Genius! Making the call.
Hello guys
A possible sponsor asked me for a presentation file to understand how his company can help me with and the benefits he would have sponsoring me.
Any of you has a project brief, collateral material, or anything you used when you were looking for sponsorship? It is just to give me an idea about what are the main information I should include on it and how to make it really show it is a interesting way of promoting their brand.
Thanks in advance.
This screams of 2 slides:
Slide 1: Sponsoring me means I need X to compete in Y in pursuit of Z (Your ask)
Slide 2: What they get out of You/This in return.
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Be specific in slide 2. Whether that’s broken down into social media exposure and what that means in terms of potential $$$ that they can generate from said exposure, or how it’s more efficient than other means of advertising, etc. etc.
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Also, @DavinRS Davin, who appears to be very wise about these things, pointed out once that YOU are the important bit here in terms of what you can offer the company. Race wins are fine but Davin once mentioned the idea of something like offering up ideas like track day with employees to motivate etc. actual team building stuff. I’m not explaining this well.
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I got it. I think I read something about it in a publication but I don´t remember where.
Sorry, I’m just now getting to this. In essence, sponsorship proposals should inform the reader about the value you can provide them, rather than what you want.
Outside of friends and family giving you money, just because, a sponsorship is about showing that your activity provides a return on their investment. Whether it’s direct sales, increase level of brand engagement through your social media platforms or some direct involvement you have with their business.
Honestly, 99% of business out there do not care that you’re winning races, because winning races do not generate them any business. Besides, there are 1000s of people every weekend who win a race of some kind, so the value prop of you vs them, solely based on winning isn’t unique. (Unless you’re winning on TV or in front of a large streamed audience, and it’s the media platforms that are the value vs your participation.)
Find activites/skills that are unique to you that can help your potential sponsor make money, and they will be infinitely more interested.
Someone earlier said Slide 1 - explain what you want, and Slide 2 - explain what you can give. I’d 100% flip that script.
Always start with the value you can provide. If you can find a way to show a dollar amount to that value, makes asking for money much easier, because it shows a clear ROI.
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Part of me wants to load up what I used when I still raced my car frequently and sent sponsor requests. Presentation is a lot. When you can blow them away before they even read anything it can be advantageous. Let me dig it up and ill post one of the pages.
Edit. Sorry it’s a picture of it. But this is the ToC. It was set up as a multi page document that had pictures from events with all the needed info mixed in.
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But remember we’re also talking about
“How do a provide value for people?” vs “How do I get them to give me money one time?”
If people are nice enough to give you money because they like you, that’s great. If they’re expecting a return through your efforts, we’re having an entire different conversation.
But yes, don’t send people crappy looking stuff. That doesn’t help.
What I posted has nothing to do with “do they like me”. This was a proposal package for potential sponsors. It outlined the team, accomplishments, social media, schedule of events for the year etc.
I was sponsored by some of the biggest names in the car industry. A well put together proposal should outline all the things you mention. I was dealing with over $10k a year in sponsorship.
I’m not talking about “do they like you” either. I’m saying to make sure that you’ve developed a sponsorship relationship that any proposal you provide, shows value and ROI to them, not just pretty pictures. The presentation is important, but if the relationship doesn’t have substance, a sponsorship relationship won’t last long term, or yield what it could.
(There is a reason why the 3 Fs who provide money without expecting a return are ‘friends’, ‘family’ and ‘fools’.)
It’s critical to make sure to develop a program that focus on the return on investment from any sponsorship, in addition to how nice the proposal is.
Coming from someone who does enterprise sales, managed sponsorship budget for small race teams, partnered with automotive marketing agencies and personal sponsorship for my own racing, I’ve got a decent amount of experience with sponsorship and marketing.
The conversation should focus on the value proposition to the sponsor, and the return on why they should spend their marketing dollars on you, vs other activities.
Anyone can make pretty slides with nice pictures that have race calendar. Few can create sponsorship relationships that create actual value. Especially now when sponsor dollars are even harder to come by.
I’ve lost count of the number of pretty templates I’ve seen that I’ve just thrown away, because when I met with the driver all they wanted was money for their program, not to help the sponsor grow their business.
