5 Rules to getting your sponsorship proposal right
Monday April 19th 2010In nearly 10 years of reviewing athlete sponsorship proposals for my previous employer, I’m sad to reveal that I saw very few good ones. That doesn’t mean that had they been better, their authors would have had any better chance of lucrative endorsement deals. What it means is that if you’re going to take the time to write a sponsorship proposal and send it, why not make it as strong as possible? Even if you get rejected, atleast you’ll have respect.
So with that in mind, here are 5 tips to making sure your proposal gets to spend atleast an afternoon on a Team Manager’s desk, or maybe longer...after all, they could be traveling on business.
1. Do your homework. Is the company you are pitching big or small? Core or mainstream? Check their website. Do they have athletes like you anywhere in their portfolio, ie a grom squad, a flow program, a vast collection of people that they call their “Army” or something slightly clever like that? Or are they filled with the creme-de-la-creme of people in your sport? Because if you’ve never filmed a full segment with a world-class film company or won a major contest before, you probably shouldn’t be sending a proposal to rock a major department store’s logos on your gloves.
2. Keep it short and simple. No matter how many contests you’ve won, or how much editorial coverage you’ve received, no one cares that you were 4th place in your county rollerblade race in 1993. Your contest results should note podiums and best tricks only. Editorial should be limited to major endemic publications at a minimum. If you don’t have these yet, you may want to think twice about submitting a proposal for sponsorship at all right now. Get back out there, keep practicing, and set your goals. (*Exception to this rule: Skier Dan Treadway once gave me a 100-page book of his editorial coverage. When I asked him who tracked all his coverage over his career, he said, “no one, but my girlfriend did this one for me just from last season.” Dan didn’t get an official sponsorship, but that was so hot we gave him a gas card for his sled and truck for 3 or 4 years)
3. Make it Pop. You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that your proposal is one of five, one of ten, one of fifty that the TM for Massive and Amazing Brand X receives every week. TM’s are inundated with proposals, so they barely have time to leaf through them when they arrive bundled in with their current athlete roster invoices, mag subscriptions, and court subpoenas. OK, hopefully not subpoenas. But in any case, your proposal absolutely must stand-out to have a shot. What does that mean? What pops and what doesn’t? Here is a quick list for reference:
POPS:
- Prominent action-sports magazine cover photo of you tightly cropped, scanned as .jpg, and used as your cover sheet
- A simple, tight layout that demonstrates your successes, coverage, and goals for the future in 2 pages or less
- Typing in big letters, “PLEASE DON’T THROW ME IN THE GARBAGE. PLEASE DON’T THROW ME IN THE GARBAGE. PLEASE DON’T THROW ME IN THE GARBAGE (until you’ve atleast read me).”
- Good, tasteful accent colors - orange, gray, red, etc. Anything Nixon would use.
DOES NOT POP:
- Photo of you with your cat, dog, car, highschool girlfriend, headshot (no matter how pro it is, save it for page two) as cover page
- Fun typefaces that look great to a 9 year old. Save the funny fonts for your next homemade Birthday card for Mom or Dad. Use a simple, pro font for your proposal
-Any font colors other than black. Sorry, but this is not open for discussion
4. Manage your expectations. If a Team Manager wants to sign you, 95% of the time they will find you via their vast network of other athletes, media, industry, and coaches. So if you’re fortunate enough to be part of the other 5% of cases, be prepared to start at the bottom. What does that mean? That means often being content to start with product-only deals. From there, you can work your way up to some light travel support (or as other TM’s call it, “a couple favors”), and/or a photo incentive, until finally actually making a legitimate retainer for representing a product.
