Just wondering how hard is it to get small sponsers for a competition car? A friend of mine is working on one and I'm helping him out. I know that a lot of the owners of big companies frequent CAF so would it be worth asking? Or is there other ways to go about getting sponsership? Generally just some tips would be great!
Most of the Time you have to be acomplished before you can get a sponsor Sponsorships are VERY VERY VERY hard to get... And lot of COmpaines dont do sponsorships at all..... In Fact alot of times it is easier to get a Partial Sponsor Ship at a bigger company than a smaller one, normally the smaller ones only have 1 maybe 2, where big compaines have alot of PARTIAL (i.e. discounted goods) sponsorships
with the above knowledge in hand....start calling and sending emails...sometimes they will give you partial sponsership....usually equipment below dealer cost....if you get to this point...be preparred to make some accoplishments....if not...it will basically end there
Sponsorships honestly seem nice in theory... discounts and all... but in application, they tend to simply suck for the person who is sponsored. I used to have skateboarding sponsorships a while back, and what people don't realize is that sponsorship is a responsibility... no one is going to give you gear "just because".. it's not like you are getting special VIP access to "the river of free gear... dip as you like!". Sponsorship is an expense to the companies, and they expect promotion, representation, and your availability in return. If you are already on the competition circuit, already attending competitions that to mere mortals would see prohibitively distant, and you are already placing highly, then you might be a sponsorship candidate. But in those same terms... if you are already in that situation, you most likely aren't really in need of a sponsorship. And many people find sponsorship overly constraining. It locks you to a product. If some other company comes out with some great product you want to try... tough, you are essentially a paid representative of your sponsor... you are chained to their product. Even if you had a little DIY project, discussing it would even be a conflict of interest, as that could be viewed negatively in the public as "well, why isn't he running _____ gear?" And the sponsor may request your attendance at certain shows, competitions, or may even just want to borrow your car. Looked at from that standpoint, it can be more of a liability than a benefit. No one is going to sponsor someone with an "if they give it to me... I will build it and compete with it... I promise!!" attitude. The order of events needs to be: 1) you build the car 2) you compete with the car successfully 3) you obtain sponsorships to replace equipment in the car Doesn't happen backwards. I'd give it some more thought... sponsorships have their downsides, and they can be large if you aren't already in a situation that simply makes you an ideal sponsorship candidate. I've been there, I don't like the handcuffs. B)
Look, sponsorships can and will come with a lot of work. You cannot get sponsorships through simple emails or letters. You must send in sponsorship proposal packages in to the sales/marketing director. You don't send in a couple either. You send them to 15-20 different companies. If none of them bite. Send it to another 15-20 companies. Trust me, I currently have 3 different sponsorships. If you need an example of the proposal I sent, just let me know.
