type business that in essence has them getting paid by the hour. Even if you're not that busy, I still recommend that you look for revenue models that decouple your money from time.
  
• Build the Business - Nothing is more important at this point than the amount of overhead you take on. I have personally witnessed many first time business owners seal their fate by taking on unsustainable monthly fixed costs. Start small and see how it goes.
  
• Grow, Expand, Duplicate - Racers are not known for being timid and why should they be any different when it comes to running a business. Once you've got a good thing going it's time to build upon your success. Just think about constant improvement.
  

If I was going to build RacingSuits.com I'd start by selling other companies suits and quickly move to designing/selling my own - which is where the real profits are going to be.

What is your niche?

Check out my list of racing domain names if you're interested in starting something.

Sponsors - A Means to an End

photo by AcePixure

Sponsors - A Means to an End
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

Do you really want sponsors?

No, you want the money they supply.

So, how do we get the money without sponsors?

• Earn more from your day job - Ask for a raise, apply for a new position or look for a whole new job.
  
• Take a second job - Most racers have a wide range of marketable skills and should have no trouble finding some side work.
  
• Start a business - As a serial entrepreneur, this is always my first piece of advice to teams looking for funding.

In the end, why even mess with sponsors if you can earn the money through efforts with much more consistent results.

Now let me ask, do you really even want the money?

No, you want what it can buy.

So, how do we get needed items without money?

• First, ask if you really need it - Trim your operation as much as possible. Think of how you can simplify every aspect of your team and you'll find plenty of answers.
  
• Barter - Now you're left with the true essentials. Find who can supply them and ask to do some trading.
  

In the end, racers just want to race for free. Stop thinking that sponsors are the only way to get there.

A Call to Action

Mr. Sponsorship
By Milt Gedo (c)

A Call to Action

As I’ve mentioned before, I often find inspiration for my columns from a variety of sources, and sometimes from an unexpected source. Such is the case for this month’s column.

I was recently reading a book about former U.S. President Reagan. The book discussed many of the qualities he possessed which enabled him to be an effective leader. One of these qualities is described as "a bias towards action". After some careful contemplation, I realized this is an action that all sponsor-seeking racers should try to cultivate. Let me explain:

First, let’s define “a bias towards action”, by demonstrating how Ronald Reagan used it. In an example from the book, when Reagan received a call in the middle of the night regarding the crisis in Grenada, it only took him a few moments of thought before he ordered the U.S. military to invade the small island to restore order. Reagan knew there were Soviet-backed Cuban troops in Grenada, and the invasion would probably add to the already tense U.S.-Soviet relations, but he ordered the invasion anyway. Reagan didn’t postpone taking action to schedule a cabinet meeting, to meet with allies, or to plead his case to the U.N. He knew what had to be done, and he got it done. In its simplest terms, “a bias towards action” is this: Know what needs to be done, and then do it.

Let me share with you a phenomena I’ve witnessed a lot, and have even been guilty of myself. I call it the “working hard at nothing” syndrome… let’s see if you’re suffering from it too. Many racers, when they decide to get serious about sponsorship, will start “working” towards finding a sponsor. They come up with a catchy name for their race team/business. They draw up a cool logo. They have business cards and letterhead printed. They get a dedicated phone or phone line to handle calls from potential sponsors. They develop a website. They create a list of potential sponsors, that is, companies they feel might be a good fit for motorsports marketing. They spend endless hours online and at the library doing research on these companies, getting contact names and mailing addresses and phone numbers. They create a professional proposal, complete with full-color pages and charts and graphs. Somewhere along the way, they realize that sooner or later, they will HAVE to make initial contact with the potential sponsors on their list. But the thought of actually picking up the phone and calling someone they’ve never met, in order to initiate a conversation about sponsorship, terrifies them (as it would most people). So, instead they go back to the library to do more “research”. They work on their proposal again, to get it “just right”. They draw sketches of what their race car will look like with a sponsor’s logo on it, etc., etc., etc.

Do you see what is happening in this scenario? Often racers avoid the difficult part of finding a sponsor, i.e. making the phone calls, by working on something else. This is what I call “working hard at nothing.” As a racer you feel better, because you ARE working on finding a sponsor, right? But the truth is, while all the other work you’ve done is important, NONE OF IT MATTERS IF YOU’RE NOT WILLING TO MAKE THE PHONE CALLS. You can have the best, most deluxe, leather-bound, full-color, gold-leaf professional proposal out there… but if you can’t get your prospective sponsor’s marketing person to agree to read it, you’re wasting your time AND money.

This is where a “bias towards action” is helpful. Instead of putting off making the phone calls under the guise of “working on something else”, take a deep breath, pick up the phone and dial the number. And if that first call doesn’t go as smoothly as you’d like, learn from the experience, adjust your approach, take a deep breath, pick up the phone, and call the next prospect on your list. Even if you make 99 unsuccessful phone calls, the 100th call might be the one that gets you a sponsor. The important thing is that you pick up the phone and make the calls. Don’t avoid it by pretending to work on something else… no matter how “useful” it makes you feel.

As a friend of mine used to say, “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it too long.” Think about it!

---------
Milt Gedo has been involved in motorsports marketing for over 12 years and helps sportsman racers acquire sponsorship through seminars and personal coaching. As an NHRA racer, Milt has a unique perspective on the struggle most Sportsman racers face in their quest for sponsorship. Milt is a full-time racer with sponsors such as KD Kanopy, American Racing Wheels, Goodyear and others. You can reach Milt at 775-727-4955 or cresptmktg@aol.com. For more information about Milt’s acclaimed sponsorship seminar, go to www.sponsorship-101.com.

Mr. Sponsorship

Photo by: yoko12

Mr. Sponsorship
By Milt Gedo (c)

Lessons from Elves

This month you’ll see that marketing lessons can be learned from almost anybody… even Christmas elves! As sponsored or sponsor-seeking racers, we need to be aware of changing trends in marketing and we need to “see what works and apply it, and see what doesn’t work and avoid it.” Following is what we can learn from elves:

Do you remember a website last Christmas season that featured dancing elves, and presented the visitor the opportunity to paste a photo of themselves (or a friend, family member, boss, etc) on an elf as it danced around the computer screen to some hip music? The website was called “elf-yourself”, and here’s the first lesson to learn: Which company offered this website? Give yourself a few minutes to think about it, then read on to reveal the answer.

Some say the “elf-yourself” promotion was a success, with 26.4 million people visiting the site, or nearly one in 10 Americans. Visitors to the site increased 99% in October, 89% in November and 29% in December. In November/December their market share of internet users grew 508%, and by December it ranked No. 55 among all websites. A successful promotion, wouldn’t you say? YES… very successful… if your goal is to drive visitors to a website. So, do you know which company offered this website yet? Let me help you by making it multiple choice: Was it A) Office Depot, B) Office Max, or C) Staples?

