DIY: Get Yourself Sponsored!
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Honda-Tech Member
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From: Orange County, CA
DIY: Get Yourself Sponsored!
***WARNING - Long Read
This is a write-up of how to give you a jump ahead of your competition to get yourself sponsored. The steps written out below are general steps, so they can be used for any company in the automotive industry.
Before I get into it this isn’t written by someone who is just guessing what he thinks is the best thing to do. I personally work as the Sponsorship Coordinator for a company in the automotive aftermarket industry. I am not going to say which company, because I like to keep my personal life separate from my business life, and also my company may not advertise on this website, so I don’t want any trouble from the moderators for advertising.
These steps are steps that I personally look for in the people that I sponsor, but also it are things that I know other companies look for. Being in the Sponsorship department, I have the opportunity to speak with MANY other companies…primarily with people in the sponsorship departments. Being human, we share horror stories of the bad sponsorship experience we have had, and what we wish people would do.
*** These steps WILL NOT guarantee you a sponsorship at any company. They are simply here as a guide to put you above your competition. So don’t come to me whining about some sponsorship you didn’t get. Also, I will be using “ROI” a lot in this write-up. For those of you who aren’t business majors in school, ROI stands for: Return On Investment
Lastly. I don’t care if you copy and paste this in other forums. In fact, I would prefer that you do so that the word gets out. It will make my job a lot easier. Just give credit where it’s due, and please let me know where you post it so that I can join that particular forum to answer questions if there are any. I am more than happy to answer all of your questions about this topic. So ask away.
OK, let’s get to it…
First of all, let me preface this by saying it isn’t hard to get your car sponsored. Getting sponsored really depends on how determined you are. There is not cookie-cutter way to get your car sponsored, so get that idea out of your head.
<U>ONLINE COMPANIES THAT CLAIM THEY WILL GET YOU SPONSORED:</U>
We all know who these companies are. We have seen the advertisements in the magazines. To be perfectly honest, yes, they might even work. I would not recommend using one though. When you go to a company asking for a sponsorship, you are essentially asking that company to invest in you, and your car. When someone asks me to ‘invest in their car’ I want THEM to ask me. If you have to have someone else do it for you (i.e.- some online company), that just shows me you are so lazy, that you just want to one stop shop for a sponsorship. What kind of company will want to sponsor someone who doesn’t want to put the effort in? Show us that you are willing to work for this opportunity.
<U>STEPS TO FOLLOW TO GET YOURSELF READY FOR SPONSORSHIP</U>:
<U>1) Build a portfolio for your car.</U>
Obviously the more detailed the better, but don't drag it on and on. We want to know lots about your car, but sponsorship people don't have time to spend 15 minutes reading your proposal. Get to the point, make it exciting. You are essentially selling your car to the company. Make it CLEAR why they should be sponsoring your car. You can do this in a number of ways:
a) Have other modifications done to your car. I realize that you have to start somewhere, but showing a company a stock car, and saying "sponsor me" is not a good ROI for them. They want to see that you want to modify your car. They want to see that you have money invested in your project. Yes, there is always an exception for every rule. Yes, I have sponsored completely stock cars before, BUT they sold the heck out of their car to me, and they really put a lot of effort in to their proposal.
b) Have a list of car shows that you are planning on attending. Sponsoring a car that doesn't get any exposure is worthless for the company. Again, it’s about ROI. Someone that is going to NOPI, HIN, and lots of other local shows are a lot more likely to get sponsored. Someone who is going to put a companies parts on their car and just keep it in their garage is A LOT less likely to ever get sponsored.
c) Include some quality pictures of your car. This is not mandatory, but again it certainly helps if you are showing a company what they are sponsoring. Many companies will require this, some wont. Better to include it than not.
