Sponsors?

If this post cannot be answered please feel free to delete it. That aside I have a few questions;

1. What do sponsors look for when making a decision?

2. How do you go about contacting and setting up a meeting?

3. What kind of other experience do they look for besides fishing?

I am just wondering for future reference.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

Chris,

i also have some of the same questions. i have been contacting some people for sponsors and the 2 things i noticed most about them is that #1 that want an updated resume, including all tournys fished and what place. and #2 is that you buy your boat or rods or whatever they are from them. that is what i have got so far. anyone care to chime in on this?

Walleye Fool

To put it simply, sponsors want more than someone who wears their logo. When you look for sponsors, you need to let the sponsors know what they will get out of the deal. They are businesses who need to look out for themselves first.

The first thing to do is create a sponsorship resume. Let the sponsors know what kind of qualifications you have (fishing experience, anything you do with the community or youth, any sales experience or training you may have, and anything else that shows them what kind of person you are). Make sure to send a cover letter with your intentions on it, I always make sure to state why I chose their company to seek sponsorship, (example, I am inquiring with XYZ company because I truly believe in your product and think that there is room for growth in my area and in my tournament circuit). Be honest, if you don’t think you can help that company, they probably won’t think you can either.

Next you’ll need to send a picture of yourself. Sponsors want to make sure that you’re clean and presentable. To them you are a sales rep, you need to look like one.

Send your potential sponsors a list of upcomming events so they know where you’ll be showcasing their products. I usually send a list of events fished with finishes for the previous year and the upcomming years schedules.

My suggestion would be to look into getting sponsorship from some smaller local companies first. This gets you some affiliations to put on your resume. A bigger company is going to be more impressed with you if you have local companies willing to spend money or product on you. They need to know that others trust you too.

The people at bigger companies would be the promotions directors, (some companies have entire departments for this). Some companies will have applications on their web sites.

Remember, most big companies get thousands of sponsorship inquiries per year, you have to stand out or they’ll probably discard your info. I usually ask in my cover letter that they open a file on me so I can send them info in the future. This has worked, if you keep sending good info, eventually they may see your determination and work ethic as just what they’re looking for.

I hope this helps. I’m available if you have more questions.

Marshall Wuensch

Hey Chris, good question. I feel the most important answer is: What can you do for them? You need to be able to sell/promote their products/services. You become a salesman/public relations/promotions person for them. You need an avenue/means of how you will accomplish this. It could be a combination of TV, radio, internet website, seminars, boat shows, tournaments, guiding, fishing ability and knowledge, etc. Good speaking skills and a writing ability will help too. Keep those two in mind when picking classes at school as you are young enough to learn some speaking and writing skills through school which will help you. You also have a very big desire and love for fishing. I see you doing some reports at times on your fishing. Keep doing that as its very good practice for speaking/sharing to others about what worked, what didn’t, which lures caught fish and why, what structure you were on etc. Also good practice for doing seminars and writing someday. You are already headed in that direction. Keep posting Bud.
Thanks, Bill

Chris, if you follow what Bill and wimwuen said you will be off to a good start. I want to add one thing, instead of sending out a resume, send out a portfolio of yourself and information on what tournaments you are fishing. Example, cover page could have a few pictures of yourself, newspaper clippings, etc. Don’t arrange the pictures in any order, turn them at angles, overlap them slighty with the newspaper clippings, etc. The first page after the cover should be a Contents page, which will tell the person reading your portfolio what’s inside. Center these on the page. next should be the Letter of Intent page, which tells that person a little about you and what you are looking for, along with what you can do for their company. Then a Pictures page, with pictures of you fishing, working with kids, etc. Then a Tentative Venue- Competition Schedule page which tells them what you will be doing during the up-coming fishing season. The next page could be a Tournament Expenses page which explains how much you will be spending on tournaments this season, gas, entry fees, motels, supplies, maintenance, etc.
It helps to throw in some information on fishing as well, a Fishing Facts page, popularity of fishing, tournament growth, etc. Show all your sources. If you take your time you can put together a portfolio which people will enjoy looking at, and getting them to read something about you is the first step. Good luck, Carl

Mike Ike has a pretty good audio cd on turning pro- about half deals with fishing stuff and the other half deals with obtaining and retaining sponsors. Even though he kind of dropped the ball at the classic its a pretty good cd. It is 20 bucks new, I have a copied ive listened to about 4 times and would sell it for 15 shipped to your door. PM me if interested.

I’ll come at it from a different point of view.

I was looking for someone to sponsor. I don’t have products to be sold. We are a service company, I don’t need people to work shows, sell product ect. I started monitoring web sites such as this one and a few more. I watched how people posted, how they handled disputes in their discussions. I watched there spelling, how they formed their thoughts. I followed what their ethics were, what they believed ect.

