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938
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12/14/2018
Location
IT
Hi, i'm wondering how some (not so fast) guys can get sponsorship from little local shops or even famous brand (nolan, gaerne). I'm an italian 17th boy, here in italy mx racing levels are a bit different compared to the US. We have regional, interregional and italian campionship. Also for this three championships there are 3/4 subclasses. Amateur (A, B, C groups) Sport (A, B ) Expert (A) and Master (only A group usually, they are the fastest guys and there arent many lile them..).
This year i raced interregional Ama class, always qualifying in A group, ending some races on the podium, and ending the championship 11th of 207 riders (most of them arr between 21 and 29 yo). In 2019 i'm going to racing in sport class.
Let's get to the point, i see many riders of my class having some little sponsor by local shops even if they're slow af.. How should i approce to get a sponsor? Should i use a bròchure? Or I dont know. Any tips are apprecciated.
This year i raced interregional Ama class, always qualifying in A group, ending some races on the podium, and ending the championship 11th of 207 riders (most of them arr between 21 and 29 yo). In 2019 i'm going to racing in sport class.
Let's get to the point, i see many riders of my class having some little sponsor by local shops even if they're slow af.. How should i approce to get a sponsor? Should i use a bròchure? Or I dont know. Any tips are apprecciated.
Once you’ve got the answers, go tell them.
Go to every race with whatever companys logo on your trailer. Get that 10% off “sponsorship”
The Shop
-dont be a dick to others
-win at Loretta's
-join HookIt for all your typlical discount sponsorships
If you can sell $100,000 worth of product they'll be happy to give you a small chunk of it back. If you can only send $250 worth of business their way, then you can go pound sand for all they care.
For brand names, you need to win. They're building a brand name and they want to associate it with success/winning. Good luck with that.
Getting discount on stuff from your local dealer is 'help' .. top tip, if you want help from your local dealer, spend your money there. You wont get stuff for free off a guy you dont support.
Other ways are to start your own Team,, a few buddies get together, have all the same kit, graphics and look proper, not like some rabble that landed 10 mins before signup closed. People will want to be part of that look.
And finally, dont piss money up the wall on shit that doesnt matter. I have a road racer friend who is all over social media begging for cash to get to each race , but then 3 weeks later is all over Insta on a 2 week holiday with his mates.
I never got much help when i was younger, because i wasn't fast enough , but i have had good sponsors since we swapped to SM , not bought a bike since 2003, and have had ( and still get ) great bikes. I dont race for free, it still costs a lot with travel and tyres and the like, but we have a nice little team, and we have people who will pay to be part of it.Bring something, get something.
Have a nice introductory cover letter that introduces who you are and make sure to include some of your accomplishments. If you finished 5th at a regional event and that was your best race, include it. It's not all about winning. A paragraph about what your plan is to improve and what exactly you are working towards. If you want to work to become a professional racer, say so... if you're doing this as a serious hobby, say so. Be honest about this.
Include a couple of photographs of yourself racing/riding and a head shot. If you have a trailer where you could include their logo, include this as well. Also include your social media accounts and if you don't have them, get them and start posting immediately. Build a following as quickly as possible and then make sure you plug your sponsors every time you post.
Companies are always looking for ways to get their name out. The farther you travel and more races you plan to hit, the better the opportunity for them to get their name into additional markets. Always get a list of your sponsors to the track announcer so he can mention them when you're on the track.
Good luck!
There have been a few great suggestions on here...here are some things that will get you nowhere with local shops:
Don't bounce from shop to shop chasing a few percentage points...loyalty at the local dealer will benefit you more in the long.
Don't wear brand/shop competitors gear...if you have a sponsorship with bran X, don't wear brand Y when you're out in public.I have let brands know in the past their racers do this.
Don't demonstrate poor sportsmanship...i seldom heard when a racer won but, i heard from everyone when they had a tantrum at the track.
Don't bite the hand that feeds you...mistakes can happen and telling everyone at the track the shop ordered you a wrong part or something went on backorder gets back to them in a hurry.
Best of luck getting a sponsorship...with the proper relationship a local shop will do more for you in the long run than any on-line discount service.
You only need one- WIN. It is that simple...
Pit Row
For the companies that sponsor people, it is all about getting something in return as was suggested. For them to have any chance of getting something in return, others must know who your sponsors are. One way is to have the sponsors name plastered all over your clothes and bike and trailer etc, instead of just having a tiny 2" long sticker somewhere on your bike. This way it will not only be easier for people at the race to see it, it will be easier to see it if you get your photo in the paper etc.
You can tell the people you are trying to get sponsored by that you will plaster their name all over your stuff or even get a jersey made that has their name on it etc. You can also suggest that you can hand out flyers at the races. On these flyers, the shop might offer a 10% discount for the first $100.00 and one discount per customer or something.
.
Then we stopped comping tickets, as it was costing a bomb, and if folk didnt come , it was a waste of money. And catering became a full time job for 3 people.. we had a hospitality tent , and a full lunch package on race day for guests, when the Factory Yamaha team were running out of a converted horsebox.
But the more that came, the more we picked up, we started refunding folk that paid to get in, and asking for people to mail with catering requirements so we werent wasting money folk were giving us, providing stuff that wasnt used.. and so it grew,
I worked a 3 night job back then , and used to help out, just for the fun of doing it at the shop, and local races. And off that the owner decided he wanted an MX bike to play on , which i sourced for him, and collected, with a deal that it would be my spare bike for the Nationals i was riding. He got a bike that was ready to go when he wanted it, and wasnt in the way when he didnt, and i got a free bike for a season.
I'll even wash your smoker
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