The Benefits of Being a Sponsored Athlete

Before we start, let’s do away with the word “free”. Please. It’s a word that doesn’t fit within the concept of sponsorship, because it’s suggesting that your role is to do nothing except take. The reality is, sponsorship needs to be based on a mutual contribution for the real value of the deal to be revealed. Free is too close to charity and donations for my liking, and let’s face it, no one wants to be seen as a charity case. Athletes, regardless of how good they are at their sport, can offer incredible amounts of value to sponsors, to support marketing activities that help them achieve their business objectives.

Here are five real benefits of being a sponsored athlete:

• Allows you to participate in your sport to the level you want and need to – knowing that you can afford to attend events, competitions, and the like.
• Enables you to free up time not having to work so many hours each week which means you can train and recover more, and be able to travel to competitions and events.
• Reduces stress from not having to work so hard, from not knowing whether you will be able to afford to attend an important competition, from being worried about borrowing money from the bank, or family.
• Allows you to use the products and services of your choice rather than opting for a cheaper, inferior option.
• Empowers you to access valuable recovery tools such as massages and physiotherapy.

Sounds good, right? But it’s even better than that. You can represent brands you really care about and contribute not only to their success but potentially to the lives of others.

Here are six more unexpected benefits of being a sponsored athlete:

• Developing your network – increasing opportunities for further sponsorship deals.
• Increasing your exposure – sponsors may have media connections and good social media strategies.
• Widening your audience – good for both you and your sponsors.
• Improving your professional skills and knowledge – by engaging with businesses…you are part of the business world.
• Being part of something greater than yourself – A team, a sense of purpose that when you’re out there training or competing, you’re doing a job.
• Enhancing your self-worth – It is incredibly powerful to know that others see value in you, but they, like you, want to see you succeed, and want be a part of YOUR journey.

How Sponsorship Really Works

Sponsorship is about creating valuable, meaningful, sustainable and enjoyable partnerships with all types of businesses. It is a business relationship between an athlete and business, whereby mutual benefit and value are created through an initial engagement process, negotiations and planning and delivery over a period of time (typically 6 months to a year).

Identify the kind of companies that can provide the products and services you need, understand their business objectives (through identifying their marketing activities) and identify the commercial value you have to offer. You can then create an arrangement where you are trading your skills, knowledge, network and time in return for products, services, finance, opportunities, networks or any other type of “value” that you want.

Why AnyAthlete Can Get Sponsorship

Businesses sponsor athletes to enhance their marketing activities. This marketing itself is designed to assist with company objectives such as market growth, brand awareness, and customer engagement, and ultimately, profitability.

Here are the main reasons businesses sponsor athletes:

• Brand – An athlete can reinforce or even change the sponsor’s image positively. This occurs through media, social media, community activities and the athlete’s sport.
• Sales – The interest in a company can be increased indirectly through promotion and media for the athlete, which by default drives attention to the sponsors.
• Community and PR – Athletes of all levels are the source of inspiration for others, whether it’s someone in your own family or someone from the other side of the world who has connected with you through social media. Businesses know this and want to be a part of this, and demonstrate they are socially aware.
• Product Testing – What better testimonial for a company to have than an athlete who has tried, tested and can now wholeheartedly endorse their product or service?

Athletes give a “face” to their brand, and allow businesses to communicate with their target market in a way that is engaging, efficient, entertaining, and educational. There’s a rapidly increasing trend of people seeking out information and recommendations from other people, on which they base their purchasing decision. Online platforms and social media makes this good old-fashioned word of mouth infinitely more powerful. See how it has very little to do with what the athlete is doing in their sport in terms of competition, winning or being ranked?

What difference would the right sponsorship would make in your world? Would you just be looking for monetary advantages, or is there something else you would want? Understanding this is the first step to becoming a sponsored athlete.