I had a short list of about 5 guy’s that caught my eye. A couple posts on another site and I narrowed my list to one. I called, made the offer and he accepted.

Here’s the deal. I’m paying him $1,000.00 for the season. He can use it for gas, entries, motels, whatever. It’s his money to do with what he likes.

Here’s what we get. Embroidered shirts,( I pay for those) he also has to take the owners son bass fishing some afternoon. He lists us as a sponsor on web sites where permitted. I also will get a couple of photo’s of him and his rig for my office.

That’s it.

So in answer to your question. I would remember you never know who is watching and posting on these web sites. Most sponsors will be older people who have different thoughts and beliefs then you do. That doesn’t make them right, only different.

Now if you are looking for the big bucks…….then the sponsors will have different requirements then what I do.

Best of luck & don’t get discouraged, it’s a hard thing to break into.

That is great advice, that is something I offer to my sponsors as well. I often offer a trip or two that the business owner or manager can use themselves, give to employees as incentives, or give as a gift to customers. I look at it like this, I’m going to be spending a lot of time on the water doing what I like, I can offer somebody else the chance to experience what I love while making my sopnsors happy. If the worst thing you have to do is take somebody fishing, you found a good deal.

I agree with the portfolio response as well. I should have clarified a little bit more, I also like to send in more than just a plain resume and cover letter. I like to give potential sponsors as much (relevant and interesting) info for my file as I can. Don’t over do it, but show them that you know your stuff (fishing and marketing).

As Brian said, stay active with the fishing community. I post on this site and 2 other Walleye sites daily. Getting your name out there is one of the biggest things.

Good references are a must. Most sponsors don’t actually call them, but some do. Offer to help out with clean up once a year on your circuit. Your tournament director will remember this. Sponsors really value the input of tournament directors because they deal with everyone, good or bad.

All in all, give good info, get your name out there, and make a good impression not a bad one.

Good posts by all!
Brian M, Thanks for your insight from one doing the sponsoring. That is great insight for any of us in the fishing Biz.
Jr., in talking about putting a resume’ together, let me go a step prior. Create a resume’ by putting your time in and fish the ameteuer end of some of the major tournament trails out there. The FLW League is only $75, and you get to fish with some really great sticks! You can ask them how they do it. Plus, you earn your stripes this way. People remember the “Kid who placed here,” and the “Kid who fished there.” You may even want to fish the FLW Tour Event(s)as well. Talk to the major sponsors who attend and support these events. Get a card or two from these folks. Follow up with an email, thanking them for their time when they took the time to talk to you.
When it really gets down to it, you really need to put in your time, and network. When you do get a door opened, always be truthful, honest, and respectful. And remember where you started. Someday you may be able to give someone else that chance to get started yourself. It keeps us all humble.
Always thank and support your sponsor. Too often people think it is all about money. That is not the case. And the earlier one learns that lesson the better. Relationships are the name of the game. The fact that you are here on IDA asking this question puts you ahead of the curve.
Good luck bud! I am sure you will do well!
Tuck

First of all, let me say that I don’t know a lot about the fishing industry. I don’t even know that I know a lot about sales. But I do know something about chasing a dream.

1. You have to get good at what you want to do. Like, exceptionally good. Sooner or later, your good manners, nice appearance, and cool head will have to prove themselves in getting the job done.

How do you go about this?

Get as close as you can to the people who ARE where you want to be!!! You’re not looking for favors, but if you establish relationships and maintain them well, they might tip you off to some knowledge, tip, or opportunity that they feel you’d be a good match for. Word of mouth…… it’s an incredibly powerful resource. Stay in touch. Stay in the loop. Be involved always, somewhere, with something relative to your goals. People will notice and it will bear fruit. Take everything you can learn from those “ahead of you” and apply it to your own development.

2. Don’t forget to notice who’s around you while you’re going this journey. Others are going to be struggling to get as far as they can with this same thing you’re after. Do NOT see them as something to stomp out, ignore, or defeat. They are potential assets that will help you more than anyone else ever will. Who’s going to hope you can join forces with them someday? A friend or foe? Often, these fellow dream chasers will come across something you haven’t learned yet and because you’re not a direct threat to their own success, they’ll often share those lessons with you. Growing or schooling with a group of individuals will only accelerate the successes of everyone involved.

3. Learn to be wise toward common pitfalls. If a lot of previous endeavorists have fallen to a common set back, do not assume that you’ll be any better than they are and talk yourself into the same mistake. Attitudes, integrity, ethics……. be consistent in being “proper”.

4. Always remember that nothing is going to be perfect. Neither is anyone. So give it your best and never stop learning all that you can. Practice, practice, practice. Don’t let anyone steal your dream either. Some people don’t believe in God let alone another human being. But that doesn’t stop God from going about His business and it shouldn’t stop you either.