Critics of this promotion say that while internet traffic was high, it didn’t lead to actual sales. Yes, the elves are cute and funny but they don’t relate to the brand, and the website didn’t list any product specials or sales events, or even a Christmas product “wishlist”. So what was the point of the website? Interestingly, the senior VP of marketing/advertising for the company stated, “We weren’t looking for sales. We were looking to build the brand, warm up our image.” Of the three choices listed previously, this company is running in third place behind the other two competitors… is that a coincidence?

So what lessons can sponsored and sponsor-seeking racers learn from these Christmas elves? I think the first lesson is: Find out what your sponsor (or prospective sponsor) is looking to get from a sponsorship. As we learned from the elves, not every company is looking to increase sales… some are looking to reach other goals, such as building the brand and/or warming/changing their image. What if you present a proposal to a company based on increased sales, but that’s not their primary objective? As I always preach, find out what your sponsor wants, and then give it to them!

Another lesson we can learn is that every action should be analyzed for effectiveness. For example, many racers offer as an “action” to a prospective sponsor a link from their team website to the sponsor’s website. This action might be very valuable to a company that does a lot of sales via the internet, but almost worthless to a company who doesn’t market online. Also, before we offer any actions to a sponsor, we need to analyze it to make sure it will achieve whatever goals the sponsor is trying to reach.

Thirdly, we should realize that even the best intentioned promotions can sometimes fail. In the “elf-yourself” promotion, although it may have helped warm up the company image, ultimately it didn’t increase sales during the busiest shopping period of the year… the Christmas season!

I encourage all sponsored racers to analyze the promotions and programs you have in place for your sponsors and be sure they’re meeting expectations and goals. For sponsor-seeking racers, evaluate your current proposal and your list of actions and be sure you have the ammunition available to GIVE THE SPONSOR WHAT THEY WANT!

Oh by the way, in case you couldn’t remember (or simply didn’t know), the company who offered the “elf-yourself” website was Office Max. If you were one of the 26.4 million people who “elfed-yourself” last year, yet couldn’t recall which company offered the website, perhaps that’s another lesson to be learned from elves… think about it!

Milt Gedo has been involved in motorsports marketing for over 12 years and helps sportsman racers acquire sponsorship through seminars and personal coaching. As an NHRA racer, Milt has a unique perspective on the struggle most Sportsman racers face in their quest for sponsorship. Milt is a full-time racer with sponsors such as KD Kanopy, American Racing Wheels, Goodyear and others. You can reach Milt at 775-727-4955 or cresptmktg@aol.com. For more information about Milt’s acclaimed sponsorship seminar, go to www.sponsorship-101.com. For his ebook, go to www.RacingSecrets.com

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.4

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.4
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

(1) Prove it
Telling someone you can help their business is one thing, but being able to prove it is another - The latter infinitely more powerful at persuading potential sponsors. Ask your current sponsors for testimonials and then build a "proof portfolio" by tracking and documenting all of your marketing efforts going forward - hopefully successful efforts.

(2) Overreact
A normal reaction to being short on sponsors is to say, "I'll just try harder." - Unfortunately, This will only get you more of the same. An overreaction would be to revamp your entire team funding system - from how you find prospective sponsors, to how you pitch them, to how you eventually close them. Use this method whenever you're faced with a problem in any area of your life - Ask, "How can I overreact?"

(3) Don't be a Victim
Don't blame the economy, politicians or your lack of free time - If you don't have enough team funding or anything else in your life, it's no one else's fault but your own. Now the question is, what are you going to do about it? How about first taking responsibility for the problem? From that position you'll realize you have the power to fix it.

(4) Make your own Luck
"Luck" can be as simple as convincing someone with the power to "open a door" for you, to do so. Find those people who have the power to help in your sponsorship efforts (e.g. someone who can introduce you to business owners) and then prove that their efforts to help won't be wasted - in other words you won't blow the "luck" they give you.

(5) Play Offense
An example of playing defense would be BEGGING your current sponsors to sign up for another year. Playing offense would be STATING that you have so many sponsors, "you may have to let some go." Playing defense would be ASKING for a renewal of last year's deal. Playing offense would be REQUIRING 20% more.

photo by i_harrier

Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan

Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan
By Milt Gedo (c) - www.sponsorship-101.com

What are your goals and plans for this new year and new racing season? Besides the obvious goal of winning more races, what are your goals regarding sponsorship for 2008? Are you seeking a primary sponsor, or looking to add an associate sponsor to your team? Will you improve existing programs and relationships?

Whatever your goals are for 2008, it’s important to have a plan and to work your plan. As in all areas of life, first you set your sights then you chart a course to reach them…racing and sponsorship are no different. If your goals for this season are to become a sponsored racer or to increase your sponsorship income, I’ve outlined a basic plan below:

Step 1: List your team assets. The first step in finding sponsorship is to discover what your race team has to offer a potential sponsor. To clarify, assets in this case doesn’t mean race car, trailer, etc., rather what types of actions your team can offer a company to help them achieve their marketing goals. Your actions should be classified as “at-track”, “off-track”, and “media”. This first step requires a lot of thought, and it’s best to brain-storm with another person (spouse, car owner, crew chief, etc) while developing your list. Remember to think outside the box and think big!

Step 2: Create a list of potential sponsors. After you have a good list of team assets, the next step is to create a list of companies you think might be a good fit for motorsports sponsorship. As in step one, it’s very important to think outside the box while creating this list. Think of new companies/industries that are currently not involved in racing, but that might target the demographics you can reach. This is NOT the time to analyze each potential sponsor… you’ll do that in the next step. What’s important here is to build a list of good, quality prospects… the more the better.

Step 3: Know your prospects. Once your list of potential sponsors is complete, it’s time to trim the list down to several solid prospects. This step could possibly be the most time consuming, but cannot be skipped. There are many questions you must answer about each prospect to determine if they are eligible for motorsports sponsorship, and more importantly if they would be a good sponsor for YOUR team. Some of the questions you must answer include: Who are their customers? How do they reach them now? What is their annual marketing budget? What is their marketing strategy? As you research each company on your prospect list, you’ll eliminate companies that don’t “fit” the required profile. Don’t be surprised if you cross-off 80-85% of companies off your list. But the remaining 15-20% will be very good potential sponsors, and these are the companies you should expend all your efforts to pursue.