You’ll also enjoy:

• Get Sponsored: How to Build a Brand as an Athlete
• How to Craft a Winning Sponsorship Proposal
• Is Your Mindset Holding You Back From Sponsorship?
• New on Breaking Muscle AU Today

Teaser photer courtesy of Daniel L. Smith/Shutterstock.com
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Why Sponsors Need Athletes Like You appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In my sponsorship coaching, I call this “Phase 1 – Obtain” (the other two phases are “Maintain” and “Retain”). This is the phase where you decide exactly what you are looking for out of sponsorship, identify potential sponsors, develop an engagement strategy, prepare sponsorship proposal documents, and pitch your sponsorship requests.

Get ready to plan, crunch numbers, and organize before preparing your official sponsorship proposal.

The main focus of this phase is doing research and planning. Too many people create a sponsorship proposal that is basically a lengthy athlete profile and then start sending it out. But it’s important to know about your sponsors before you even think about creating a proposal, so resist the temptation to start creating that document.

Do your homework, and when it comes time to sending your proposals you’ll be confident you’re sending the right content to the right companies and in the right way.

Identifying Your Needs

Paper. Pen. Daydream. Yep, it’s as simple as that to get started. I always encourage athletes to think big. It’s not about making do with the bare minimum. It’s about painting the picture of what it would look like if money were no object and you could fully immerse yourself in your sport.

During this daydream process, consider at what you really want out of sponsorship, beyond products, services, and finance. Are you looking to increase your media profile? Are you looking for partnerships with companies who share your vision about something, such as community causes or a charity? Perhaps you’re thinking ahead and wanting to develop your professional skills and networks for a career during and after competitive sport.

“You will be amazed at how many companies you have some kind of connection with.”

I’m a massive believer in visualisation – and then taking action. Many athletes use this technique in their sport. Australian beach volleyball player Kerry Potharst visualized winning the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, and she and Natalie Cook went on to win despite Brazil being the favorites. So, use this as a chance to imagine your life as a sponsored athlete, how great that would be, and the doors it can open up for you.

Identifying Potential Sponsors

You will be amazed at how many companies you have some kind of connection with, and chances are, your potential sponsors will be ones you are already in contact with or aligned with in some way.

Use the following categories to create your initial list:

1. Brands and services you currently (or would like to) use
2. Companies your friends and family are connected with
3. Local businesses in your community
4. Businesses that sponsor your sport, your events, or other athletes in your sport

Connect with event sponsors, particularly ones that already have connections to other athletes in your sport.

Your first list of potential sponsors may be two pages long, so while it’s important for you to identify every single potential sponsor, you will then need to go through and refine the list. Think about who you’d actually like to work with and which products, services, and brands you truly believe in and would feel proud to represent. Look at who you already have some kind of connection with, be it through a personal or business relationship or simply the fact that they create a product you have always used and wouldn’t use anything else.

Some people don’t feel comfortable asking for sponsorship from existing contacts because they think of it like asking a favor. But you will actually be offering great benefits in return for your sponsorship, so there are no favors or donations. This is a business proposal and will be a valuable investment for your sponsors. You need to believe that if you want them to believe that.

Research

Find out as much as you can about the companies you’ve identified as a good match. Get an understanding of what they’re about:

1. What does their marketing activity look like?
2. Do they sponsor other athletes?
3. Do they participate in any corporate sporting events?
4. Do they have any employee health programs?

Find out as much as you can via the Internet and your existing network. Then, get in contact with their marketing or sponsorship manager to learn any other key information to ensure your proposal hits the mark.

“This is a business proposal and will be a valuable investment for your sponsors. You need to believe that if you want them to believe that.”

If the company does social media, look for the gaps. Does it look like they could do with more or more interesting content? Do you see that their staff participate in fun runs, and maybe you could offer to deliver a kick-start training session for the lead up to their big event? Look at what they do and then ask yourself the question, “How can I activate or enhance what they are doing?”

It’s not your job to rewrite a company’s marketing plan, but feel free to think a little outside the square if there’s something you think would be valuable to them.

Creating a List of Benefits

It’s my belief and experience that your results on the sporting field have little to do with getting sponsored. It is other factors that make sponsorship a valuable investment for companies – social media, brand promotion, media coverage, verbal endorsement at events, having a brand ambassador, and a heap of other benefits you can offer.

Sponsored competitors serve as brand ambassadors during events, so good communication abilities are key.

