WOT ?

[tat70]

Gents i need some advice please.
If i was to send u a letter/e mail
what would u want to see in there that
would make u want to sponsor me ?
Dont worry its only hyperthetical at the
mo.

[Steve Gardener]

We get asked from time to time and while we aren't in the position to help in the normal way there are still parameters that all companies need fulfilled. I'll write a reply later.

[tat70]

Cheers Steve it`s just to give me a rough guide.
Cheers

[Steve Gardener]

As an example we were approached by Vince Brown this weekend. Vince has just had a nice article on him in the latest issue of BodyFitness (Spanish based mag with an English edition):



As we already help out as best we can Al Christie, Dale Norris and Gemma Taylor and have helped Darren Sherlock in the past and aren't a big company we don't have fat wedges of cash to throw around.

But at the same time we have spent, and spend similar amounts yearly, many thousands of pounds on helping sponsor events. Those that know the company and Mike and I well know what we turnover and what we pay ourselves and so they appreciate what we do is a high percentage for us. In addition we have some competition now and what do they spend? f**k ALL. Of the 5 or so competitors one helps one natural athlete and another sponsors a patch of grass near their unit. The other three - nowt.

All that said it is possible to do a little - even if it's supplying our products at cost price - covering our margins - and occasional dips into our kitty for fuel costs (as we have done with Gemma). As Gemma was / is el numero uno we have also not asked for any payment for products and with the lads not all the time - if we have had a good week...

In return we only ask for a little right now - if the company grows what we can give grows and what we'd want back would grow also.

Right now (and copied from my reply today to Vince) here's what we ask:

1) If we have a big enough T-shirt we'll send you one down for you to wear and we'd like a photo (an attachment to an email is fine) of you wearing it.

2) That you start a training log on our forum www.wheyconsortiumforums.co.uk . You may also get asked for advice once the numbers creep up from other would be bodybuilders.

3) We use a decent photo - either training or posing - in an upcoming ad (see the one we have now in Flex as an example)

4) I'll send you a 20 questions interview - the strongman and bodybuilding angle is of the most interest.

As Vince is primarily a bodybuilder he cannot wear our shirt when competing but strongmen can and so we ask for that. With the amount of low to medium level events we've helped pay for many times we have our name included on the event shirt. If not we ask the lads and lasses to where ours wherever possible.

I hope this gives you some idea.

[tat70]

Cheers mate.
I`m not on the scrounge from you but i`m thinking
of approaching a couple of local shops/companies
& thought i`d ask you for what you`d like to see in
a letter or promo dvd.

[Steve Gardener]

Ahh, a little different then. Our company is involved in the sport and sponsorship isn't that unusual for such companies. Depending on what they sell the approach might vary.

Let's use a Butchers as an example. You'd want to be caning your way through some of their product and look for a deal first, sponsorship second. A deal means cheap meat. Sponsorship means some free meat thown in. A local lad (mentioned in the Fire Engine pull thread) called 'Scooter' has several shops that chip in towards his travelling and hotel costs for events. As he is life-time drug free (that's who he competes with in powerlifting) it is easy to get approval by some of them. He's also well-known in the area and that's a big advantage as well.

If I owned a butchers shop I'd want to put a small poster in the window with your image on it with something like 'a local business supporting a local athlete' or 'our beef puts his beef to work' or some such thing.

With bigger companies, such as car dealerships who loan out a half decent car (you pay yer own fuel etc) they get to put your name and the fact that they sponsor yer down the side of the motor. Ditto anything in between.

As for how to approach them you need to offer them something. At the least you need some good competition results, a nice picture of yourself in action and if they are at all interested some good press cuttings (and you get to say 'I could have had your logo on my shirt in that one' and so on), some brief biographical info. You offer to plug them when online, to pop a poster with their company info up in your gym or in your houses front window and maybe as a stick on banner in yer car, to wear a t-shirt with their name on.

What they might ask for is you to help with promotion. This might be as simple as a photo of you - with shirt - behind their desks or in their window or it might mean attending an event and putting on a display as entertainment.

If you can do feats of strength so much the better. I made good money whenever I did any of the Intense Fitness Kettlebell seminars - the best was £167.00 for 4 hours. I averaged £50-100 for 2-3 hours. Given that they were on my days off from the old job the money was easy - I did way less showing off than I would training or competing - enjoyed the crack and got paid - which helps with your show costs and so on.

Bottom line is, from a business perspective they are not charities and so they need to be able to see a way by which their helping you might mean they make a few quid doing something a little different from putting an ad in the local rag. You need to show them that.

[justinhurley]

I think a sponsorship letter should contain the something like the following:

- Introduction of yourself.
- Explaination of your sport.
- What you have acheived.
- What you intend to acheive.
- Blow some smoke up their ass, i.e. how amasing their products are.
- How you can raise the profile of the 'sponsor' by them sponsoring you.
- How you are going to keep them involved/informed of your competitions/accomplishments.
- Little sentence on how you hope to hear from them.
- Newspaper/magazine clippings, photo's attached would go down well.

[tat70]

Cheers mate.
All good ideas .
I`l get onto it