Step 4: Contact your prospects. At this point, you should have 10-20 companies that are very good prospects for sponsorship of your race team. Now you need to contact each prospect, via mail, phone, or in person (if possible). Your goal here is to engage in a conversation, explain how your actions fit into their marketing strategies, and how your race team can help them with their marketing. Your second goal is to have your prospect ask to see “something in writing”, i.e. a proposal. If you get one of your prospects to ask for a proposal, you are very, very close to reaching a sponsorship agreement. Also, you can be confident your proposal will be read and studied, as opposed to most UNSOLICITED proposals that usually end up in the garbage, unread.

Step 5: Send a custom proposal. You are now ready to send a proposal to a prospect that has expressed interest in your racing program. Be sure you do NOT send a generic, one-size-fits-all proposal. You should send proposals that are customized for each individual prospect, including action pages and demographic pages. I wrote a detailed book about proposals, “How-To Write a Winning Proposal”, which is available through RacingSecrets.com. I recommend anybody who is SERIOUS about sponsorship purchase this valuable book. Remember, you get one chance to make a good impression, and your proposal is usually that one chance… don’t blow it!

Step 6: Follow up and close the deal. After sending your proposal, give your prospect adequate time to review it (about 1 week is normal), then make a follow-up phone call or visit (if possible). Answer any questions or concerns, review the actions you’ve offered, and then ask them what the next step should be. At some point you’ll negotiate a budget, but if you’ve done your research properly, your budget and their budget should be fairly close. Remember not to undervalue or overvalue your program, and be prepared to adjust your actions to fit their budget. Lastly, after you close the deal, remember to ALWAYS fulfill your commitments, give your sponsor more than they paid for, and stay in contact! If you do these things, you’ll enjoy a long relationship with your sponsor.

Now you have your goals, you have your plan… go work it! Good luck in 2008 both on the track and off, and thank you for your loyal readership!

Milt Gedo has been involved in motorsports marketing for over 12 years and helps sportsman racers acquire sponsorship through seminars and personal coaching. As an NHRA racer, Milt has a unique perspective on the struggle most Sportsman racers face in their quest for sponsorship. Milt is a full-time racer with sponsors such as KD Kanopy, American Racing Wheels, Goodyear and others. You can reach Milt at www.sponsorship-101.com

photo by: FlyingJ054100

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.3

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.3
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

(1) Ask for Help
You'll be surprised how often you get what you want when you ask for it - Ask racers, who are successful at getting sponsors, how they do it? Then ask them if they'll help you. What's the worst that can happen, they say no?

(2) Think Big
You don't have to stop chasing the $1,000 a year sponsors, but why not put some effort into finding that big sponsor, the one that would make other racers jealous and take your race team to the next level?

(3) Put the Sponsor First
If you can do this, truly put the needs and desires of the sponsor before your own, you'll never have trouble finding or keeping them. The key is to be genuine - faking it will never work.

(4) Clean your desk
Hopefully you have a dedicated desk for your sponsorship efforts and hopefully it's clean. If not, clear off and clean up the top of your desk - you'll be surprised how much more focused and energized you'll feel.

(5) Dedicate time
Set aside time every week for finding new sponsors and keeping the ones you have happy. Use a software calendar to remind you - there are free ones all over the web - like www.google.com/calendar.

photo by Hankthatank

Sponsorship - Conquer Your Fear

Sponsorship - Conquer Your Fear
by Beverly Terrill (c)

Preparing your Presentation

There is no better way to overcome anxiety than to be prepared. A few years ago, I worked as a Retirement Specialist. It was my job to convince employees of small companies to invest in the company’s Retirement plan. This was no easy task. I had a slideshow and prewritten script that I used at every company with just a couple of variations based on the particulars of the company. My success was measured by the percentage of employees that signed up for the plan. As I learned my job, I began to be able to speak more freely and not read from the script. I was able to anticipate the questions that I would need to be able to answer. I was also able to increase my participation rate because I was viewed as an expert on this subject. This is exactly what you need to do. Begin with a base presentation and then modify for each prospect based on your research. This will give you a comfort level that will exude confidence.

Practice, Practice, Practice

So once you have this presentation created, you need to practice. I would begin in front of a mirror. Then you can move on to your significant other. If you have a crew or friends that won’t be merciless, use them as an audience. But I sometimes find I would rather present to strangers than be heckled by my friends. That is an image that I can’t get out of my head. This goes along with being prepared. Know your stuff inside and out!

Research the Prospect

This can be fun! An obvious place to start is with the Internet. You can Google the company and hopefully they have a website. There is normally an “About Us” page or maybe some company history. Sometimes if it is a national chain, you can’t really get information about the local store. In this case you need to do things the old fashioned way. Check the yellow pages. If the company has a slogan, it will most likely be in the yellow pages ad. You can also visit the company if possible and look for the mission statement. This is normally posted so that it is visible to the customers and/or employees. Another way to research your prospect is to get information from an employee of the company. Ask around. Chances are the cousin of your wife’s step Uncle’s daughter works there. (You get the point).

What are you looking for? Your goal is to find out what the company does, how long have they been doing it and why are they successful? Also, it is very beneficial to find out who you will be speaking with and a little about that person. For instance, does he/she like to be called Mr/Mrs? How long has he been in this position? You can get this information by talking to his secretary. Phrase your questions so you appear interested in learning more. Don’t make it sound as though you are writing for a tabloid. “ I hear he’s only been here for a year” sounds negative. You should say “From what I have learned the business has really been growing, how long has he/she been in the CFO position?”

The main objective is to be able to incorporate some of the companies ideals and philosophy into your presentation.

Create a “Cheatsheet”

Even after all the practice and repetition, we can still forget some of the important points we wanted to speak about. This is where your cheatsheet comes in handy.
Create an outline of the topics you will discuss and then add the specifics that you do not want to miss under each topic. This will allow your brain to relax. In a wonderful book titled “Getting Things Done” the author tells us that if you have a safe place to record everything, our brain then becomes less bogged down. But you can’t fool yourself, you have to know that everything is at your fingertips and you don’t have to remember every little thing.

Prepare Your Mind

Okay behind the Number One tip of being physically prepared, is to be mentally prepared. Draw on your best memories. It doesn’t have to be a past sponsor experience although that would be ideal. It could be the time you inspired your teammates in a high school basketball game. Focus on your strengths. You have to know that you are not peddling promises. You have a proposition that is going to help this company. There is no need to be nervous.

Hand It Over to Someone Else

If all else fails, ask someone else to either create the presentation and/or present it for you. It may be that you are not comfortable with the presentation you created. You may just get tongue tied when you try to speak publicly. Know your weaknesses and your strengths. If you have someone in your crew or your household that will better represent you there is no harm in delegating the responsibility.

photo by piddy77

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.2

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.2
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

(1) Stand up
When talking to a prospective sponsor on the phone, stand up - motion creates emotion. If you don't sound excited about what you're proposing, then you can't expect the prospect to be excited by it either.

