Best way of getting sponsorship?

[touringlegend]

Do any of you get sponsorship from a local company? I want to start some form of racing, most likely karting, so how do I go about it. Or do I just be nice to the local millionaires around me? (theres 2 of them)

[marcus]

sponsorship for karting is very hard as it is not a mainstream racing formula...there is very rarely any TV coverage which can influence a sponsors decision..but things you can do are

offer cheap rates ..put stickers on your kart,trailer and even your driving suit all at a very affordable cost if it is possible.

maybe you could set up your kart as a display unit at the premises of the sponsor for a few days with all the relevant information avialable for visitors to read.

depending on what the sponsor produces ..perhaps they could give you some free samples to hande out at race meetings.

but most of all you have to be willing to do whatever the sponsor wants..if they say we want you to run naked across the Lords cricket oval carrying our product ..then by all means make sure they pay for your fine

you could also arrange for employees of the sponsor to spend a day at the races with you ..perhaps helping out in the pits making them feel like they are contributing in some way..also you could arrange a sponsors day..where you put on a bit of a BBQ or something at the track and have the employee's show up and just have a nice day with them and perhaps their families explaining what its all about and answering any questions and then giving them each a 5 lap sprint in the kart or something.
this one will go down very well with many sponsors..most enjoy being able to get out there and have a go and experience the thrill of karting.

but try and put together a good proposal first..print it all out on your comp..you should include info about what karting is and what class or series you compete in . you should also include information about yourself and the team.
and when and where you are racing

I wouldnt put on a proposal that you want X amount of dollars and no less...just say that all sponsorship donations are left to the decision of the sponsor and all contibutions will be appreciated.



I never ran with a sponsor when I was driving ...in fact I never really looked for one..but when I was a pit crew member for my team mate I was working at an outdoor go kart centre and I managed to talk the owner into sponsoring my team mate for the state title that was being held at our local track...I built up to it slowly ..by getting him to pay for some stickers which we put on the side of the kart several months before the meeting and we ran them for free..then when the big event arrived I informed him that we were unable to compete because the entry fee was very high and with running costs on top of that we were not going to compete.

so out cam his wallet and he paid for our entry fee and we competed in the state titles.

this is another option you could consider..running stickers on your kart for free for a while and hopefully the sponsor will see that you have been giving him good value and then fork out some cash.

anyway dont know if that helps you at all but hopefully it did...good luck in your pursuit of a sponsor and happy karting.

[touringlegend]

Cheers! Both my brothers are in a good business doing good jobs so I'll see if I can get there bosses to fork out the dosh!

[Greg]

Hey, does anyone know of a resonable cheap (I say this because karting is not what you'd call cheap) karting club in Warwickshire?

Greg.