With just seven days to go till the Motorsport Sponsorship Bootcamp on Tuesday March 1 in the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel at 18:45, we (Leo and Colin) thought it would be a good idea to give you an insight into the reality of potential sponsors. Today it takes very little effort to send a message, a text or an email — consequently, sponsorship decision makers are inundated with an avalanche of requests, many of which are poorly pitched and targeted.
The business owner or the marketer who have their hands on the purse strings of a marketing budget are responsible to wisely invest every euro which they have or which has been entrusted to them. Can you imagine the number of times in a day they have to evaluate the authenticity of an opportunity? A lot is the correct answer. Everything from the local charity, to athletes, cycling, motor-racing – you name it, anybody with a high profile brand has already been approached numerous times.
What is the natural human tendency to manage this? Walls go up, filters are put in place and people go into hiding. If you are seeking sponsors for your motor-racing endeavours, here are the tips to get around all this:
1. Spend less time online and more time meeting face-to-face. If you shake hands and look each other in the eye, your sponsorship prospect will instinctively feel they have a better handle on you and what you have to offer. An honest chat will encourage further conversation, allowing you to send a detailed offer or proposal, and ensuring it will be read.
2. By the time you have honed the offer that you are pitching to suit the company/brand, you should have so much confidence in it, that should they not go for it, you should think that is a bad business decision for them. You should be offering them something clearly different (easy) and better (not so easy) than their alternative options.
3. Provide insights into your industry, and delineate a practical path for a sponsor to participate. Present the legitimate nature of your business, your current status, and the opportunity which exists for your sponsor. Be factual. Use authentic numbers to support your position. If you leave it to the potential sponsor to figure out how to make it work, it won’t work. They certainly don’t have time for that, nor edo they have the critical industry knowledge needed to make it work. That’s why they are listening to you.
4. Do exactly what you say you are going to do. Be realistic. Over-hyping an opportunity because of your excitement will instantly compromise your credibility. Effective marketers understand the real work, and hard effort it takes to produce results. They are highly keen to avoid hype. Let them make decisions on what is known, not what you think might happen “if” and “when”.
5. Know the cost for you to provide the benefits you are offering. This is the single most common mistake. You have a budget to meet, and if you underprice, marketers wonder how in the world you can provide all of those benefits for so little money.
6. Avoid over used, irrelevant terms and phrases. “Extreme”, “fastest growing sport” “revolutionise” – ugh, we’ve heard it all before. Find a more accurate description. Remember, you only get one chance, and any hint of deception is going to cause your contact to pull back.
7. Review your online profile. Is it reflective of your skill set, opportunities, and legitimate connections? Have you fostered real dialogue with some of your virtual contacts? If not, make it happen. You might find people who can expand your opportunity, then again, you might become aware of those you are best to avoid. Clean things up.
Everyone loves to work with enthusiastic people who are credible, hard working and enthusiastic. Be just that. Do your research, know the facts, build authentic relationships, and be considerate of other people’s time and money. That’ll separate you from the spoofers and chancers. Be professional – and you will be given the opportunity to be heard.
So, if you’re just getting started in racing and you’re having a hard time figuring out how to get some funding to or even to tell people what you have to offer……or if you have a great event you know is valuable, and you’re frustrated because you can’t seem to get a sponsorship deal, or you don’t know how to go about getting sponsorship….
…or maybe you have been racing for a while and are looking to step up a gear, and you have no clear idea how to get financial support to step it up in 2016….
….then book now for the Motorsport Sponsorship Bootcamp on Tuesday March
This is just a snippet of the sort of insight that we will be delivering on Tuesday March 1. There are currently a limited number of seats still available for this event- don’t hesitate- book now.
‘Motorsport Sponsorship Bootcamp’ Details
Date: March 1, 2016
Location: Louis Fitzgerald Hotel, Naas Road.
Time: Start 18:45, finish 21:00
Price: €70, 2* €120
How To Book: Go to https://ti.to/motorsport-sponsorship-bootcamp/sponsorship and book now.