(2) Visit your current sponsors, today!
Before spending even a second looking for new sponsors, make sure your current ones are on board for next season. You will not find an easier sale than to a company that already "buys" from you.

(3) Increase your perceived value
For your prospect, perception is reality. Testimonials from current sponsors and having a good reputation are obvious ways to increase your perceived value. Not so obvious are raising your prices and turning down sponsorship.

(4) Take ACTION!
Forget perfection, forget waiting until you're more prepared, do it now. I truly believe this is what separates winners from losers in all areas of life.

(5) Stay in front of your prospects
This best way to do this is with a newsletter, not just a team newsletter, but a newsletter that includes real tips for prospects - Tips on how they can take advantage of motorsports sponsorship or just general tips for improving their business.

photo by the canadian geek

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.1

Racing Sponsorship - Fast Tips Vol.1
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

(1) Lay some groundwork - Become a friend to prospective sponsors before you pitch them. Create a plan to improve their business before you pitch them. Give something of value (product, service, advice, etc) before you pitch them.

(2) Leverage your assets - If you're a business owner, how can your business help the prospect's business? If you're an employee, how can you leverage the contacts you've made at and via work?

(3) Study to become a marketing expert - 100% of businesses will greet you with open arms if you can make them more money... and the quickest way to more money is with better marketing... and 100% of businesses need better marketing.

(4) Play the numbers - x amount of companies will sponsor race teams, x amount of companies are not currently sponsoring a team, x amount of companies are not happy with the current team they sponsor and x amount of companies will say yes to your pitch. You can't do anything about most of these stats, but you can, with complete certainly, increase your success by contacting more companies.

(5) Role-Play - Sales managers in the corporate world are well aware of the benefits of role-play training for their sales force. Ask someone to play the role of the business owner and practice your pitch. I guarantee you'll feel more confident and close more deals.

photo by pianoforte

Team Funding Idea - RacingIncome.com

Team Funding Idea - RacingIncome.com
By Don Terrill (c)

Sponsorship is not the only way to fund your racing. I've just set up a system to reward people for recommending our products online. Just answer the following question for info on how to proceed.

Which best describes you?

1. I don't have a website and don't want one - Use the Paid Tell-A-Friend http://racingincome.com/cgi-bin/go.cgi to earn commission on our downloadable products http://racingincome.com/affiliate.html You should also consider becoming an author http://writerswanted.com
2. I don't have a website, but want one - Go over to Domain Launch http://domainlaunch.com as see if you qualify for one of our co-development deals on a new racing website.
3. I have a low traffic racing website - Sign up for both the shipped http://racingincome.com/affiliate_pro.html and download http://racingincome.com/affiliate.html affiliate programs. Next you need to focus on getting more traffic to your site - here's some help http://racingincome.com/affiliate_marketing.html
4. I have a high traffic racing website - Sign up for both the shipped http://racingincome.com/affiliate_pro.html and download http://racingincome.com/affiliate.html affiliate programs. You probably don't need any help in the traffic department, but you may want to read our marketing page http://racingincome.com/affiliate_marketing.html for ideas on how to convert traffic into commission.

Fill The Sponsorship Funnel

Fill The Sponsorship Funnel
By Don Terrill (c) - www.RacingSecrets.com

The top of the funnel is where you pour the prospects, the bottom is where sponsors come out.

Between the two points we might have:

• Prospects
  
• Planning
  
• First Contact
• Presentation
• Overcoming Objections
  
• Commitment
• Payment
  

How to pour more in the top:

• Explore - Just like oil companies go out and try to discover more oil in areas they haven't looked before, you must go out and look for undiscovered sponsorship prospects.
  
• Larger Funnel - Exploring allows you to have more to pour, but you've got to then make sure they make it into the funnel. I'd start by finding their contact info and recording it into software for tracking my efforts.
  

How to make the funnel flow faster:

• Start with Qualified Prospects - Nothing flows faster than a prospect that wants/needs what you're offering. You don't want to limit yourself to only the qualified, but I sure would focus on them.
  
• Fewer Steps - Every added step is one more point where prospects can be lost. You don't want to complicate the process any more than needed to get the job done - As Albert Einstein said "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
• Remove Bottlenecks - Find out at what step most prospects are lost and then work on solutions to keep them flowing down the funnel.

Fine tuning your process will give you the confidence to know that a certain percentage of prospects will always emerge from the bottom of the funnel, all you have to do is pour as many prospects into the top as possible.

NASCAR - The Ultimate Sponsorship Role Model

NASCAR - The Ultimate Sponsorship Role Model
By Larry Lenamon II (c)2006

• NASCAR.com - Nearly 1 million hits per month
• Sponsors from Reeses candy to Viagra
• NASCAR Nation, NASCAR Live, NASCAR Victory Lane, NASCAR 360 weekly TV shows
• More primetime commercials than any other race series
• 3 National Series, 4 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series, 8 NASCAR Regional Series
• Nextel Trackpass Live and on-demand qualifying, practice and race coverage with in-ear audio, real-time race telemetry dashboard displays, live leader board and more - No other racing series has anything close to Trackpass
• Show cars at grocery stores, Home Depots, Lowes, and malls from coast to coast
• NASCAR Performance nationwide auto repair facility and parts network
• NASCAR.com To Go Wireless Service
• NASCAR Youth Initiative All-American Soap Box Derby
• NASCAR Charity support from NASCAR On Track for Charity to NASCAR Day to NASCAR.com Charity Auctions
• A group of some of the most popular sports celebrities in the country with raving fan clubs that follow their every lap
• Racing displays at most any grocery or convenience store you walk in

Whew!!!! When it comes to marketing and promoting, no racing series (or any other sport for that matter) comes close to NASCAR! And the teams involved take full advantage of all that NASCAR has to offer in securing sponsorship. Now, you don't have to be running in a NASCAR series to benefit from the kind of program they have put together. All you need to do is look, learn and apply. And we,re not talking about copying (else you run into copyright and other infringements), but rather getting great ideas from the best in the racing business.

First, look at the list above at all the tremendous ways NASCAR and the involved teams market their product. Go to NASCAR.com and team web sites to get an idea of even more marketing strategies. Watch the drivers, crew chiefs and team owners as they give their polished interviews before the camera. There's tons of stuff you can learn about how to market your race team and improve your professional image by studying NASCAR.

Now take those ideas and apply them to your race program. And you don't need a million-dollar budget either. You may find ideas for your web site design, show car program, charity involvement, souvenir sales, or transporter graphics. You may be impressed by the way a certain driver gives TV interviews and could model that for yourself. Perhaps you really like the ways a particular sponsor utilizes its affiliation with its race team and could pass those ideas along to your sponsor.

