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parris shepard
Guest
I am newish to racing. How much do you ask for? Thanks in advance
First, you've got to adopt a win-win attitude: both you AND your sponsor needs to feel that they've benefited from the deal.
Second, you've got to realize that if you want your sponsor to stick around you need to do something for him every week. Don't just take his money and thank him... and that's all you do other than put his name on your car.
How much you ask for depends upon what you need, and how much you're willing to work for it.
Calculate different important costs that you have, such as: weekly maintenance, weekly traveling, engine rebuild, typical repair or replace of worn or broken parts, or parts you need to purchase. In my experience sponsors prefer to see concrete numbers rather than estimates, although experienced teams can quantify estimates pretty well. Sponsors are businesses so they like to see some kind of written form, although some may not be picky if you're not asking for much. Be sure to write up a contract that you both agree on - and sign - to avoid misunderstandings later.
Include the costs to have decals made or signs painted to put the sponsor's name on your car and / or trailer, etc. And if you plan to do any promotions for your sponsor (highly recommended) include the costs of doing them too.
Once you know your expected costs, develop different sponsorship levels. For example, for covering your weekly travelling costs you might offer their name in eight inch high script on your rear quarter panels. Also consider trades instead of cash, such as a gas station that fills your hauler's tank every week might get eight inch script on your roof or hood.
Promotions are how you keep a sponsor. Don't make promises about things you can't guarantee (like wins). Propose ways to promote your sponsor - he needs to see ROI (return on investment). Then not only carry out what you promised, but also send them weekly messages about what you did and the results. Be prepared to do some extras for your sponsor(s) - that generates additional ROI and helps bring them back next season.
Find out what it could cost your sponsor to advertise in other ways in your area (TV, radio, newspapers, billboards, flyers, etc.) - those are quantifiable competitors whose pricing you might be able to work with or beat. You can try to ask other racers, but they probably won't give you good answers or they may be at different experience levels than you or they might be out to lunch themselves.
Sorry there are no easy answers to your question. There are books and articles written on this subject. But the bottom line is: develop a good relationship with sponsors that give them good ROI and excites them more than conventional advertising and you should be able to build the financing you need.
Second, you've got to realize that if you want your sponsor to stick around you need to do something for him every week. Don't just take his money and thank him... and that's all you do other than put his name on your car.
How much you ask for depends upon what you need, and how much you're willing to work for it.
Calculate different important costs that you have, such as: weekly maintenance, weekly traveling, engine rebuild, typical repair or replace of worn or broken parts, or parts you need to purchase. In my experience sponsors prefer to see concrete numbers rather than estimates, although experienced teams can quantify estimates pretty well. Sponsors are businesses so they like to see some kind of written form, although some may not be picky if you're not asking for much. Be sure to write up a contract that you both agree on - and sign - to avoid misunderstandings later.
Include the costs to have decals made or signs painted to put the sponsor's name on your car and / or trailer, etc. And if you plan to do any promotions for your sponsor (highly recommended) include the costs of doing them too.
Once you know your expected costs, develop different sponsorship levels. For example, for covering your weekly travelling costs you might offer their name in eight inch high script on your rear quarter panels. Also consider trades instead of cash, such as a gas station that fills your hauler's tank every week might get eight inch script on your roof or hood.
Promotions are how you keep a sponsor. Don't make promises about things you can't guarantee (like wins). Propose ways to promote your sponsor - he needs to see ROI (return on investment). Then not only carry out what you promised, but also send them weekly messages about what you did and the results. Be prepared to do some extras for your sponsor(s) - that generates additional ROI and helps bring them back next season.
Find out what it could cost your sponsor to advertise in other ways in your area (TV, radio, newspapers, billboards, flyers, etc.) - those are quantifiable competitors whose pricing you might be able to work with or beat. You can try to ask other racers, but they probably won't give you good answers or they may be at different experience levels than you or they might be out to lunch themselves.
Sorry there are no easy answers to your question. There are books and articles written on this subject. But the bottom line is: develop a good relationship with sponsors that give them good ROI and excites them more than conventional advertising and you should be able to build the financing you need.
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parris shepard
Guest
A lot to consider. Thanks for taking the time.
You're welcome. Obtaining and keeping sponsorship can be as hard as any other aspect of racing.
The good(?) news is that there are multiple ways of doing it well, and you can change what you're doing if you need to.