How to ask for Sponsorship

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340dartley

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The sun is coming out and racing season is getting ready to start. I have always footed the bill myself for occasional weekend racing. This year I am going to ask for some sponsorship help. I work at a car Chrysler dealership and mentioned sponsorship to a mid to upper management person. He said to type up a proposal and submit it. So I have never done this before and am unsure on what to ask for and how to present my car as an advertising opportunity for them. What are your experiences and suggestions. Car is a sportsman class bracket car. 69 Dart swinger. Low to mid 12s with best time of 11.89 back in 1989 lol
 
I would generally start with the target audience size and then brake it down. This many ticket sales at each track, TV audience, demographics, ect. I was usually able to get these figures from the tracks and sanctioning body. Generally this will give a prospective sponsor an idea of what it's costing them to reach each person in their target audience. Usually bargaining would be (unfortunately) in the money received department. Also we would throw in appearances at malls, car dealerships, car shows, ect. Some guys will hire an outside company to draw up a presentation for them.
 
I don't know if they do it in drag racing, but look into decal contingencies. They're were certain decals we were required to run by the sanctioning body and other ones were forbidden to run(conflict of interest). Other areas of the car were laid out by planograms. Finish in the top 5 with a Holley sticker in this location...$50, that location...$100, ect.

Also many sponsors maybe interested in "support" roles. A motel may give you free rooms, or a restaurant may provide meals for the team. It costs them almost nothing and is a write off.
 
If you are going to a Chrysler/Dodge/Ram dealer,, They may say ''But you are racing a 50 year old car.''Be sure to list in your proposal that racers,fans have new Rams to trailer their cars,daily drivers,spouses cars etc.I for one support those that support the racers.Just a thought..
 
Darter6 said:
I for one support those that support the racers.Just a thought..
Click to expand...
Corporate sponsors are willing to pay FAR more per target reached in motorsports than any other venue. Executives at the parent company of Tide detergent have said they are still reaping the sponsorship of Rudd and Waltrip 30yrs ago. I still use Old Spice products today. They haven't been involved in years and I'm not a Tony Stewart fan, but they put money into dirt racing. So I still buy their stuff.
 
I hate to say it but I'm STUPID!!! Back in '75 I was in the military and did a lot of street racing (Mopars). I decided to approach the local Mopar dealer and make a pitch to get a sponsorship to race cars under their name. I had taken my professional mechanic with me to the meeting. After some fancy talking they agreed to let me have any engines and engine parts for their cost. I would have to advertise their name (dealership) on the car. I bought four 440 engines from the local scrap yards and disassembled them.
I don't remember all the details but I never followed up on the deal. I was young and crazy!! I didn't have much money (E3) so I also didn't have any financial backing.

Thinking about it now......I think about all the hemi and 440 engine parts I could have bought for cheap!! So yes, I was stupid...I had a good idea but never followed through.
Just my two cents...:mob::mad::soapbox::BangHead:

GO THERE WITH A GOOD PLAN!!!!!

treblig
 
this all depends upon where you are going to race : local, regional or national . there are sponsorships available in all of these venues , so , target the ones that suit your needs . I f you have an open trailer point out to the client that is logo , decal or title is seen by thousands of motorists going to and coming from the track . Sign up for product sponsorship by contacting them direct or through your race track . Offer local sponsorship prospects free t-shirts with their name . Invite them to a "track day" with you , so they can get a feel of how hard you work . Offer them a "crew member for a day" incentive . this gets them involved and excited about your endeavor . You must be professional at ALL times and present yourself as confident with a winning attitude . With some wins under your belt , sponsors will seek you out . We got $300.00 to put a sticker on the oilpan because the car did wheelies . lol. Good luck , stay safe
 
I plan to run mostly at a local track.so local dealerships make sense. I am in Bakersfield California. Plan right now to compete in Summit series at Famosa and maybe ANRA events over the summer. How much is appropriate to ask for?
 
Even at regional and national levels sponsorship will never exceed costs of operation incurred.

You can break it into categories. Tires, fuel, matenience, transport, ect. Maybe look for the dealership to pick up for"maintenance"(drivetrain freshening, broken stuff, ect). The local guy at "Joe's pizza" might pick up tires to get his name on the rocker...Ect. You basically gotta network a bit.
 
You have to change your mindset before you do anything.


You can't ASK for sponsorship. You have to SELL sponsorship. You are selling the sponsor something and you have to SELL it. It's called ROI or Return On Investment.

Think long and hard about what you can bring to the table. Once you get it dialed in, SELL IT.


You have to sell, not ask. Two totally different perspectives.
 
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