Whatever you come up with, you know that if NASCAR is doing it, then you've got a winner. NASCAR is the ultimate role model when it comes to motorsports marketing and promotion of their sponsors.

www.Go-Racing-Now.com

Nascar apples pic by themesb

Why You Don't Have Sponsors

Why You Don't Have Sponsors
By Beverly Terrill (c)

You don't want them. "Of course I do!" you say. But here are 10 things that beg to differ with those who insist they really do want sponsors.

1. Fear of Rejection
We all have a fear of rejection. Even the best salesman has some fear of rejection. It can be obvious or it can be subconscious but we all have that particular fear. To get sponsors you have to get beyond that. How? Its a numbers game. So the more no's you get the more yeses you'll get. Don't look at it as rejection. Look at it as a practice session. Work on your proposal and/or your pitch and do it again. Another method is don't take no as the answer. Leave the door open for yourself. Let the prospect know that even though he doesn't want to begin the relationship today, you will keep them in mind the next time you have an opening for a new sponsor.

2. Too much talk, too little action
Nothing happens without action. That's it......STOP planning, START doing something. TODAY, write a proposal. TODAY, look in the phone book and choose 10 businesses to visit. Do it right now. Create momentum by action. Have you ever noticed that once you get into the race whether it's circle track, drag racing whatever, when one good thing happens, you get on a roll or in the zone and things get smoother until there it is....the win! Everytime you have a negative thought about sponsorship, use it as a trigger to do something. Don't talk about it anymore unless you are talking to someone who can further your cause. If your significant other is supportive then work together today to get something accomplished. If your significant other says you are wasting your time, don't discuss it anymore, just do it on your own.

3. Don't know how to ask or what to ask for
This is really all reasons rolled into one. Many of us are not sales people. I have been described as the nicest person ever but I could not sell a life preserver to a drowning man. I don't have it in me to ask for anything. But you have to stop and realize this is a partnership. You aren't asking for money( or whatever), you are offering an opportunity for a business to advertise in an exciting and innovative way! The other question is always, what do I ask for? This is a good question and it varies based on 2 things; what do you need that the business can provide and what does the business need that you can provide. There's your answer!

4. Don't want a boss
I'm not sure that you even realize this is the reason. For most of us that race, we are the mechanic, the body man, the gas man and the money man. Your crew is working for you. YOU are in essence "The Boss". When you have a sponsor, you feel like you lose some control of the team. Now, you have to take the car to the car show to make the sponsor happy, you have to win to make the sponsor happy. You keep the car shiny and the uniforms pressed so the sponsor will notice. But now look back at those statements. Is there anything that you would have done differently without a sponsor? I say no! All these things are done by anyone who is proud of his equipment and his team. A sponsor is an added bonus not a chain around your ankle. With a sponsor, you don't have to worry about the funds to race next week, I don't know anyone who wouldn't race better with the ability to concentrate on driving more.

5. Don't have anything to offer
Some racers feel like they have to be perfect before going to a sponsor. When will that happen? We know of an entire race team that rarely posts a win at the track. They have a car that is covered every season by sponsors. Granted the owner puts 20 hours a week in the off season to create the relationships but there are so many opportunities besides winning a race to get sponsor recognized on and off the track. (Fighting in the pits is NOT one of them)

6. Don't care about the sponsors business
You cannot expect a sponsor to give 2 cents to a team that doesn't know what his business is or what it needs. And who doesn't agree with that logic? If you want a sponsor, you better school yourself in business. Find out what they need and fill a void.

7. Your sales pitch sucks
This goes hand in hand with not caring about sponsors. If you walk into a meeting and know everything about racing that has gone on for the last 20 years, You know how awesome the new engine is and how kickass a season you are going to have but you don't have the first clue about this companies advertising needs, their marketing strategy, you will never get a sponsorship from them. You walk away wondering where exactly did you lose them?

8. Too Busy
If this is your reason, you either don't want it or you simply don't need it. There is something called the 80/20 rule. This says that 20% of your efforts will produce 80% of the results. You may have your focus in the wrong area. Or you may actually be so busy that you have to hand the job of getting sponsorship to one of you team members or your spouse. If you want to keep busy with racing, you have to make time to get sponsors.

9. Don't know where to look
This is #1 lame excuse. They are all around you. They are the sponsors that you have already seen at the track. They are the businesses that you frequent every day. As a matter of fact there is a book of them and the book is free! It's your local yellow pages. You have body shops, engine shops, parts stores and suppliers. There are landscaping companies and grocery stores. How about hair salons and tanning salons? The McDonalds or the local cafe or coffee house. The state of WV tourism sponsors a drag car on the pro circuit. It could be any business that needs customers...that is a lot of potential sponsors!

10. You ignored last years sponsors
There is no excuse for this and again maybe you didn't even realize you were doing it. But if your sponsors didn't renew, you need to take a good hard look at last year. Did you deliver on the promises made in your proposal? Was your sponsor informed of all you activities good and bad? What could you have done to save this relationship? Did you approach them in time to be in the next year's company budget? Every salesman knows your best prospect list is your current list of customers. You should go into the next year with all your current sponsors PLUS the new ones. Don't assume status quo with the current sponsors, ask for more. Show them what a great partnership they have landed with your team and why this year will be even better than the last. Whatever you do, don't let your sponsors slip away!

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

ROI - Sponsorship Valuation

ROI - Sponsorship Valuation
www.projekt9.superbikeclub.com

Measuring and Assessing ROI

Lets discuss a bit about (ROI) Return On Investment and Valuation of Sponsorship.

If you have a sponsor, be it full financial backing, partial backing, a parts/product supplier or simply an associate product supporter who gives you and/or your team a discount. Which in return for that support you are expected to provide some form of valuation back to the sponsor. Think of ROI as a form of accountability if you will, a way to justify what the sponsor is giving and you, the sponsee is receiving.

I will begin by stating that sponsorship is not philanthropy, it is not a free ride - so to speak. Philanthropy involves the contribution of cash, cash-equivalents, or in-kind goods and services to a charity, with no quid pro quo expectation. In other words, philanthropy is support of a specific cause or an event without any commercial incentive/gain at all. The worst thing you could do for your sponsor, and yourself is take what ever the sponsor has agreed to give you and run. Don't do a runner- mate.