Perhaps you’re good at public speaking and can contribute a few hours of your time during the year. Or you could offer to run a team-building session for your sponsor’s staff or to clients. Social media is brilliant when done right, so look at how you can provide your sponsor with an increased platform through your existing or soon-to-be increased networks. Get creative, step outside your comfort zone, and look for unique and valuable ways to give back to your sponsors.

Through your research you should have a fairly clear idea of what the company may be looking for, so your benefits should align with this – and, of course, should be commensurate in value with what you’re asking for from the company.

Creating Sponsorship Proposals

Make sure the focus is always on the company, not on you. Let them know why you are contacting them specifically and how it will benefit them to sponsor you. Outline your achievements and future plans. Paint the picture of just how awesome it will be to work together.

But you need to do all that in no more than six pages, and ideally only two to four. Be clear on what you’re asking for and what you’re offering. Make it as concise as possible because the aim is to get them to read the entire document.

“This feels much better and it should, because this is the thing that will stand you apart from other athletes.”

And always tailor each document to each sponsor – generic proposals are just lazy!

Use great photos and make the document look fantastic. Make it represent you and your style, and make it look professional in all ways. If you’re not good at design or writing or you don’t have any killer photos of you in action, then get help. Ask around – you’ve probably got people in your existing network who are good at this stuff and will be happy to help you.

Always Do Your Homework

What’s great about this overall process is that by the time you send your pitch, it will feel much more like a valuable offer than a request for help. This feels much better and it should, because this is the thing that will stand you apart from other athletes – the fact that you have taken the time to do the homework, think outside the box, and provide clear evidence of your commitment to the company and a belief in what they do.

Check out these related articles:

• Money Is Not an Obstacle – The Simple Path to Sponsorship
• Is Your Mindset Holding You Back From Sponsorship?
• The High Costs and Not-So-Sexy Side of Being a Pro Athlete
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photos 2 and 3 courtesy of RX’d Photography.

The post How to Craft a Winning Sponsorship Proposal appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

If not, go do a workout and join in again on the next piece – it will be much less touchy feely. But you never know, this might just change your life a bit.

How you look at sponsorship must be more than just trying to get something for free. You will need to have the right mindset and take the right approach to engage, maintain, and retain sponsorship. As you read my series of articles, you will learn how this is done, but attitude and action are key. An attitude of open-mindedness, generosity, and gratitude, teamed with taking action and pursuing your sponsorship goals – now that’s a winning combination.

Steps to Sponsorship

There are simple steps you can take to identify what your sponsorship needs are, who you can obtain sponsorship from, and what you have to offer them in return that makes it a great opportunity for companies to jump on board and sponsor you.

“We must be generous and grateful in our dealings with sponsors, and look at ways that we can enhance and develop our relationships with them. Give a little more than you get, and you’re setting yourself up for the future.”

Sponsorship needs to be given the same approach as any type of relationship and requires the same fundamental elements of trust, communication, honesty, and mutual contribution and benefit. It’s a business relationship, but one that has some nice touchy-feely stuff happening, too. You know, all the nice stuff about being part of a team with your sponsors, about sharing the highs and the lows, and about sometimes developing true friendships.

Imagine you’ve just met someone. You think he’s attractive and has a lot going for him, so you ask him out on a date. No wait, the first thing you ask him is to commit to a long-term relationship with you, possibly with kids and a view to marriage. Sound a bit crazy? I agree. So why would you approach sponsors like this?

It’s Business and It’s Personal

Getting a sponsorship relationship going is about getting to know them (if you don’t already), finding out what they’re looking for, being clear in your own mind of what you’re looking for, and approaching the potential sponsor from a position of clarity and generosity rather then asking for help. Remember: you have commercial value to offer; you don’t need a donation.

“Sponsorship needs to be given the same approach as any type of relationship and requires the same fundamental elements of trust, communication, honesty, and mutual contribution and benefit.”

Sponsorship is business. It’s strategic and commercial, but it’s also personal. It’s not uncommon for tears to fall during some of the work I do with athletes as they go through a range of emotions – from fear of rejection, to self-confidence when they realize their true value, to elation when they connect with their new sponsors. (Okay, the tears are often from me. I love this stuff!)

