Hey guys, I’m hoping that some of you can help me out with some information:
Here’s my story: I’m a 21 y/o college kid on a small budget, but with a decent shot of qualifying for Xterra Nationals. Compared to road tri’s and kona, i realize that most of you could care less about mtb’s and Xterra nats, but this is what i’m into. As a decent age grouper (as both a runner, mtb’r, and tri) what is the best way to go about getting sponsored?
I’m looking particularly for help getting myself actually to nationals (ie:airplane, lodging, food) as i realize that most big companies will give out pro deals and the like. i dont really need gear, or gear deals as i work in a bike shop already, but was looking for some ideas about how to get travel and other expenses paid for.
i realize that i probably have no shot at getting this type of sponsorship and should just save my pennies (already doing this ), but was wondering if anybody had any ideas or experience with these sorts of deals.
Bottom line: How much press can you generate- how much stuff can you sell?
Often times people don’t recognize or understand the distinction between sponsorship, where the athlete is a sports marketing tool that companies employ to gain visibility and generate sales, and a contribution which is a philanthropic effort on the part of somone to enable an athlete to contiue racing and training by providing resources such as cash, food, equipment, lodging and travel but expect nothing in return.
Being sponsored is hard work. You owe your sponsors a lot, and it is subtle and exhausting effort. You need to contact your local sports editor, get them excited, generate press, build a website, create an image and a “hook”, give people a reason to notice you.
Look at the Jessi thread. Perfect example. It isn’t so much about her athletic results prese as it is about her personna. Read the posts: “She is personable” “She is friendly” “She talks to MOP’ers…”
When this girl finishes a race she doesn’t beeline back to the hotel for a nap. She cleans up, looks in the mirror, makes herself a positive visual representation for her sponsors and then interacts with people in a positive way. That is hard work. It is politics and show business.
That is what sponosrs want.
Try this book:The Athlete’s Guide to Sponsorship: How to Find an Individual, Team, or Event Sponsor
by Jennifer Drury, Cheri Elliot, Cheri Elliott
Most big companies aren’t going to offer FOP AGers money to travel. You’re best bet is to hit up your local companies. Maybe the local insurance company, chiropratic clinic, electricians union, etc… Think outside the box, and if you can get three or four companies to donate a couple hundred dollars each, you’ll be set. Good luck.
good advice so far, Tom is dead on about it’s not ALL about performance as at your level, no offense meant here as I’m basically at the same level, even if you win it’s probably not going to be a big race that’ll get on the cover or Triathlete mag or something. Companies may sponsor you if you show that you can represent thier product with a positive image and be very very very visable and approachable. Granted you need to be fast to show that the product works well (assuming tri sponsorships) but often the local hero or top age grouper is going to be able to connect better to the average triathlete, aka target customer, than a top level pro who not many people really know all that well. I’m at about the same level as you, locally I win some races, usually in the top 5 overall at a smaller race, maybe top 10 or top 20 at a national level race and I’m hoping to get into Tahoe as well. We’ll see how things go in Richmond…
My sponsorships, and equipment wise I do pretty well, are probably 50% performance based and 50% based on the fact that pretty much everyone in our local tri community knows me or knows of me, I’m friendly (just go lucky there I guess), and make a great salesman without really trying to hard. If you can rave about a product because you really love it not because the sponsor told you rave about it, you’ll have a better chance of representing it well and sponsors like that. So if you go for equipment sponsors pick your companies well, plus most companies like it better if you tell them that you’ve been using thier product for a while, really like it, it makes you faster, etc, and you’d love it if you could help them out and in return they help you out. Go for local tri shops, nutrition sponsors, maybe a bike brand but for most larger brands unless you have an in you’re probably better off getting an employee purchase (usually the same as a pro deal) from your bike shop sponsor.
$$$$$ look to the local community. Find companies that can make a good return off one or two additional customers and who’s customers fit the triathlon athletes profile. We put together a small semi-pro team here in Hawaii and we’re getting some pretty good $$$ it looks like but it’s mainly with non-triathlon sponsors. Housing developers, stuff like that. I can send you one of our sponsor packets if you really want over email. Might take me a couple of days.
thanks for the advice guys. at the level i’m at now, it’s not going to be so much performance based as it is based on how i can connect with people and get the product/company name out there. while i’ll win a small race every now and then and am more often than not in the mix for an age group win, people generally aren’t going to be like “shit, he’s fast, i need to be on what he’s on”. it’s more of being friendly and being a good representative of a company that will get me in the door.
on a seperate note to tai, that’d be awesome if you could send me an email copy of your group’s sponsorship packet. i’ll drop you my email over PM. also, i’ll be at richmond myself. it looks like an awesome course/venue. i’m actually headed down this weekend to check it out and pre-ride the course. maybe i’ll get to meet some of you other ST’rs there. i’ll be the one w/ the blue fuel 90 and the Virginia Tech tri jersey.
As far as money goes, a guy I used to race against (and for a while, on the same team as) would always do group rides. All sorts of them. He liked them for training and he was a real nice guy, so when it came time for him to go to Canada to race as a junior (road stage race), he got all the money he needed. He didn’t even have to ask. There were just plenty of masters riders that wanted to help him out.
I got the same thing from I guy I used to ride with. He ended up having heart surgery and couldn’t ride hard after that, but he was a fun guy to hang out with so I always rode with him if I sam him out riding. He thought I was just being nice and always wanted to help me out after that. He even gave me money for nationals the next year. This kind of stuff is where you end up getting money from if you’re not a star.
The other thing I would say is just to try and be involved in giving back to the sport. I am the worst rider on my team right now, but there’s no way I’m going anywhere. The guy who runs the company that sponsors us likes me because I’m an official, I help run a collegiate team, I ride with another club where I know lots of people, and, at the time, I was working at a velodrome as an instructor. The bike shop that sponsors us knows that there are two people on my team who are going to help sell bikes. One is me and the other has his own coaching business and helps run the club.
That said, all this stuff requires an investment in time. Any kind of sponsorship will require your time, so you need to decide whether working more or seeking sponsorship/donations is going to provide you with the best return. I’d be doing most of the stuff anyway, so it just happened to help. Oh, and make sure you update your sponsors and anyone else who cares about what your doing. I started keeping a blog just to post race reports, and you would be surprised how quickly sponsors found out and started reading it. They really appreciated something that simple. It’s amazing how many people don’t think to keep sponsors updated (which is something mentioned in the book which Tom D. recommends, and I do, too). So, write and really check your spelling and grammar.
), but was wondering if anybody had any ideas or experience with these sorts of deals.