Also, don't confuse sponsorship with advertising, advertising is the direct promotion of a company through ad space or airtime bought for that specific purpose. Advertising is a quantitative medium, sold and evaluated in terms of Ad-rates, (CPM) cost per thousand, (CPC) cost per click, or air-time spots. Ultimately resulting in the sales and/or potential sales of goods and/or services. Sponsorship, on the other hand, is a qualitative medium; which promotes a company in association with a purpose, I.E. - event(s), team(s), organization(s). What sponsorship is - is a business relationship between a provider of funds, resources and/or services/goods to an individual, team, event or organization, which in return offers promotion, rights and association that may be used for a commercial gain and/or advantage.

In order for you to measure and ROI, and valuate its worth, you will first need to compile the facts. Data gathering, or data mining is crucial to the process of measurement. I cannot over emphasis that point enough. Now, ROI is not an exact science, but you should do your utmost to find reliable, credible sources of information whatever the media type. You should always attempt to get the numbers, figures, and data straight from the providing source. If that is not available, then utilize credible media measurements from industry researchers, and or industry reporting. It is better to err on the conservative side than to blow numbers out of proportion, because most companies will have market research data on their own product(s) and/or services(s) and demographics anyway. If you are way over on figures of impressions, potential impressions, demographics, sales, potential sales, and the cost/benefit ratios, then your so-called facts will quickly become a farce. This may lead to your credibility suffering in a very big way. You will most likely spoil any chance of establishing a working relationship with your sponsor, perhaps any future potential sponsors, and possibly even the chance for other racers as well. It has to be a give-and-take relationship, just don't do all the taking!

Establishing trust is a vital aspect of any relationship, so be honest from the very start. If for some unforeseen reason you cannot keep your obligation in a sponsorship, have a discussion and explain your situation to your sponsor(s) as to the problem and possible solution. If you make every effort to do so, in almost every case you will have earned the respect and trust of your sponsor. There is usually a solution to most every problem, and if you and your sponsor(s) work on it collectively, it will probably be an easier task to deal with.

ROI report - You should compile your facts and figures throughout the year and then present a detailed statistical report at seasons end. You can choose almost any business type format to write up a report, just make sure it is clear, relatively easy to read and comprehend. If you have never done such a report, then search for examples, either on the internet, in books, or perhaps if you know of a business associate who may have done this type of report before, could assist you.

Keep track of all the exposure you offer and provide to your sponsor(s). Their logo, name, merchandise, ect. Whether it is print media, web media, banners, television or radio. Keep a log book, keep press clippings, sound bytes, tv clips, ect. and so on. Data gathering also involves data saving. Save everthing, even if you don't think you may need it at that very moment, you may come to need it sometime in the future. Exposure and Benefits - There are two types of exposure/promotional benefits - Tangible and Intangible. Some examples of tangible benefits are; signage, impressions, and visibilty.

Some intangible benefits are; real property, intellectual property, recognizability, consumer/fan awareness, loyalty, and exclusivity. The goal for you or your team is to provide a benefit to your sponsor; ultimately the scale of the benefit(s) will depend on the level of sponsorship you are receiving.

Cost/Benefit ratio - This is simple mathematics, for every dollar received, you should provide at least a dollar and half in return. Now, the return will not be in direct cash, but rather in the tangible/intangible benefits. Whatever level you have secured, you should attain at least a 1:1.5 ratio.

Leverage Your Assets - For Sponsorship

Leverage Your Assets
By Don Terrill (c)2006

From High School Physics we learn: Torque = Force x Lever Arm.

If we sub...

• Sponsorship for Torque
• Assets for Force
• and Brains for Lever Arm

We get: Sponsorship = Assets x Brains

From this formula we can see that anytime we increase our assets or brains, we increase sponsorship.

Your Assets:

The Obvious Ones:

• Your Car
• Your Labor

The Not So Obvious Ones:

• Your Business
• Your Education
• Your Connections
• Your Sales Ability
  

Leveraging Your Assets: (Using your brains)

• Your Car - Can you advertise your sponsor's business on the car? Can you display the car at the business to attract attention?
  
• Your Labor - Is there something the business owner needs done that you can do?
• Your Business - How can you work your sponsor's business into your marketing efforts?
• Your Education - What advice can you give to your sponsor that could help his business?
• Your Connections - Do you know a large group of people? Do you know important people who can help your sponsor's business?
• Your Sales Ability - Can you directly, or do you know a better way to, sell your sponsor's products and services?
  

My Assets and how I would leverage them:

• SpeedTalk.com Talk Show - Have the sponsor as a guest on the show.
  
• Speed Talk Message Board - Place a link to the sponsor's website and create a section on the forum specifically for them.
  
• Project Autos Site - Do a complete write-up on the installation and use of their product and put a link to their site.
  
• Used Racing Parts Classifieds - Place a link or banner to their site.
  
• Racing Newsletter Mailing List - Announce their sponsorship.
  

Notice I didn't even list my car. If you want to get sponsored in this day and age, you're going to have to use your brain and think a lot more creatively than just stickers on a car.

Marketing Motorsports Sponsorship with Voice Mail and E-Mail

Marketing Motorsports Sponsorship with Voice Mail and E-Mail
By Charlie Hayes

To sell sponsorship for your car or team, there is one thing you must get really good at: Communication. And communicating today is largely done via e-mail and voice mail.

Being good at voice mail is, as with most things worth pursuing, largely a matter of practice, practice, practice - and ultimately, learning primarily by DOING it. Practice with friends' answering machines, a tape machine. Make calls to prospects you doubt would be interested in your program, just for the sake of practice where you have nothing "at stake" other than learning.

I've created some informal statistics on our own sponsor search voice mail communication results, which you may find interesting:

1. Out of every ten first calls to corporate marketers, we end up on voice mail about 80% of the time. Conclusion: Like it or not, you need to learn how to deal with it, since 80% of your prospects USE it!

2. Out of those messages, about 25% return my message after one call. An additional 25% respond after a second or third message. And about half do not respond. Conclusion: Voice mail is THE accepted and preferred method of communicating for the Fortune 1000, as well as most small businesses (including ours, I might add.) And, if you will learn it, and practice to get good at it, you can produce perfectly acceptable results - by which I mean you will get to speak to about half the people you want to reach.

The caveat is, of course, you do need to get good at it. Yes, it is work. But how badly do you want to get a sponsor? Remember too that it is all-important to create a message the listener on the other end cares enough about to respond to. In essence, if you leave a message saying, "I have a neat race car, I'll bet you'd love to sponsor it" will get you about 1 response per 100,000 calls!

What about e-mail?

E-mail generally is used to affirm or reinforce actual live conversations. Rarely is a deal DONE with e-mail … but it can be a useful tool and most people have it and use it as an additional tool for communicating. Mind you, e-mail can never replace a voice on the phone, just as a voice on the phone can never replace a face to face meeting. But it can LEAD to the voice on the voice mail, then to the voice in real time, then to the face to face.

