Sponsor-Seeking Racers, listen-up!

I need to rant a little, and hopefully help some people in the process. I have always wanted to help people stay in how sport, but have struggled with how to do it. As a business in the sportbike world, I get sponsorship requests all the time. They usually start with something like, " hey, I'm a racer and am willing to put your sticker on my bike if you give me a set of bodywork."

Lets look inside the business owner's mind for a moment. You are asking me to take 7-800 dollars that I could spend on my own racing effort, or do something with my wife. Why would I do that? Is it a good deal? If I do it, will it give me any type of return? When you approach a business owner about sponsorship or freebies, keep in mind that the only thing we are thinking about is if you will generate a return.

How do you generate a return, you ask? Simple really... The sticker on your bike is nice, but unless you are Ben Spies it doesn't return anything! The best way to offer value to a sponsor is to simply talk about and refer people to them. It's really that simple. By sticking a sticker on your bike and thinking that your part is done, you have certainly ended next year's possibility of sponsorship.

Why the rant, you ask? I recently gave a customer an Alpinestars Race Replica suit (1800.00), after giving him several at cost. In return i got my logo on the suit and a sticker on the bike. It was pretty cool to see my logo on the AMA Supersport box a couple times, so it wasn't a total loss. But after a month of giving the suit, he calls again for another one.

When I told him I couldn't afford to give him another one at the moment, he gave me some BS about being front and center of the "world Stage." AMA Supersport, really?! My TV commercials play for MotoGP and World Superbike; that's the world stage. Well, after telling him that I couldn't justify giving him another suit, he said I wasn't giving him a suit, I was "marketing." After reiterating that I could not do it, he hung-up on me.

I'm really frustrated with the lack of gratitude here, and I must say that the "I'm entitled because I have a race number" is getting a little annoying.

Sorry for the rant, and I hope I didn't offend anybody. Please keep in mind that businesses require a return on their investment. If you approach potential sponsors with that in mind you will surely have increased your chances of getting sponsored.

 

We can't comment until you tell us who the rider is.

 

LOL, nope... not gonna do it. Just look at AMA Supersport, and you might just find it. Hey, it's a scavenger hunt!

 

My guess would be Huntley Nash based on his website? Do I win a prize?

 

... it could be...

 

Can I have a free suit?

Nah, make it two.

 

whats the deal with wanting a new set?? whats wrong with the others you sold him and the set you gave this rider?

 

Duh, he's reselling them to his friends.

 

Yeah! Free suits for everybody! But you should know that we are not going to give you just any suit. We are going to fly you to Italy for a custom fitted Alpinestars suit. It will have your name sewn on it and will fit perfectly. Now that's not all. Since you are likely to sweat in your suit (gross), we will send you a new one before every race so you feel all "fresh and clean." For all this, all we ask is that you put our sticker in some obscure location on your car (we wouldn't want to taint your bike), and never talk about or to us again.

 

He crashed and wanted a fresh set instead of repairing them.

 

You don't have to fly me to Itally. I don't like the airport.

 

i wear a size 44. Thanks pm me for my address. hahahahhaha

 

if i dont ever talk to you again, how will you know when to send my new suit...we'll have to get this part worked out!

 

if this person was a top level rider in superbike... i could see it... but im sorry, supersport is a feeder class...


he should be getting them repaired.

 

LOL! Maybe I can just post my company credit card numbers on the board and trust you will only use it for suits...

 

Joking aside, what have you gotten in return for your investment? Has this unnamed rider driven traffic to your company? Has this unnamed rider mentioned you on the podium, in the press, on his website and increased your sales? Let's put it this way, have you gotten a return on your investment?

X number of $2500 suits at cost plus one free is a substanial investment on your part. How much has this investment given you in the sales department? Cut to the chase, how dough you make via your sponsorship?

Sponsorship ain't free.

 

For real! At a minimum, I shouldn't get hung-up on for not buying him another suit. What, are we three?

 

+1

Not for nothing but I would think sponsoring track day instructors would provide better return. As long as said instructors truely believed in your product. They are constently giving new riders advice, and these new riders are usually in need of new stuff. I am new to this, but just something I have thought.

 

I once watched a supersport race and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

 

This is really the point of my post. The rider seems to be really nice, and it was his father/manager that worked the deal. As far as return, I got a couple months of bragging rights. Nobody has mentioned him to me or that he has referred us. That doesn't mean he hasn't, but I haven't recognized any jump in sales.

What pisses me off is that I have an email sitting in my inbox from Melissa Paris. I could have allocated funds to her, but opted for the "up and commer." very frustrating!