chrisb

If so, would you mind sending me a copy of it? I am hoping to attract one or more sponsors to help offset racing costs for the upcoming ECHC season. I have some idea of what goes into a proposal but it would help if I could see a good example. Thanks!

Kamin

*cough* could i get a copy too?
kamin@***.net
im a poor college student and i need sponsors to help the *twitch* addiction!

jc836

Chris-you can find this sort of thing in a Tech writing manual. There are also several books out on this specific subject. I will suggest that you research your target sponsors and determine: have they sponsored anyone before. Do they have a solid position in the community financially. What other forms of advertising do they do and what is the frequency of presentation.

Now to you and what you offer the sponsor. A bio with references is certainly appropriate. You racing history, including cash flow management is needed along with a really high quality picture of the car. How often do you plan to compete and where. A local pizza shop may be interested in you if the track is visited by people from the neighborhhod. Will they be able to use the car for promotion of the business-like display on a Saturday afternoon and at "car cruise-meets."

I will give you an example of a gentleman who landed sponsors by going door to door with an offer that said "I'll put your name on the car for $500 as an associate sponsor with a fixed type size-you pick location (first come). For an additional $500 you get space on the trailer." He raised barely enough to buy a motor for his brand new drag car from sales to a trim shop, tool supplier, his own body shop, and several private individuals. His technique was not polished, but the picture of the car helped a lot.

Hope this gives some insight. The real secret is to know eveything about the target of your proposal. Good luck with this.

Knestis

Your best bet is to start hanging out with rich people. Seriously. You need to (a) get to the actual decision maker in the deal, and (b) have them think that both you and racing are cool. This is best accomplished with personal social contacts.

I won't say that cold-calling and proposal sending will NEVER work but, from harsh personal experience, the average person is better off spending the same amount of time working at his or her day job.

Kirk

XR4racer

Learn how to Drink Beer and Hob-*** like an NC We-Todd!

rickpeak

Extremely basic on here under "sponsorship" http://www.rickhohwartracing.com

Catch 22

And don't discount the small deal with the local tire shop. Many of them are Tire Rack dealers and can get Kumhos and Hoosiers at cost. Wheels too.

Make a deal where you put a couple of moderate sized decals on the car for the season and park it in front of their shop one or two Saturdays to attract attention. In return ask for wheels and tires at their cost, free mounting and balancing and free alignments. In the end it just costs them a little labor time and you can save $200 to $300 per year (a couple of tires, to put things in perspective).

Scott, who has found that these deals are easy and very worth the effort.

rickpeak

Good idea! Also break down the deals. Ask for help with a cetain aspect like tires, entries etc. The sponsor will feel more connected to the effort if he can see and better understand his contribution.

Lyonel Kent

Can you advise on a specific Tech writing manual to start with? We have been wondering as well about sponsorship proposals- we got a good lead on a possible local sponsor recently- we really need to jump on it- but have no clue as to how to go about it in the correct manner. We have collected all race info over the years that Lyonel has been involved in and have the idea about "why they should sponsor him" but are CLUELESS as to the correct manner to present it...

thanks...Danielle and Lyonel

jc836

One book I have is "A Guide to...Technical Writing" by W. George Crouch and Robert L Zetler. Published in 1964 by The Ronald Press Company. Library of Congress CC #64-1393.
This is but one of many manuals available on the subject actually. Check with your local University/college library or public library main branch. The book I am referring was a standard textbook at the University of Pittsburgh for English majors. You can also inquire of various colleges about whether they have courses in marketing and the texts used.

I agree with others here that there are a number of potential sponsors out there that can provide either funding or goods. Here is an idea-the local pizza shop-car is used as a display for a fee - the rolling billboard.

What one finds in writing any type of proposal is that research and many attempts to get the message exactly right for the target sponsor to see is the key.

DB2-R81

Look here for some guide lines! http://racingarticles.com/article_racing-6.html

Cal

Another addition to the tire shop idea.

The parking of teh car in front of the shop is key. It gets people interested in local Autox or lapping days. The more people race, the more rubber they need.

+1 for the tire shop

offer the owner, or the guy who takes care of your tires and wheels, to accompany you to the next event or lapping day.

Offer a ride along in your car to see how his products are working out for you.

Give them good pictures of your car with their deacls on it when somoen captures them in action.

Offer to help with tradeshows or help do siminars for local people interested in racing or high perofmance rubber.