Just remember that you are always addressing THEIR needs and concerns. How can you help them sell their product or service? Always be answering that question when you write or call!

So, how do I reach the decision-maker on the telephone?

The answer is partially above in dealing with voice mail. But before you can be effective in getting your message heard you DO need to know to whom to direct it. How do you find out?

This is one of the most complex questions in the game, because the right person will vary widely, in terms of their title or job description, from firm to firm. The easiest way to at least get a LIKELY "Right Gal or Guy" is to call the company reception desk and ask, "Who in your company is responsible for sports or event marketing, or promotions like that?" Then you will probably get steered to the correct person, but not always. It takes some skill and experience to delve more deeply into the company's structure by phone, and it can certainly be done, but I don't have the room here to detail the kinds of sophisticated tools we are talking about. I CAN offer you one more tip on the subject, though: Ask the person at some point in the conversation if there is anyone else "you would need me to speak with about this project, or is the decision yours alone?" Listen carefully to the answer, and design your future actions accordingly!

Marketing Motorsports truly is a science and requires self-discipline, training and practice. But that said, if I have one "Mega-Tip" it is this: Go for it. Just get after it anyway. Don't try to have all the answers before giving it a shot. You will find that the more you do it the better you get, provided you have good guidance from people who know how the game works: I can't say this often enough:

NEVER stop learning. Take seminars, get the books, do the coaching programs, get the right materials. Importantly, try to work with ONE strategy and don't "mix and match." Do what works!

Some of this material can also be found in the book “Get Sponsored” by Charlie Hayes

For more on this and other Sponsorship Marketing issues go to …
www.GetSponsoredNow.com
Where Former driver Charlie Hayes offers Sponsorship Marketing Help for Racers

A (Sponsorship) Word to the Wise

A Word to the Wise
By Milt Gedo (c)2005

There is a phenomenon among racers when it comes to sponsorship that I’ve seen innumerable times and have never understood it: A racer will take sponsorship advice… from another racer WHO DOES NOT HAVE A SPONSOR! The biggest problem I have with this phenomenon is that the un-sponsored racer usually has nothing but negative feedback and advice to pass along, and thus helps to advance many myths about sponsorship, which is ultimately NOT in the best interest of sponsor-seeking racers.

If you’re a racer who is SERIOUS about sponsorship, one of the first (and best) things you can learn is how to evaluate statements through your internal “filter”. Realize that one racer's shortcomings are just that: their personal shortcomings. The next time you hear a racer bellyache, “Nobody wants to sponsor a Sportsman race team”, your internal filter should edit that statement to read, “Nobody wants to sponsor MY Sportsman race team.” Big difference. If one were to examine the reasons WHY this particular racer can’t find a sponsor, things might become a little clearer.

For example, maybe our bellyaching racer has no clue on how to find a sponsor. Perhaps he has no list of actions to offer a potential sponsor (other than the worn-out “I’ll put your logo on the side of my car and trailer” routine), maybe he over-valued his race program and priced himself out of sponsorship, maybe he’s a rube with zero social skills and even fewer business skills. Worse yet, maybe this ignorant bellyacher contacted only one or two companies for sponsorship, got rejected, and simply gave up! Now this bitter racer will tell everybody within earshot, “Don’t even try to get a sponsor… nobody wants to sponsor a Sportsman team.” WRONG! Nobody wants to sponsor HIS team, that’s all.

Let’s look at this subject logically for a moment. Would you solicit tuning advice from another racer whose car has a constant mis and runs at the back of the pack? Of course not! Would you solicit chassis advice from a racer whose car leaves the starting line like a slug or whose car always tags the wall coming off a corner? No way! Why then do so many racers solicit sponsorship advice from racers who do not have sponsors? It makes no sense!

More from Milt:
http://www.sponsorship-101.com/ (Sponsorship Seminars)
http://racingsecrets.com/sponsorship_proposals.shtml

Sponsorship Game Face

Sponsorship Game Face
By Beverly Terrill (c)2005

If you were going to sponsor a race team, how would you choose them? Let's say all the teams at the local track offer the same basic deal. I'll get some free tickets, they'll show their car at my business, etc. So who gets the deal?

Consider this scenario, ABC Race Team is running great this year. They are first in points and have consistently finished in the top ten. It's a family run operation and uncle Jack takes care of the sponsorship. Uncle Jack's approach is to send out proposals offering the normal bells and whistles, but he spends as little time with potential sponsors as possible. XYZ Race Team is new to the circuit. They are a tight knit group and hard working, but not a lot of race experience. However, when the potential sponsor talks to uncle Jack he's dry and not overly friendly. The person responsible for sponsorship at the XYZ team is Rex. Rex is friendly, has a great sense of humor and is excited about what he has to offer.

In my day job I deal with many personality types, luckily my personality meshes with them all. How can that be you ask? Here are some tips for putting on your game face for sponsors:

1. Love what you do – If you don't care about your sponsors, only about racing, then getting sponsors is not the job for you.
2. Believe in what you have to offer – If you are giving up too many Saturday mornings – rewrite the proposal, but know above all else that you can help your sponsor.
3. Forget the pressures of getting the sponsor – Instead, focus on the excitement you feel when you are at the track. Excitement is like laughter, it's contagious.
4. Genuinely care about your team and sponsor – Nothing is worse than being insincere. It will show – there's no way to hide it.

So if I weigh Rex with these four attributes and an inexperienced team against uncle Jack and the winning team – Rex will win every time.

You still need to do all the normal stuff – nice proposal, good research, team image, etc. But just as important is making sure the person that represents your team; loves his job, believes in his team, is excited and cares for the sponsor.

You Must Care

You Must Care
By Don Terrill (c)2005

Get this through your head, if you don't care about your sponsor's business, don't expect them to care about your race car.

Want to increase your chances of obtaining sponsorship overnight? Start caring about the potential sponsor's business today - I don't mean acting like you care, I mean caring to the point of taking action to help their business.

How to Show You really Care:

Promote - Every single business is missing marketing opportunities. Your job is to identify the gaps in their marketing program, create a plan and then take action on that plan. Don't know what to do? Start your marketing education today - go to the library and checkout 5-10 books on the subject. Become a student of marketing.

Add Revenue - No idea will be better received than finding additional revenue sources for a business. This could include coming up with a new product or service, to finding ways for them to milk their current assets. For example, do they have equipment that sits idle most of the time? How about renting that equipment to others?

Cut Costs - Not as glamorous as creating new revenue, but just as effective to the bottom line. Ideas would include finding more affordable sources for products, materials or services. For example, you could find them a better deal on phone service - surprisingly easy.

