With racing so expensive, I figured sponsorship money would be welcome. But I guess it’s not welcome unless it’s free – and unless it chases you down and forces itself upon you.
Recently I met a business owner who wanted to get broader exposure and was interested in sponsoring a sports team. I talked up the local racers, and he was interested. I called a local late model hero and set up an appointment to do a pre-screen (I wanted to brief him on what to say and show this businessman in order to win his trust) – but at the appointed time there was nobody around. Calls just went to voicemail. So I figured this racer didn’t want more sponsorship.
I took the businessman to a local track. He liked the racing and wanted to talk to a few racers in the pits. But a lot of teams packed up and left when they were done (before the racing was over), so we couldn’t meet them. At the end of the night, when we could get into the pits, none of remaining the teams were very lucrative and weren’t too friendly. We ended up giving out a few C-notes but no business cards. Another opportunity lost.
The next week, when I asked the businessman if he wanted to try again, he told me he’d signed up to sponsor a youth soccer league and used up his budget. A worthy cause, but not in the direction I’d hoped. I finally got a call-back from that late model racer – he “forgot”. I apologized that the opportunity had gone elsewhere and tried to tell him that he needed to be more responsible, but he quickly got me off the phone when he realized I had no money for him.
I realize that most of the readers here are fans and not racers, but I’d appreciate if you could pass on these lessons learned to your favorite racers. Opportunities like this may be hit-and-miss, but it wouldn’t have taken much effort to have snagged it when it appeared.
Recently I met a business owner who wanted to get broader exposure and was interested in sponsoring a sports team. I talked up the local racers, and he was interested. I called a local late model hero and set up an appointment to do a pre-screen (I wanted to brief him on what to say and show this businessman in order to win his trust) – but at the appointed time there was nobody around. Calls just went to voicemail. So I figured this racer didn’t want more sponsorship.
I took the businessman to a local track. He liked the racing and wanted to talk to a few racers in the pits. But a lot of teams packed up and left when they were done (before the racing was over), so we couldn’t meet them. At the end of the night, when we could get into the pits, none of remaining the teams were very lucrative and weren’t too friendly. We ended up giving out a few C-notes but no business cards. Another opportunity lost.
The next week, when I asked the businessman if he wanted to try again, he told me he’d signed up to sponsor a youth soccer league and used up his budget. A worthy cause, but not in the direction I’d hoped. I finally got a call-back from that late model racer – he “forgot”. I apologized that the opportunity had gone elsewhere and tried to tell him that he needed to be more responsible, but he quickly got me off the phone when he realized I had no money for him.
I realize that most of the readers here are fans and not racers, but I’d appreciate if you could pass on these lessons learned to your favorite racers. Opportunities like this may be hit-and-miss, but it wouldn’t have taken much effort to have snagged it when it appeared.
