A COMPLETE GUIDE TO SUCCESSFULLY SECURING SPONSORSHIPS

Just about every day and at every event I get the question “how can I get sponsored”? Even today at lunch, I had a great discussion with the guys from Vortech / Paxton / Lysholm Superchargers about this very topic. When I got back to the office, I went through my old files and found a article I wrote back in 2006 called “A Complete Guide to Successfully Securing Sponsorships”! I fully understand that things have drastically changed from 2006 to 2011, but I figured that some info is better then no info…so enjoy!

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO SUCCESSFULLY SECURING SPONSORSHIPS
Everything you need to know and more
By Neil Tjin – 2006 Season

You regularly hear the talk at shows, enthusiasts wondering how other competitors landed such a wide variety of sponsors for their rides. We have the answers to help you. What you will read over the next few paragraphs is a set of guidelines on how to put together a detailed proposal to show you what may captivate a prospective sponsor’s attention. We will provide you with all of the ingredients for picking up sponsors.

The first thing that you will need to decide is which companies you wish to work with, and what products you need or want to feature and display on your car. It is important that you look at all of your options and write them down. Once your list has been made, you can begin working on your proposal, line item by line item. It’s important to remember that when you make your proposal, make it professional, flashy and unique. The top industry manufacturers receive a considerable number of proposals on a weekly basis, so you want your proposal to be noticed, to end up on the marketing director’s desk and not in the pile of “possible sponsorships”. You want your proposal to make a statement; you want it to catch the attention of the reader and for it to make a difference.

So with that said, what exactly is a company or marketing director looking for in a proposal? If you can answer this question, you are off to an excellent start. If you can’t at this current moment, you have come to the right place. Having a unique and well built car is only the beginning. Obtaining the attention of a proposed sponsor is another matter altogether.

When putting together a proposal, there are several key items to keep in mind. Never tell any company about the plans that you are planning in the future. Instead, inform the company only about your car’s current modifications. Companies do not want to hear about future plans, because they know that nothing in the future is ever guaranteed.

Many people assume that the longer the length of the proposal, the better. This is a misconception, and not necessarily true. Proposals of longer length are not always good, and sometimes not what the potential sponsor is looking for. In fact, because of the length, the marketing director may not fully read through your entire proposal. Companies are looking for proposals that are interesting and to the point. Marketing directors do not have the time to read through proposals that are 20 or 30 pages in length. Limit your efforts to five or 10 pages of pure information that should suffice to getting your message across.

Making your proposal stand out should be one of your main objectives. Your proposal should make a strong and direct statement to whomever is making the final decisions. Catchy, to the point and detailed is what can easily make or break your proposal, especially if the proposal is sent “cold”, meaning that the company doesn’t know you or hasn’t worked with you in the past. If you have a relationship with the company going in, then it will be far easier to get your point across, based on the information that you have received from previous conversations.

When asking Jason Siu, Modified Magazine’s West Coast Editor and car builder, his perspective on sponsorships he gave us this insight: “Another important aspect in acquiring sponsorships is to showing potential sponsors that you are knowledgeable in the industry and that you are a person that sponsors can rely on to market their product. If you are new to the industry, don’t get cocky because of who you are around. Be patient and gather up all the knowledge that concerns your vehicle and your potential sponsors’ product, so when push comes to shove you are able to deliver solid information and impress the sponsors. Professionalism and experience is vital in this industry, no industry figurehead has made it there overnight – many of these people have been doing this for close to a decade!”

Any company wants to see a return on its investment in its potential relationship with you and its products. If the company sees that you can provide maximum exposure, you are most definitely an asset to their company. Companies are looking for determined, hard working, and dedicated car builders and designers. They also want to see guys and gals that don’t mind to travel, and attend as many shows as possible throughout their regions. The more shows that you and your vehicle attend, the more exposure the company will get for its product donation. For many companies, depending upon their size and other show commitments, your car could be considered one of their demo/show vehicles. This will give the consumer the opportunity to see your car featuring this certain manufacturers’ product. Being a company’s demo/show vehicle can be a huge accomplishment for an enthusiast, but with that also comes the added pressure of living up to your expectations and promises.

This is very important to remember; being sponsored by a company is very similar like working for them. You will be their representative at all the shows, races and events that you attend. You will be talking to the end consumer and answering questions about the products that you have installed on your car. A company is looking to sponsor individuals that can obtain magazine exposure, someone who can speak properly, and be a good example at events. The best advice we can give you is to not curse, be professional, be polite, and most importantly be yourself. Consider this process like you are going for a job interview for the company that you are approaching for sponsorship. Put serious time and effort into your proposal and presentation and you will see it work for you. Make sure that you include a detailed show schedule for the upcoming season.

Another important thing to remember, never send an e-mail to a company asking for free parts or sponsorship. This is by far the most impersonal way to present yourself. The majority of the time marketing directors are so busy that they don’t get back to your e-mail or your e-mail is simply deleted. The best case scenario you can hope for with an e-mail is that it’s placed in the sponsorship folder. If you want to make a good first impression, take the time to put together something tangible and actually mail it in. Another good tip is to send your proposal priority mail; this makes a great impression and shows that you are serious about getting the proposal to the company in a timely fashion. If you have any hope of succeeding, do it right from the start. We have heard of tons of “nice” people with really great cars, but their proposals were mediocre and down right weak.

