Sponsorship season is upon us and with that many riders are on HookIt or MX Sponsor blasting out their resume to as many companies as possible.
Sure you’ll get a bunch of discounts and fill up your sponsor list at the track, but I caution you to take a step back and look at the sponsorship game.
The internet and sites like HookIt and MX Sponsor have made it very easy to apply and get your information out to a million potential sponsors. Back in the day, you used to address each envelope and mail them all out to each company. You then watched the mail for that acceptance letter and Boom! You’re sponsored. All that changed with the internet. The barrier to entry is lower and requires far less effort, so more people do it. But take a look at the essence of a sponsorship, and I suggest you should change your tune a bit. Remember we wrote earlier how a sponsorship is about a business relationship between you and a company. They are providing you free or discounted product and you, in turn, promote and help them sell said product.
Can you do that with 20 different sponsors? Can all 20 get the maximum effort you have, one worthy of the costs they are incurring by sponsoring you? How much more effective would you be focusing on 4 or 5?
My suggestion for 2017 is to find the 4 or 5 companies that you currently use and believe in. Apply to their 2017 program and when you get accepted, focus on doing the best you can for those companies. Social posts, on track performance, and promoting their products in the pits. Take the opportunity to build these relationships and do the best you can for these core sponsors.
So what do you think of this approach? One that provides real value to those that believe in you.
Let me know what you think.
Share