Think of sponsorships as a relationship that exists to provide mutually agreed benefits, and, like any relationship, if it’s nurtured it can develop into something valuable and long lasting. Conversely, if a sponsorship relationship is taken for granted and neglected or there is dishonesty, then it is unlikely to grow and more likely to end.

We must be generous and grateful in our dealings with sponsors, and look at ways that we can enhance and develop our relationships with them. Give a little more than you get, and you’re setting yourself up for the future.

Mindset Is Your Guide

So now, as we move you along into your sponsorship journey, we’re going to get into strategy, numbers, actions and proposals. But your mindset will remain the thing that guides you through the process in a way that supports your engagement of truly effective and meaningful sponsorships.

Open-mindedness, willingness, action, and gratitude. These will form the strong foundations of your activities moving forward.

Further Reading:

• Money Is Not an Obstacle: The Simple Path to Sponsorship
• 4 Lessons Everyday Athletes Can Learn From Professional Athletes
• How Success in Exercise Is Like Success in Investing
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Is Your Mindset Holding You Back From Sponsorship? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Sponsorship isn’t a donation, it’s not just for elite athletes, and contrary to what you may have heard, it’s not that hard to get.

My Story

When people ask me how I came to be doing what I do, I start with the story of how my partner Rich Bowles decided he wanted to run the length of Australia on the 5,330km rugged and remote Bicentennial National Trail and how we realized he would need sponsorship to foot the $95,000 bill.

I cite my ten years in marketing as the foundation for my knowledge of sponsorship, having experienced it from that side of the table before starting to work with Rich and the companies we engaged as his first sponsors back in 2011. But what I realize now is that my journey into becoming a sponsorship expert started way before all that.

About twelve years ago, I was the lead singer in a punk band (yes, look at my picture and you may find it hard to believe I had a two-foot high green-and-pink mohawk). It was during those years that I got a taste for what it meant to create a network and the power that had in terms of shared skillsets and opportunities (we got all our t-shirt designs, recording, and event management done for free). The more people we knew, and who knew us, the more opportunities came our way.

“Sponsorship isn’t a donation, it’s not just for elite athletes, and contrary to what you may have heard, it’s not that hard to get.”

Back then, plastering posters on telephone poles was being replaced with posts on online forums and through email. I got us gigs with some of the biggest bands on tour initially through persistence and then through developing an understanding of what they wanted out of their support acts. Yes, playing with them benefitted my band, but my focus was on how we could be of value to the headline acts. Sometimes it was purely a money thing, but playing a gig with a massive band could have payoffs further down the track for us, so it was sometimes worth playing for free. Other times, those bands wanted our crowd and our networks, so it was important to ask and not assume we knew what they wanted.

I was a marketer back then, I just didn’t realize it. And after the band broke up – as punk bands tend to do in a chaotic frenzy of alcohol, loud guitars, and broken beer bottles – I made a decision to move toward a career in marketing. One where I’d get to combine my love for creative thinking with practical and strategic applications.

Sponsorship Success

So, on Christmas day back in 2011, after Rich announced to my family that he wanted to be the first person to run the world’s longest marked trail, he turned his head toward me with a slightly raised eyebrow and asked ”What do you reckon?” Me being me, I said, “Let’s do it!” The idea that my boyfriend was brave (or insane) enough to take on such a huge and never-before-achieved challenge blew my mind. There was no way I was missing out.

My role in the adventure (apart from being support crew) was to raise sponsorship while Richard concentrated on training. In my day job, I was used to receiving, reviewing, and approving dozens of sponsorship requests, as well as putting together large volumes of proposal documents for pipeline construction projects. But I had never before put together a sponsorship proposal of my own.

For over twelve months, I searched on the Internet for templates, samples, instructions, videos, and anything that helped get my head around how to approach and engage sponsors, what to offer them in return, how to manage the process, and how to make sure the relationships were mutually beneficial. What I found was there was no one-stop shop for this information, so I began creating my own documents and learned as I went along about what did and didn’t work.

“What I realized during those fifteen months of planning for the Bicentennial National Trail, and then for the subsequent four projects, was that there are few resources available for athletes seeking sponsorship.”

