Sponsorship Sales: How Much Time and Work Does It Take

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One of the first questions we are always asked is: “How much time and effort does it take to sell and service sponsors?” Our answer is that it’s like anything else. You get what you put into it. It’s just like any other form of direct sales. You have to work at it and never give up.

The majority of people who stop racing don’t lose their passion for competition. They just don’t have the motivation and perseverance to knock on hundreds of doors to help fund their career. They can’t take being turned down over and over while continuously improving and adding value to their sponsor package until they finally find a good fit.

We spend our energy on activating sponsorships and there is no simple formula for calculating what it takes to succeed. For some business activities you can figure out what it takes to complete a project. If you have x amount of materials in y hours you’ll have a finished product. Sponsor sales is different. There is no input = output formula. However, we do find that the harder we work and the more people we contact, the more we succeed.

In the world of sponsorship sales you aren’t just competing against other race teams. Your proposal is going up against every other form of marketing available to a sponsoring company. With the money they can invest with you, a potential sponsor could:

  • Invest in more R&D to bring new products and services to market.
  • Buy more TV, print, radio and/or internet ads which gives them more control over their messaging.
  • Spend more money on direct marketing, renting customer lists to reach better targeted and qualified customers.
  • Hire more sales people to make more sales calls.
  • Hire more marketing staff to increase their social media presence.
  • Sponsor the NFL, NBA, MLB, or any other form of sport.
  • Or they could sponsor your racing team.

Guy Edwards says it best in his book on Sponsorship. “ The commercial world is extremely competitive, and rivalry will be every bit as fierce as you are likely to meet on the track. You should approach your sponsorship program with no less a commitment than you are going to give to winning races--one hundred percent, nothing less. To the winner go the spoils. But, unlike racing, with sponsorship there are no prizes for second place.”

“If you want to succeed you have to be prepared to give your project single-minded concentration until the job is done. Never take your eye off the ball. The biggest single factor in determining whether you achieve your sponsorship goals will be your capacity for sheer hard work, day in and day out, week in and week out, and if necessary, month after month.”

Unless your family owns your sponsoring company, there is no shortcut to sponsorship sales. It takes hard work and a lot of time and commitment. It’s a numbers game. The more time you put into adding more value to what you are offering, expanding your network of contacts, and reaching out to new potential sponsors, the better your chances are at hitting your funding targets.

Assess Your Time Availability
Take a realistic assessment of your ability to commit and stick to a regimented sponsorship work schedule. You have to decide whether or not you are willing to sacrifice other activities in order to focus on having a career in motorsports. You need to hit it hard every day, so be honest with yourself and decide how bad you want to compete. If you really want to go racing, you’ll make the commitment.

Stick to a Schedule
If you choose to stay in the game, then create a practical and logical daily, weekly, and monthly work schedule to help guide you along your path to sponsorship activation. Due to corporate budgeting cycles it is in your best interest to work a year in advance. Many racers are continually trying to sell last minute deals for the upcoming race weekend and this is usually a waste of energy. Racing is a business so treat it like one. Plan ahead and keep pushing forward. Expect to get turned down and when you do, move on to the next prospect.

Use Your Time Wisely
Many racers randomly send out proposals. Most of those end up in the garbage. Instead of wasting time trying to hook a fish in uncharted waters, do your homework. Allocate time to research your target firms and industries.

At the end of the day, if you have a great concept that delivers good value, and if you knock on enough doors, eventually you’ll find people who want to help fund your racing program.

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Photo: Shutterstock
Reference: Edwards, G. (1992). Sponsorship and the World of Motor Racing. (p. 281-282) United Kingdom: Hazleton Publishing.