<U>2) Research the companies.</U>
After you have your portfolio together, get a list of companies together that you want to get sponsored by.
a) If they have a sponsorship link on their website, CLICK IT AND READ! I cant tell you how many phone calls I get at my job of people asking "do you have a sponsorship program" when on our website it is clear that we do, and tells you EXACTLY how to apply for a sponsorship.
b) If when reading the companies sponsorship information they say to fill out their application to apply, DO IT! I get tons of portfolios that are really well put together, but unless they fill out the information that I want, on the form that I made...I don't care.
c) If they don't have anything on their website about sponsorships get their mailing address, and send in your sponsorship portfolio via mail. Just put “Attn: Sponsorship Department”
d) If they have an e-mail address for the sponsorship department write in saying that you have spent some time searching their website about possible sponsorships, but were unable to find any information. Proceed to ask them where it would be best to send your portfolio. Don’t just automatically send them your portfolio via e-mail to that address. They may prefer it in the mail…and you don’t want to start off on the wrong foot do you?
<U>3) Write a Cover Letter</U>
Assuming that you are mailing in your portfolio to a company, WRITE A COVER LETTER. I hate it when I get a portfolio, and there is no cover letter, or a cover letter that is just generic. Personalize the cover letter for each company. Obviously you don't know exactly who you are writing to, but include their company name at least in the cover letter. I would love it if I got a cover letter that said something along the lines of:
"Companies Name,
Thank you for taking the time to read my portfolio. I love XYZ product that your company manufacturers. Ever since I decided to build my car I was determined to have XYZ product on it. Etc, etc, etc.”
This shows me that the person actually knows something about the company I work for, that they took time to write me a personalized cover letter, and those are the type of people that I think deserve a sponsorship. Writing a letter that just says something along the lines of:
“To whom it may concern,
I want to get sponsored by your company. I think I deserve it because I go to a lot of shows. I like cars a lot, so I would represent your company well.”
Getting a letter like that just shows me that you are sending out hundreds of sponsorship portfolios, and hoping for the best. You will take what you can get. It’s lame, and will 9 times out of 10 get thrown in the trash! Take some time…put in some effort. If you are serious about modifying your car, you should be able to take a few minute out to write a personalized cover letter.
<U>AFTER YOU HAVE SENT YOUR PORTFOLIO:</U>
<U>1) Give them time to respond to you. </U>
I literally get hundreds of e-mails alone to my computer just about sponsorships proposals. Additionally, I get mail in applications, and faxed in applications. AND sponsorships are just a small part of my job. Generally, when someone works in the sponsorship department, that isn’t all they do at their job. So, COOL YOUR JETS!
I get people calling in to me like (this literally happened to me once):
"ummm yea, I faxed in my application 2 hours ago, and I haven't heard anything back yet. When will I hear something?"
That persons application goes in the trash.
I would give the sponsorship department about a week. YES, call in and ask about the status of your application it shows that you are interested, but don't pester us. Just call, and say something like:
"Hi, my name is John Smith. I sent in a sponsorship application to you last week. I am just calling to see if you had received it, or had any questions that I could maybe answer for you about my proposal."
If they say they don't have any questions, thank them for their time, and say good-bye. I hate it when someone calls in on the status of their application, and then go on and on about their car. I love cars just as much as the next guy, but I also have work to do. The longer you keep me on the phone, then faster, and faster I push your application through the shredder. If I have questions, I will ask you. You acting like the a-hole that normally calls my home right when I am sitting down to my dinner at night selling me on a better phone plan just pisses me off. Remember, that isn’t just me venting either…this goes for the others that I know in the industry. Don’t waste our time.
<U>2) Move On</U>
You don't need to keep checking back on your application. After you have confirmed that they have got it...if they are interested, they will contact you. If they don't call you, just assume they aren't interested, and move on.
<U>IN CLOSING:</U>
Sponsorships are work. I require quarterly updates from everyone that I sponsor. I require photo's from all the shows that they attend to ensure that our logo's are in place. I require them to send me pictures of the parts on their car for us to use on our website. And they do this for a minimum of a year. If they don't comply with the sponsorship agreement that I send them, we charge their credit card for the remainder of the amount of the products we sponsored them with.
Feel free to ask me questions about sponsorships, or how to get sponsored. I will help you as much as I can.
Cheers!
This is a write-up of how to give you a jump ahead of your competition to get yourself sponsored. The steps written out below are general steps, so they can be used for any company in the automotive industry.
Before I get into it this isn’t written by someone who is just guessing what he thinks is the best thing to do. I personally work as the Sponsorship Coordinator for a company in the automotive aftermarket industry. I am not going to say which company, because I like to keep my personal life separate from my business life, and also my company may not advertise on this website, so I don’t want any trouble from the moderators for advertising.