Think Big! - Ask to become a partner in their business. If you see they're ignoring a segment of their market, offer to build a subsidiary that targets that market.

The bottom line: Every business has some room for improvement. Your job is to find the opening and take action.

By the way, here's an article I wrote on what it would take for ME to sponsor a car.

Seem like too much work for sponsorship? Maybe you should look for another source of funding.

Racing Website

Racing Website
By Don Terrill (c)2005

Every teams needs it's own website.

Benefits:

• More professional looking team - There's no question you'll be viewed better by sponsors if you have a team website. And, with the today's ease of set up, there's no excuse. Read on for options - some having little or no cost.
  
• Another way to promote current sponsors - You can create a links page with all your sponsors or a page for each sponsor. You can also get more creative and do things like show their product in action on your site.
  
• Increased value of offer to prospective sponsors - Just one more thing to add to your sponsorship proposal. Show them what you've done for current sponsors - maybe a picture of the site or a testimonial from a satisfied sponsor. Show them what they'll be getting.
  
• Simple way to keep sponsors up to date - Just post your weekly results, along with a write-up, to your site; and then just email the link on Monday to all your sponsors and prospects.
  

How to get your own site:

• Register a domain name - My favorite place is namecheap.com - Affordable and has some nice features that other domain companies don't have. You'll want to register yourteam.com and/or yourdriver.com - most teams will be best centered around a driver - that's what fans remember.
  
• Set up hosting - Now that you have your own domain name, you need a place to host it. Hurricane Electric doesn't have a fancy site, but I love the service - we've been with them for years.
  
• Design site - You can do it yourself, buy a ready made template or pay someone to design a custom site for you. It all depends on how much time and money you have to spend.
  
• Upload to server - It might be built into your design software or you may need to get a stand-alone FTP application - you can find them for free at version tracker.
  

Budget/Beginner Site:

• Free RacingTeams.com Site - We include a free one page site with the purchase of our Sponsorship Gold package. It's hosted at racingteams.com - which will make your website address: www.racingteams.com/yourteam
  
• Free Geocites Site - Now owned by yahoo, this is probably the biggest free hosting service on the web. You won't end up with a nice name, buy hey, it's free.
  
• Free Domain forwarding - Really want a cool yourteam.com address, but don't want to pay big bucks? Register your domain name at namecheap.com - they have a cool feature that will allow you to forward it to a free hosting service like the two mentioned above.
• Free Site Management - Blogger is known for blogs, but what most people don't know is how you can use it for any kind of website - it will allow you to upload photos and even take care of site archiving.

Here's what I would do if I was just starting out:

• Register a domain name at namecheap.com
• Set up a site at blogger.com
• Set the forwarding option at namecheap.com to point to your blogger.com site.
• Login to your blogger account and start posting away.

Cost for the above setup? $8.88 per year - yep, per year. Can't beat that.

Me Sponsor a Race Car?

Me Sponsor a Race Car?
By Don Terrill (c)2005

What would it take for me to sponsor a race car? A lot! You'd have to deliver.

Cash or Product Sponsorship:

The racer would need to directly add ($400 for cash sponsorship or $200 for product sponsorship) in sales for every $100 in sponsorship. Examples of how it could be done:

• Sell our products directly - This could be by any method - your store, a website, etc.
  
• Broker a deal to sell more product - Help us put together a deal with a big buyer, and we'll be friends for life.
  
• Online marketing of our products - Do you have a popular racing website where you could post links to our products? Do you have a large mailing list?
  
• Offline marketing of our products - I don't see many worthwhile offline marketing methods, but maybe you can think of some. Forget the sticker on the car though, you'll have to be a lot more effective than that.

Trading Sponsorship:

The racer would need to exchange $100 of products, services or promotion for every $100 in products, services or promotion. I guess this is actually just plain trading. Examples of how it could be done:

• Maintain one of our websites - Do you know how to build websites, add new content or maintain a server?
  
• Graphic design for our sites or products - Are you the creative type? An artist? Let's talk.
  
• Website promotion - Do you know how to get traffic for websites?
  
• Promotional trade - You promote our products, we'll promote yours.
  

I hope it's now clear; if you don't care about my business, I don't care about your race car. It may seem harsh, but I have a feeling most business owners feel the same way I do.

Want to earn some extra cash, but don't want to mess with sponsorship? Check out Racing Income

Become Your Sponsor's PR Department

Become Your Sponsor's PR Department
By Don Terrill (c)2005

Public relations is a way of influencing the public's opinion of an organization's products or services. It is distinct from marketing as it is generally not aimed at directly selling the companies products or services.

PR Benefits:

• More credibility - The public views most advertising, if at all, with a skeptical eye. Since PR does not look like advertising, it is seen as more credible - and thus, more effective.
• Less cost - Not only is PR more effective, but much of it costs little to nothing. Well, unless you're paying someone to do it for you.
  

PR Ideas:

• Post to message boards - You can't be blatant because they'll run you of the forum, but you can add the companies website to the signature of your posts. Just make sure your posts are informative, not advertising pitches.
  
• Create a website - If you have a team website, you can create a page or section on your site to promote your sponsor. Show the product in use. Forget the ad pitch.
  
• Give a testimonial - Give the company an honest testimonial they can use in their promotional material. Don't make it cheesy.
  
• Get testimonials - Get positive quotes from others and send them to the companies marketing department.
  
• Write articles - Not a sales pitch, but an informative article which includes the use of the companies wares. Racing Articles is one place to post them.
  
• Write a column - If you can convince a publication to give you a column, great - you can use it to slip in your sponsors. Be discreet! Phil Veldheer is a master at this.
  
• Create a blog - Can't get your own column? Start your own by creating a blog. That's exactly what I did at Raceology.
  
• Offer yourself up for company advertising - Maybe your sponsor wants to run your face in an advertisement. Tell them up front, you'll be available for anything they need.
  
• Create marketing material - Don't wait for them to ask, send them; photos, testimonials, product experience, etc. Anything you think they could use.
  
• Get interviewed - Not only does it get you some exposure, but it gives you the opportunity to mention your sponsor. Again, be discreet! Have some how-to info? Be a guest on Speed Talk.
  
• Send out press releases - You don't want to send out company press releases, but you can surely send out team press releases that include comments about your sponsor.
  

Other PR Tips:

• Don't be boring - It's the last thing you want to do if you're trying to attract attention.
  
• Create media contacts - It'll take a while, but spending time cultivating relationships with the media will pay huge dividends.
  
• Target their audience - Where are their customers? What publications do they read? Don't waste your time with the local newspaper unless your sponsor has customers there.
  

Of course, all of the above will be a lot easier if you truly believe in your sponsor's products or services - It's hard to fake enthusiasm.