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Securing sponsorships for racing can be a pretty tough mountain to climb.  It’s complicated even more so when hard economic times squeeze on businesses.  Generally speaking, advertising funds tend to be among the first things companies slash, when they need to tighten their budget belts.  As someone who sells media advertising, I can confirm, this sucks.  As someone who has helped race car drivers secure sponsorships, it can be downright maddening to find a way to get the job done.  This is a different financial world these days.  Now more than ever, businesses want a guaranteed return on investment, if you’re going to have a shot at prying any money out of their hands for a promotion or advertising endeavor.

Does this mean you have to be a front-runner on the track, who grabs headlines and a checkered flag every feature?  Well, I won’t lie.  That would be a great, if you could do that.  However, let’s be realistic.  Not everyone can do that.  And not every racer has a family that owns a chain of Zaxby’s restaurants to finance your racing.  It can still be done, if you’re up for the challenge, but you need to be willing to put the time into it.  Do some research and get creative.  Have a plan and be prepared to present it simply and concisely on a one or two-sheet proposal.  Every smart racer is out there asking for money.  You need to make your opportunity stand out from the others.  

Find ways to create promotional opportunities for the sponsor.  Look into local businesses to find out if they have a major event like an anniversary sale or other planned promotional event during the race season.  Find a way to tie you and your car into that event.  If this means, reaching out to your track promoter and seeing if you can get some race tickets or other things to help build a prize package for that big in-store event, by all means—do it.  Bringing a potential sponsor a “turn-key promotion,” that can dovetail into something they were already planning to promote gives you a leg up on your competition in the search for sponsorship dollars.

Consider bartering for sponsorship, but not just the typical trade for beer after the races.  If you want to secure bigger dollars for your season, try turning the barter into something that can be used in a turn-key promotion to take to a bigger cash sponsor for yourself.  The idea of garnering cases upon cases of beer for your team to consume post-race might initially sound attractive.  Seriously, I get it.  Dunking your hand into the icy cooler at the end of a race night to grab a beer feels fantastic.  It’s even better when it was a “free” beer, but what if you instead asked the beer sponsor for a couple of “office parties” that you could take to a prospective business to sponsor you for cash.  You have helped the cash sponsor create an in-house promotion that he can hopefully turn into a traffic-building event that will make his cash register ring, solidifying you as an ally in his marketing efforts. 

Obviously, any time you have a sponsor with an event, you should work toward having your car on display there for it, as it’s good for them and you to be visible.  I’d recommend actually being there with your hero cards to hand out to patrons as well and not just parking your car there.  People are naturally curious to get an up-close look at a race car.  Not everyone gets to the pits after the races to have a gander at a race car, especially little kids.  They tend to be tuckered out by the end of the race night, so having an afternoon to see a race car up-close is a big deal.  You may score more fans and points with your sponsor, for the time and effort you put forth at these appearances.

The old adage about “service after the sale” is incredibly important to sponsorships.  So many teams in the past have tainted the pool of potential race car sponsors by doing a quick cash grab and then not following up on the customer service side of accepting those dollars.  I’ve heard horror stories of sponsors who never heard another peep from a driver after handing over thousands of dollars, until it was time for a new season and they wanted more money.  Or even worse, the car got wrecked and they quit running at the track, and never once reached out to the sponsors to discuss the situation. Always keep your sponsors in the loop as to what’s going on with your season.  Your sponsors are your customers, treat them accordingly.

Consider doing a weekly press release of sorts to recap every race night and make sure to email it to your sponsors.  They are not always going to be able to make it to the races, so this allows you to continue to maintain contact and share the successes or challenges with them.  Make sure someone on your team or a family member can snap some photos to include in that piece each week.  

It should go without saying that a race team Facebook or Twitter account or even a website would be beneficial for you and your sponsors.  The first two are free, but it would be worth the investment to establish a professional-looking website.  Consider working with someone that has experience building eye-catching, professional websites and “gets” racing.  I’d recommend Scott Lofquist, with http://shorttracks.us to get it done right, if you’re serious.  He’s a machine and a great ally for all racers.  (I have no financial stake in Scott’s business.  I do enjoy poking a stick at him occasionally via Twitter, but seriously, he does a phenomenal job.)

Don’t offer too many options in your proposal, as it will confuse the potential sponsor.  Ideally, include just two investment options for your race season in the proposal, each with different price levels and each with a different array of promotional opportunities that you’ll include.  With two options offered, you can close the sale with, “Which opportunity works best for you?”  

Rejection can be brutal, but don’t give up if someone declines your opportunity for sponsoring your race car. Take what you can from the experience and use it to improve on your next presentation.  The more you do it, the better you will get.  You might even find you like the challenge of turning a “no,” into a “yes.”