These steps are steps that I personally look for in the people that I sponsor, but also it are things that I know other companies look for. Being in the Sponsorship department, I have the opportunity to speak with MANY other companies…primarily with people in the sponsorship departments. Being human, we share horror stories of the bad sponsorship experience we have had, and what we wish people would do.
*** These steps WILL NOT guarantee you a sponsorship at any company. They are simply here as a guide to put you above your competition. So don’t come to me whining about some sponsorship you didn’t get. Also, I will be using “ROI” a lot in this write-up. For those of you who aren’t business majors in school, ROI stands for: Return On Investment
Lastly. I don’t care if you copy and paste this in other forums. In fact, I would prefer that you do so that the word gets out. It will make my job a lot easier. Just give credit where it’s due, and please let me know where you post it so that I can join that particular forum to answer questions if there are any. I am more than happy to answer all of your questions about this topic. So ask away.
OK, let’s get to it…
First of all, let me preface this by saying it isn’t hard to get your car sponsored. Getting sponsored really depends on how determined you are. There is not cookie-cutter way to get your car sponsored, so get that idea out of your head.
<U>ONLINE COMPANIES THAT CLAIM THEY WILL GET YOU SPONSORED:</U>
We all know who these companies are. We have seen the advertisements in the magazines. To be perfectly honest, yes, they might even work. I would not recommend using one though. When you go to a company asking for a sponsorship, you are essentially asking that company to invest in you, and your car. When someone asks me to ‘invest in their car’ I want THEM to ask me. If you have to have someone else do it for you (i.e.- some online company), that just shows me you are so lazy, that you just want to one stop shop for a sponsorship. What kind of company will want to sponsor someone who doesn’t want to put the effort in? Show us that you are willing to work for this opportunity.
<U>STEPS TO FOLLOW TO GET YOURSELF READY FOR SPONSORSHIP</U>:
<U>1) Build a portfolio for your car.</U>
Obviously the more detailed the better, but don't drag it on and on. We want to know lots about your car, but sponsorship people don't have time to spend 15 minutes reading your proposal. Get to the point, make it exciting. You are essentially selling your car to the company. Make it CLEAR why they should be sponsoring your car. You can do this in a number of ways:
a) Have other modifications done to your car. I realize that you have to start somewhere, but showing a company a stock car, and saying "sponsor me" is not a good ROI for them. They want to see that you want to modify your car. They want to see that you have money invested in your project. Yes, there is always an exception for every rule. Yes, I have sponsored completely stock cars before, BUT they sold the heck out of their car to me, and they really put a lot of effort in to their proposal.
b) Have a list of car shows that you are planning on attending. Sponsoring a car that doesn't get any exposure is worthless for the company. Again, it’s about ROI. Someone that is going to NOPI, HIN, and lots of other local shows are a lot more likely to get sponsored. Someone who is going to put a companies parts on their car and just keep it in their garage is A LOT less likely to ever get sponsored.
c) Include some quality pictures of your car. This is not mandatory, but again it certainly helps if you are showing a company what they are sponsoring. Many companies will require this, some wont. Better to include it than not.
<U>2) Research the companies.</U>
After you have your portfolio together, get a list of companies together that you want to get sponsored by.
a) If they have a sponsorship link on their website, CLICK IT AND READ! I cant tell you how many phone calls I get at my job of people asking "do you have a sponsorship program" when on our website it is clear that we do, and tells you EXACTLY how to apply for a sponsorship.
b) If when reading the companies sponsorship information they say to fill out their application to apply, DO IT! I get tons of portfolios that are really well put together, but unless they fill out the information that I want, on the form that I made...I don't care.
c) If they don't have anything on their website about sponsorships get their mailing address, and send in your sponsorship portfolio via mail. Just put “Attn: Sponsorship Department”
d) If they have an e-mail address for the sponsorship department write in saying that you have spent some time searching their website about possible sponsorships, but were unable to find any information. Proceed to ask them where it would be best to send your portfolio. Don’t just automatically send them your portfolio via e-mail to that address. They may prefer it in the mail…and you don’t want to start off on the wrong foot do you?