A classic example of a weak proposal is a couple of black and white pages stapled together at the top corner. This shows the company that you put very little time and effort into your proposal. If your proposal takes you all of five minutes to put together, chances are the marketing director will look at it for maybe one or two minutes, if even, and then put it aside. The more effort you put forth into your proposal, the more attention you can expect it to receive from the recipient. Make sure that your proposal is professionally presented in a nice folder or binder. Imagine yourself in the marketing director’s shoes, what would you want to see come across your desk? What would you want to see in your hands? Once you can honestly address the situation, you can assemble your proposal accordingly.

We asked Denny Huang from Crossfire Car Audio, a four year marketing director, what he looks for when a proposal comes across his desk. Denny told us “that a proposal should be looked at on the same level as a job resume. The individual should be able to sell himself on paper. A nicely written and laid out proposal always stands out above the rest. It also needs to contain key elements such as photos of the vehicle, what events the individual will be attending, and of course the amount of exposure it will receive. If it’s a new project, a rendering of the finished product should be included. Successful past projects and established individuals make my decision making much easier.
Here at Crossfire we steer away from very simple email proposals or people that say they are new to the scene and have no money. People like that are simply looking for a handout. Individuals that have to ask what a proposal is do not have what it takes to successfully represent the company.”

THE PROPOSAL

A great proposal has several key ingredients. There are certain items that you MUST include in your presentation. For starters, the cover page is very important. The cover page is your first impression to the reader. When the potential sponsor sees your cover, it has to scream “WOW”! On the cover page you want to include a nice bright color photo of your car or rendering. You also want to include “To” and “From” headers. Example To: Turtle Wax – From: Neil Tjin. If you are associated with a strong, known crew, putting your team logo on the cover page can also make it more appealing.

Next we come to what makes your proposal, the meat and potatoes: the introductory letter. In the introductory letter is where you write a paragraph or two telling the company about yourself and the current project that you are working on. The introductory letter is where you want to “sell” yourself and your project. You want to show the company marketing director that you are determined and ready to work for them. Let them know why you and your car will be a good asset to their company. After finishing these keep steps it’s time to move on to the next part of your proposal

The next page should include some of your insights into our industry. Let the company know what you have to offer them. Remember, the company needs to see something interesting, something that only you or your vehicle could provide. Make it loud and clear that you can give the company something in return for its product donation. Explain the sponsorship opportunities that you have to offer and why it would be an advantage for them to team up with you. Make sure you let the company know what events you are planning on attending, where you are going to be traveling to (dates, location, type of event, i.e., HIN) and of course the magazines and websites that you are going to be working with, or at least are planning to contact in the near future.

Companies like to see this because it will show reasons to work with you. Be sure not to commit magazine coverage unless you have previously set something up, as many of these marketing directors contact the magazine editors to inquire about specific commitments that you have promised. If you have overcommitted and the magazine editors say “no way” or “we have never heard of that guy or gal”, your proposal will instantly lose all credibility.

Never come straight out and tell a company you want something or you deserve something. Offer your support by promoting the product. Ask whether the company has a new product or products that they would like to promote on your car. You do not want to come across as greedy or ignorant. Make sure that you imply that you want to help the company to the best of your abilities and that you are willing to promote their products on your behalf. Marketing directors will love to hear things like this because it shows that you are a team player. Here is another big blunder; never use the word “sponsorship” when talking to a marketing director. The word sponsorship comes across as free to many marketing directors. You have to remember that these companies want something in return for their product donations, such as magazine exposure and event exposure.

Next you must write a detailed list of modifications that have you done to your car, AKA a spec sheet. This will show the potential sponsor what you have done to your car thus far. Include in your breakdown a list of your exterior, interior, engine compartment, suspension, wheels and tires, audio set-up, all custom work, and anything else that you feel is important for the company to know. This will show the marketing director just how much time and money you have already invested into your car. It will also demonstrate what you can do with certain products and how the company’s products will fit in with modifications that you have already done to your car.

There are a few ways of putting together a proposal, depending on how far along your car already is. The first plan is appropriate if your car is already built and you would like to add some cool new parts to it. Some good examples would be a set of Falken tires, a audio video set-up from Crossfire Car Audio, an ID-Tuning strut bar, some Ignited HIDs, Bell Intercooler front mount intercooler, or a set of Konig 3piece wheels.

Another plan would be appropriate if you are working on a new project vehicle and you would like assistance from a certain company during your build-up. This plan is directed more towards a builder or designer who has previously built or designed cars and can show examples of their past projects and accomplishments (magazine features, or photos of the cars at events). If this project represents your second, third or even fourth car, sponsors will feel better knowing that they are not jumping into something without knowing the builder’s qualifications.

To give you an idea of effective language to use in your proposal, here are a couple of catchy lines that we have come across over the years:
*”Your involvement in this project can help increase brand awareness in a huge, but cost effective manner.”
* “My project vehicle can help increase your sales by showcasing how your products make great show cars even greater.”
*”So what’s worse than not having your company logo and product on my car? How about seeing your competitor’s logo and product instead?”

Once a sponsorship receives approval, don’t forget to contact the marketing director and thank them for their time and support. Always keep them happy and updated on all that you are doing and have already done for them. When a magazine feature comes out, make sure to e-mail or gave the marketing director a call with the great news. Another great tip is sending them a hard copy of the issue with your feature, along with a thank you note. Also remember to document any other type of exposure that you receive with the car. This is something subtle, yet is often forgotten. Your efforts will show the company how appreciative you really are and how conscious you are about communicating your successes due to their products.

Now that you have some insight as to what most companies and marketing directors are looking for regarding exposure and subsequent parts sponsorships, get to work and get yourself some sponsors! – Neil Tjin