5. Be persistent, but don't be a pest. Note that the word ‘pest’ is part of the word PErSTent. There’s nothing wrong with attempting to contact an individual whom you’ve emailed or mailed a proposal to. But to pursue them with the fervor of your first high school sweetheart could lead you into the dangerous territory of becoming an industry goat. Emailing, calling, or Facebooking a decision-maker to-death won’t get you anywhere. In fact, if they had previously liked your proposal, this can actually work against you. So what’s the right amount of time to wait before making your first follow-up inquiry following your proposal? Your first communication may take place within 2 weeks of the date that you believe your proposal should have been received. This is usually the “Hi, __________. Just wanted to make sure you received my sponsorship proposal. If you didn’t, or if you have any questions, please contact me at ___________. Thanks, Jose!” But for your next follow-up, you should wait atleast 6 weeks. Why? Because assuming that the TM you’ve pitched ever reviews their proposals (more likely, their intern, or merely their weekly garbage collector), they certainly do not do it frequently. So cast your net in the first couple weeks, hoping you get lucky and catch the TM top-of-mind about your glowing proposal, and if not, try to grab them on this next round. After that, your chances of hearing back decline significantly, however, you shouldn’t feel badly about a 3rd or 4th inquiry in a 3-month period. After all, this is technically part of the job of being a TM. Its just the part that they forget the fastest.
The road to getting signed to your favorite company isn’t named “Easy Street,” and your talent, attitude, and connectivity will all get you further than a great proposal. But heck, if you’re going to take the time to put a written proposal together and send it in, you might as well make it count for something. Good luck.
Comments
gript - Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 7:05 AM
hi??
Flesscarlton - Friday, December 9, 2011 @ 9:50 PM
purchase at my estore for more
johnherbalifed16 - Saturday, October 15, 2011 @ 6:47 PM
I like this blog very much so much excellent information. "Marriage should be a duet -- when one sings, the other claps." by Joe Murray.
Buy cheap software - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 @ 9:51 AM
iogZk8 I was looking for the report in Yandex and suddenly came across this page. I found a little information on my topic of my report. I would like more, and thanks for that..!
china wholesale - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 @ 10:16 PM
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post
uggs on sale - Tuesday, August 2, 2011 @ 7:21 PM
tonnish baffled folksongs groundwater unweeded womby carrousels tetotum ammonite geopolitics kinetics swirled placeable pluralized wake fezzes triangulating riskiness underfur urinogenital
MotPotpeegree - Thursday, July 28, 2011 @ 2:06 AM
added this to digg
vladimirgridyakin - Monday, July 18, 2011 @ 9:36 PM
Открылся сайт. переделан дизайн. ждём вас! Выкладывай свои материалы и файлы! Запости свой файл и заработай ! vagon1.ru
FoneGuepore - Friday, June 24, 2011 @ 8:49 AM
turns gone this was incredibly helpful. possibly it will improve you too? stain grout tile grout whitener
#harris12[EGGHGGTGGTHT] - Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 8:44 AM
Hi - I am really happy to discover this. great job!
#hartson23[IPIIGIIPIIII] - Thursday, June 2, 2011 @ 7:39 PM
Hi - I am definitely glad to find this. Good job!
#hartson23[IPIIGIIPIIII] - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 @ 8:04 PM
Hi - I am definitely delighted to discover this. Good job!
#smithson[QPQQPOOUQPPU] - Sunday, May 29, 2011 @ 2:33 AM
Hey - I am certainly glad to discover this. cool job!
leceDerry - Saturday, May 28, 2011 @ 7:29 AM
BUY CHEAP CAMEL CIGARETTE
Rangler - Sunday, May 15, 2011 @ 12:06 AM
Kudos! What a neat way of tihkinng about it.
TLSubmit - Monday, May 9, 2011 @ 8:22 PM
Hey im new here. Im sam, how is everyone? I look forwards to being a active memeber
zeroxtrpo - Sunday, May 8, 2011 @ 10:11 AM
Hey guys, Im new here im sam. I hope everyone is good! I look forwards to being active here :) see you all on the forum
AswadKannah - Wednesday, April 20, 2011 @ 6:54 AM
Hey - I am really glad to discover this. Good job!
TonyBilsonp - Sunday, April 10, 2011 @ 7:01 PM
Thanks...this looks really interesting. I am looking forward to having my say!
BobPerryf - Friday, April 8, 2011 @ 9:50 PM
Thanks...this looks really interesting. I am looking forward to having my says!