<U>3) Write a Cover Letter</U>
Assuming that you are mailing in your portfolio to a company, WRITE A COVER LETTER. I hate it when I get a portfolio, and there is no cover letter, or a cover letter that is just generic. Personalize the cover letter for each company. Obviously you don't know exactly who you are writing to, but include their company name at least in the cover letter. I would love it if I got a cover letter that said something along the lines of:
"Companies Name,
Thank you for taking the time to read my portfolio. I love XYZ product that your company manufacturers. Ever since I decided to build my car I was determined to have XYZ product on it. Etc, etc, etc.”
This shows me that the person actually knows something about the company I work for, that they took time to write me a personalized cover letter, and those are the type of people that I think deserve a sponsorship. Writing a letter that just says something along the lines of:
“To whom it may concern,
I want to get sponsored by your company. I think I deserve it because I go to a lot of shows. I like cars a lot, so I would represent your company well.”
Getting a letter like that just shows me that you are sending out hundreds of sponsorship portfolios, and hoping for the best. You will take what you can get. It’s lame, and will 9 times out of 10 get thrown in the trash! Take some time…put in some effort. If you are serious about modifying your car, you should be able to take a few minute out to write a personalized cover letter.
<U>AFTER YOU HAVE SENT YOUR PORTFOLIO:</U>
<U>1) Give them time to respond to you. </U>
I literally get hundreds of e-mails alone to my computer just about sponsorships proposals. Additionally, I get mail in applications, and faxed in applications. AND sponsorships are just a small part of my job. Generally, when someone works in the sponsorship department, that isn’t all they do at their job. So, COOL YOUR JETS!
I get people calling in to me like (this literally happened to me once):
"ummm yea, I faxed in my application 2 hours ago, and I haven't heard anything back yet. When will I hear something?"
That persons application goes in the trash.
I would give the sponsorship department about a week. YES, call in and ask about the status of your application it shows that you are interested, but don't pester us. Just call, and say something like:
"Hi, my name is John Smith. I sent in a sponsorship application to you last week. I am just calling to see if you had received it, or had any questions that I could maybe answer for you about my proposal."
If they say they don't have any questions, thank them for their time, and say good-bye. I hate it when someone calls in on the status of their application, and then go on and on about their car. I love cars just as much as the next guy, but I also have work to do. The longer you keep me on the phone, then faster, and faster I push your application through the shredder. If I have questions, I will ask you. You acting like the a-hole that normally calls my home right when I am sitting down to my dinner at night selling me on a better phone plan just pisses me off. Remember, that isn’t just me venting either…this goes for the others that I know in the industry. Don’t waste our time.
<U>2) Move On</U>
You don't need to keep checking back on your application. After you have confirmed that they have got it...if they are interested, they will contact you. If they don't call you, just assume they aren't interested, and move on.
<U>IN CLOSING:</U>
Sponsorships are work. I require quarterly updates from everyone that I sponsor. I require photo's from all the shows that they attend to ensure that our logo's are in place. I require them to send me pictures of the parts on their car for us to use on our website. And they do this for a minimum of a year. If they don't comply with the sponsorship agreement that I send them, we charge their credit card for the remainder of the amount of the products we sponsored them with.
Feel free to ask me questions about sponsorships, or how to get sponsored. I will help you as much as I can.
Cheers!
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,084
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From: Raritan
Re: DIY: Get Yourself Sponsored! (SkankyEJ7)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SkankyEJ7 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not my thing, as I am more into grassroots racing then car shows and having nutswingers. But good info I guess.</TD></TR></TABLE>x2. Plus everything on Honda Tech is rice. 
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Orange County, CA
Re: DIY: Get Yourself Sponsored! (Tyte-S)
I hear what you guys are saying. This doesnt just go for big body kit, super loud stereo type show cars. This can also be used if you have a track car that you may want to get sponsored on, etc.
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,209
Likes: 0
From: Orange County, CA
Re: DIY: Get Yourself Sponsored! (Todd00)
Has to do with every kind of car. Not only that, there was a question about carsponsorships.com recently that sparked this whole thing.
IBTL?
IBTL?
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