Someone here has this in a signature and it couldn’t be more true. “Luck —- is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

You’re already doing the right thing in asking people that care about you to share what they are able to. That’s a great start but you ultimately have to be good enough to meet the expectations that will be placed upon you. Take that preparation statement and put it somewhere you will see it and read it daily. As Bill said, learn.

As a last ………… little thing……… be careful in learning how to speak with the general public. THEY WON’T KNOW YOUR BUSINESS WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW YOU SHOULD RUN IT. Leave that to those who are involved with your industry and have success by their own efforts in it. There’s no shortage of armchair quarterbacks just waiting to feel important through telling you all you “should” be doing. HOWEVER…….. listen to them close enough that you can still identify opportunities for the growth of your business and/or industry. A new idea is often only a casual conversation away…… but YOU have to recognize it. The key thing in this is to listen. Even if you recognize a big pile of bunk coming at you, listen. You’re not obligated to believe or act upon their recommendations, but you never know where that key piece of info that sparked the next level of success is going to come from.

My experience with this is from the music/entertainment industry. Do you have any idea how many people think they know what a band or musician should do???? It’s like asking a bobber question on IDA…….. everyone will stand up and proudly state why their bobber of choice is their best choice. By the end of the day, you’ve got 5 different good answers, none really outstanding of the other. It’s preference, not proof. What you can do is take the same “5 leading bobbers”, and look for what’s missing. A common thread that would improve the experience of all the anglers who spoke with you. If you find it, you pursue it, develop it, gain experience with it, learn it’s up’s and down’s, and figure out it’s most promising applications. Then, sell the bejeebees out of it!

Take this knowledge and share it as enthusiastically as you can. You need to sell others on buying “your bobber”. YOU are product. Others in the industry need to see that you’re not just a talker, you’re a doer and even more, a getting it done-r. Your input, ingenuity, results, etc., etc., will get you noticed and someone will want to work with you.

Once you achieve a new level of success or even just a new accomplishment, look at the next level of achievement just the same as you looked at the first level you ever pursued, put your shoulder down, and run for the end zone!

Plan the work – – – > Work the plan. It’s that simple. Easy? No. Simple? Yes.

This is a great place to begin planning your work and I salute all the guys that have stepped up (and will step up) to help you.

Good “LUCK”!

I have had Lindy and a couple of other national sponsors for nearly 25 years. There has been a lot of good advice in the previous posts, so will only offer this insight…the fishing tackle industry is very, very small. Everybody knows everybody else.
NEVER say anything NEGATIVE about competitor’s product, they may be your sponsor in years to come.
Tell the truth. If a product isn’t working well, quietly tell the sponsor.
Use the ‘golden rule’ when dealing with the public
Be positive. You are an ambassador for the entire fishing industry.
Today’s angler of the year can be tomorrow’s bottom of the leader board. The guy who keeps sponsors is the one who stops to share the joy of fishing (which is enhanced by the sponsor’s products!) Rather than chasing to cash the biggest check.
Sponsors typically have several levels of sponsorship. Advancing up the ladder is a study in taking what you’ve been given and making the most out of it.
…and don’t forget to be nice to folks you pass on the way up the ladder, it will make passage easier when you’re on the way back down.

Quote:

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the fishing tackle industry is very, very small. Everybody knows everybody else, sp stay positive.
NEVER say anything NEGATIVE about competitor’s product, they may be your sponsor in years to come.

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Ted made a good point here that I just wanted to highlight.
You would be surprised where your next fishing venture will lead you once you get your foot in the door.
Alot of good comments here that are really valuable and should be applied!

One thing I would like to add is that you do not need to be a top finisher to achieve a sponser. Remember you are to be a spokesmodel for comany ABC and you just need to show them that you have what it takes to represent them well. Whether it helps sell more product, promote their services or just a simple advertisement for them. Bottomline is that sometimes the guys that do not finish on top every weekend can be some of the best in the business!

Good luck to you!

This is a great post with lots of great answers. As many of your questions I have been asking these myself. And those questions and the answers you all have given is one of the reasons I’m going to BPS in Gurnee this weekend for their fishing expo. No better place than to go talk to the reps and different people and hopefully get to know them.

Ask some of the reps what they are looking for from possible pro-staffers. I know I will. There will be some of the guys down there from this site that will be handing out demos of literature and advise. What better place to make some contacts for the future. And Glenn, if your reading this, I got my bag ready to fill…

Like some of you looking for sponsors, I too, would love to be sponsored. And I feel I could represent any company really well. I have a few wins under my belt, and can fish with the big boys. But all saying that I love fishing and helping out you guys with fishing tips or tricks of trade just as much as fishing. And I think thats what a good company would be looking for. I hope so anyways.

So if there are any of you looking for some good pro-staffers, give me a pm, maybe I can help. No I know I can..

Fishing is a great sport where everyone can always learn..