SexAmenna - Friday, March 25, 2011 @ 1:34 AM
I just got my ipad 2 16GB 3G wifi yesterday with a tan leather Smart Cover and here is my first impressions… - Dual-core processor it’s much faster switching between apps, and general browser navigation. Now I don’t have any processor-heavy apps to test it out yet, but so far, so good. - Small and light this thing is so much easier to carry around. Some folks were surprised that I was carrying it around with just the cool little cover – no case, no protection. Now I’m not clumsy, so it worked. - Productivity All the reasons above will more than likely encourage me to get more things done on my iPad when I would normally wait until I am front of a computer. Even with the iPad and all its sexiness (I’m a tech geek, so my sexy may not be your sexy), the tablet isn’t going to replace a computer. BUT the ability to use it in MORE situations makes it a worthy tool. I start to customize it for my setting i didn’t like the wallpapers that come with ipad some of them are nice but they doesn’t let you see how the ipad screen is fantastic so I did some search on internet and found this website for “iPad Wallpaper(keywords)” ipadwallpapertoday.com it have some great wallpapers for ipad So there you have it. You don’t HAVE to take my word for why you should get an iPad…but you should.
endeancax - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 @ 10:35 AM
Has anyone visited this company; GetRadioplay.com? my bassist bought their highest package for me and instantly after our fee was Paid, the site sent us a form for us to fill out in order to collect all our details. the email was very detailed and asked for all the info I guess they would need to get our ep played on the air . What I hated was that our song was rejected from their system. As it turns out Its not as easy as it seems. what they say is, that they only guarantee those records That Get approved by their A&R department. What happened They issued us a quick full refund. Now my brother works for a record label and told me that they are an active company that gets songs charted all the time.However does anyone have any experience with being accepted?
Igninogma - Monday, March 21, 2011 @ 5:44 AM
United States west coast folks are in potential harm from the Japanese Reacor Explosion experienced as a result of the 3/11 massive 8.9 earthquake which was followed by a horrific tsunami. This unforeseen disaster has been truly devastating for the Japanese people and has become a global concern. As news develops we are seeing floods of articles and information feeds from media and government officials as well as professionals. The LARGEST concern is, "Will the Nuclear Radiation travel to neer by countries countries?” Japanese officials have already started distributing Potassium Iodide tablets to the general public in hopes of protecting them from the reactor radiation. Although some say Potassium Iodide will help to prevent this Nuclear Radiation some are still holding to a more skeptical point of view. Regardless of opinions from differing parties Potassium Iodide is flying off the shelves like crazy and retailers are hard pressed to keep it in stock! Many concerned United States citizens are now flooding the Internet market hoping to find anyone who is selling it no matter what the price. None of us want to be on the wrong side of Nuclear Radiation but with retailers selling out where do we go to find it? Living in an “Instant” society has caused problems like this before but be assured that there are still internet companies that have this product in stock if you are willing to wait for shipping. Here is a list of online Potassium Iodide Retailers - in stock as of 03/17/2011. Always do research before taking supplements.
togTronee - Sunday, March 20, 2011 @ 7:10 AM
Buy top rated diabetic supplies...at bargain prices!
Yeast Infection - Saturday, March 5, 2011 @ 11:16 AM
Great post Yeast Infection really like it. Waiting to see some more posts!
nuandarinirox - Saturday, February 19, 2011 @ 4:59 AM
I'd like to start my own blog and i found some very good resources so i'm just sharing it here for you guys on how you could start your own too for FREE!
Woneebext - Tuesday, February 15, 2011 @ 7:00 AM
Hello everyone First of all sorry that I write in this topic but I have some technical problem with the use of this forum. When I'm trying to enter in the appropriate topic, I received a 404 error It's about the only topic in which I was able to enter. Do you have the same problems? What's going on?
Logan - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 @ 2:56 PM
Are you sure no one would care that I won the northern bc winter games slopestyle in 2000? I beg to differ....
Logan - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 @ 2:56 PM
Are you sure no one would care that I won the northern bc winter games slopestyle in 2000? I beg to differ....
sean - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 @ 4:29 PM
sponsor me! lol just kidding, happy shreds!!
jon - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 @ 5:21 AM
well said!