(Equally, I’ve seen so many people provide sponsorship money, with no real goal of what they wanted that money to do, and then say that 'sponsorship doesn’t work." )
Activation isn’t magic. It’s planning, hard work, effort, execution and some luck.
I made this 60 second video for Not Famous Racing Driver, because I had so many people asking about ‘what pictures they should have in their proposal’, and they didn’t want to read long articles about marketing. 
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Your video states “make your own media”. To elaborate on this… it would seem to me that the folks who successfully got “grassroots” sponsored (for example true racer Matt appeared to have some success raising funds via viewer donations) were all about this. Making content. Good content.
So, it makes me think of the Stahl family at NC. They have steadily grown their viewership over the last year. It appears they have entered into some sort of arrangement with their engine builder and a chassis maker as well.
While they are good racers, we aren’t talking Pro Tour, and yet, they have a racing future that appears to include sponsorship. I am just guessing, but it would make sense, since their stuff is getting watched more widely now.
I wonder if sponsorship needs to be thought about differently. It’s probably easier to court some form of partnership if you have built a social media or other presence already. Some folks are born to be “always marketing” themselves. The rest of us it’s an effort. It seems like a lot of work.
I’ve never tried but if KK turns into iracing, competetively, and I complete my transformation into an alien, I’m game to try.
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The circle of life (of a forum thread). 
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And there you have it.
@tjkoyen so, what of your hot young driver who’s likely gonna be a big star nationally? Does the team do the marketing or is that on your driver? Actually never mind as that isn’t relevant here. What’s relevant is the average person who has ambitions.
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That and how well connected you are, like @tjkoyen stated earlier .
I’ve managed five and six figure sponsorship for myself and for others, based on the quality of the relationships and network. Sometimes, the sponsor effectively ‘hired’ the driver for their brain power and brand power, and that was enough activation for them to see a return.
In my 9-5, I’ve worked larger deals based on a rate card, but we’re not here to talk about enterprise relationships.
But yeah, I made a 60 second video, because racer’s attention spans are short and big words can be hard. I’ve got a whole podcast series about sponsorship, and did one for Kartpulse a few years ago. Honestly, it’s probably time for a refresh on it.
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I absolutely agree!!!
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So one of our CRG drivers has just been selected by an investment and consulting house for sponsorship into F4, really awesome I’m so chuffed for him.
Who did the investor choose to sponsor? The Rotax and SWS champion who posts on socials maybe once in three months? Or the kid who just finished his first season mid pack who posts almost daily with great footage?
The latter. Point made completely- sponsorship is not about results, it’s all about exposure.
Really interesting and congrats on his F4 sponsorship! That’s awesome.
It’s true that unlike other sports, you won’t get into the next “tier” of motorsport by driving well, although it does help in some cases. In sports like soccer or hockey, the only way you move up is if you can play at the appropriate level. In racing, it’s about who can secure the sponsorships and pay the money.
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Same kid who has the camera at 2:30. He’s come on leaps and bounds since that training day.
So I went into a sponsorship meeting with my boss. He owns a Top Alcohol Funny Car and loves racing. We traded pictures for awhile. My oval track stuff for his F1 and visaversa.
Do you know what his very first question was?
How big is your social media?. When I said I rarely use it, he made me start an account right there in his office. Now, you have to remember I am friends with my boss. I spent 5 years going above and beyond. I also had the type of relationship where, he’s the CEO and I’ll waltz into his office to talk racing like I own the place. Monday afternoon after the Grosjean crash, guess where I was? Talking racing.
I’ve backed out of opportunities in the past as well. A safety apparel company approached me and wanted me to spend $3000 on their equipment to be “sponsored” while it may have been worthwhile, and a good deal, it didn’t reflect what I need. I don’t need a custom fitted $700 suit to be fast. I don’t need a $1200 helmet to be fast. Yeah they wanted to give me things “half price” but it was still extremely expensive. Their smoking deal was $100 on gloves.
It just wasn’t necessary.
Shoot your shot, cold call people. Some have success with that. At the same time be presentable. Offer exposure. Especially on social media.