We engaged about 50% of our sponsorship requirements through already existing contacts, while the others were engaged through a combination of creating new relationships and being in the right place at the right time (a company actually asked Rich if he knew any trail runners looking for sponsorship!).

Rich became the first person to run the world’s longest trail and went on to be the first person to run New Zealand’s 3,054km Te Araroa trail, just three weeks after finishing the Bicentennial National Trail. Four months after that, he ran the length of Israel’s 1,009km trail, and last year smashed a record on the 1,200km Heysen Trail of South Australia – the sponsorship for which was engaged by Rich in a two-week period just before Christmas.

Yep. During the time of year where everyone either cries poor or is already switching off for the holidays, Rich garnered $25,000 of sponsorship by engaging two companies in the mining industry and offering them great media and content for their internal communications and social media (three mini-documentaries branded with their logos and featuring the products), as well as an in-house keynote speech after the run.

A view of the Fleurieu Peninsula along the Heysen Trail in South Australia.

What I Learned

What I realized during those fifteen months of planning for the Bicentennial National Trail, and then for the subsequent four projects, was that there are few resources available for athletes seeking sponsorship. I had spent so many hours developing a whole library of documents and a winning strategy to engage and retain valuable sponsorships – valuable in a financial sense and in the true sense of a relationship in that both parties were happy with the outcomes. The key was that it was the athlete who needed to forge the relationship with the sponsor, not a manager or a broker.

Since 2011, Rich has raised over $200,000 in sponsorship. I was amazed to discover this is a lot more than many elite athletes in Australia can ever dream to raise. So, it’s not just about being well known or the best at your chosen pursuit, sponsors don’t really care about that. What they care about is how they can get publicity and more revenue. They want to know you’re going to be good for their business and that their investment is going to give them a good return.

Sponsorship Consultants

I know there are people who see Rich and I traveling the world, plastering photos and videos of harsh deserts, exploding volcanoes, bleeding limbs, and strangely enough very happy faces, and these people make assumptions about us and our finances. We have had people say things like, “Well it’s easy for you guys,” or, “You must have a big credit card bill,” while others just think we’re “lucky.” None of those statements are even close to the truth. We’ve never had a credit card, we haven’t borrowed a cent, we didn’t take any donations, and we don’t believe in luck.

I’m a big believer in positive thinking and following your intuition, and when I had the thought that maybe other people needed help getting sponsorship, I came up with the idea of creating The Sponsorship Consultants to provide resources and consultancy for athletes. I have experienced both sides of the sponsorship coin. I know my experience can benefit others, and I’m excited about working with athletes and helping them connect with opportunities.

You Can Get Sponsorship

I promise you, the money, products, and services are all out there for all of us, we just need to know how to connect with them the right way. In the upcoming articles I’ll be writing for Breaking Muscle, I’ll be sharing my proven approach of obtaining, maintaining, and retaining valuable sponsorship agreements from companies. I’ll empower you with the skills, knowledge, and resources to engage valuable and long-lasting relationships.

“My articles will keep it simple, factual, and informative and help you to understand how using a simple approach can result in you achieving your sponsorship goals.”

Some writing on sponsorship takes you into complex, analytical, and, to be honest, quite confusing levels of detail that for individual athletes are simply irrelevant. They provide the kind of detail that large organisations may use during their negotiations with a national sports league where sponsorships are multi-million dollar contracts. My articles will keep it simple, factual, and informative and help you to understand how using a simple approach can result in you achieving your sponsorship goals.

The most exciting thing I want to share with you is that almost any athlete can get sponsored, and I definitely do not just mean I can help you get a free t-shirt. There is much more on offer.

There are opportunities for you to engage in valuable and ongoing sponsorships that will not only change your life in sport, but also have the capacity to change your life for the better in so many ways.

More Like This:

• Go Big: 15 Challenges for Serious Athletes
• 4 Lessons Everyday Athletes Can Learn From Professional Athletes
• New Research Reveals Recent Trends in Ultra-Endurance Events
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Money Is Not an Obstacle: The Simple Path to Sponsorship appeared first on Breaking Muscle.