There are many ingredients to be successful in achieving corporate sponsorship. I've learned with extensive research and active success in acquiring funds for teams and individuals that now is the time to prepare your presentations to obtain funding. A key point I must stress before we begin is that you will have many doors closed to you in your quest. Be persistent and don’t give up. For every door that closes, another opportunity awaits. Patience is the key to success. Many of my attempts at this search took numerous months of negotiations to achieve the desired end result of sponsorship funding.

Window of opportunity is between October and February. Proposals need to be submitted by August and no later than October. Each company has differing schedules so you must ask for deadlines, contact person, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address if available. All major corporations have sponsorship divisions, awarding a set number of dollars in a fiscal year to assist athletes and teams for a season of events in many sports. In the area of speed skating, it is more of a challenge to achieve funding because it does not experience as much media highlighting as other sports. How can you be successful?

Select a spokesperson Selecting a spokesperson is your most important decision. That person is your key to obtaining sponsors. Your spokesperson must be a very good “people-person” and must speak confidently and comfortably. They must go in fully prepared to answer all of the potential sponsor’s questions.

Parents, athletes, coaches and community leaders must be involved to help build your spokesperson’s confidence. These people need to hear of your cause and search for funds. They can assist in providing resources necessary to make that initial contact, call to set up appointments, and to arrange meetings.

Your spokesperson needs to be open minded and able to communicate - wrong words may ultimately ruin your chance. First and foremost your spokesperson must be able to talk directly to your sponsor representative and know how to read their reactions, they must be adept in reading body language. They must also know when to stop talking and listen, [it is possible to oversell your point]. They must know when to interrupt and be assertive. They must have a sense of whether or not interest is being kept or lost, and to be able to take back control of the presentation when lost. Your spokesperson needs to have a very pleasant attitude and be able to carry themselves with confidence but without arrogance. Your success depends a great deal on how they present themself. They must go into a meeting fully prepared with all the tools needed and full knowledge of their material

Create Your Portfolio You as an individual must begin to construct a portfolio of your accomplishments. It must include the number of years you've been involved in your sport and practice schedule including a daily workout training schedule. This means keeping a complete log of each practice and how it help you achieve top performance levels. Include a diet plan, record of events as an individual, placements, times and your team results. It is critical that you document your whole career beginning as a young athlete.

Why should you put so much time into this? A sponsor will expect a commitment from you to present all the reasons they should sponsor you instead of anyone else. You'll need to convince the sponsor with your portfolio that their investment will lead to many types of exposure, locally as well as on the corporate level. One important question they will ask you is “How will my company benefit from sponsoring your team or you as an individual?” You must convince them your listed sponsorship needs are legitimate.

Community Support I've learned that the biggest key in corporate funding is local community support of athletes. Document it! Your portfolio should include any and all funding that you have acquired from local businesses and individuals in your community - highly beneficial in your success on the corporate level. You as a team/ individual athlete must market yourself much as you would in submitting a resume when applying for a job. You must sell yourself (or team) with a great presentation that will knock the potential sponsor’s socks off and really catch their attention.

Begin your search within your local community. Some of the best sponsors are grocery stores. When you grocery shop, look at labels, Most companies have 800 numbers listed. 800 numbers will be your best friend. Call them and inquire if they have sponsorship divisions. If you don’t ask, how will you know? Health organizations like local community hospitals have athletic sponsorship funds available. You will be astonished at the funds that can be acquired within your own community. There is strength in large numbers. Corporate sponsors are more easily convinced if you combine efforts. For example, if you have several teams in your state, combine your efforts.

Sponsorship budget You must provide a budget if in search of a full-season sponsorship. Budget preparation will be covered in another article. We are working on software that will serve as complete guides to the budgeting process as well as training workout schedules, diet enhancement training for maximum performance levels, marketing strategies and creating a website for teams and associations.

You must present the big picture to sponsors for the long term: 2, 5 or 10 years.

Loyalty & expertise A sponsor expects excellence when they put their name on a product. Don’t break this respect. A sponsor also expects loyalty. Avoid jumping to whomever provides the largest dollar amount. By remaining loyal to your sponsors you will gain their trust. If you break that trust, you will not acquire funds from them again and you will jeopardize your ability to obtain funds from other sponsors.

Keep your sponsors informed of your progress by providing updates of race results and team photos. Have them become part of your team. A key phrase that will get results is “Let us form a working partnership to help in the development of our sport in our community. Help keep youth off the streets and create complete family involvement.” The keywords being “partnership” and “family”.

Non-profit status Set up your team as a 501-C3 non-profit group. This is a very successful way to receive funds for sponsorship because of the inherent tax deducation for contributions. You can approach local community foundations and federal groups. To set up a non-profit, you need a board of directors that has knowledge in this field. This board should include an attorney for the legal aspectsof 501-C3, an accountant to take care of the correct filing strategies and someone who is well versed in writing fund requests.

Professional presentation Make your individual or team presentation professional looking. Put it in a D-ring binder. Include articles of your racing accomplishments including photos and newspaper clippings. This will assist you in proving your reasons why they should be your sponsors. A video of combined events could also be an important tool.

This proposal must be well written. If you follow the 501-C3 non-profit path, you can ask your local non-profit groups to help you find someone with this writing skill, as the wording of your proposal is an essential element in your quest for funding. All this will assist your selected spokesperson to be fully prepared to make a skilled, professional presentation. I can’t stress enough how important this is.

Create a personal/team website A great medium that is easily accessible is the internet. Imagine walking into a sponsor’s office with a laptop and take them to your website for an impressive presentation.

Your quest for sponsors can be successful so long as you don’t give up and you have patience. With properly prepared presentations, you will succeed. I've had much success and created a racing team in Michigan, Team Wheels. Vision yourself a winner and you shall be. Your mind and spirit can send you to places you never thought were ever possible I would love to hear your comments, questions, and suggestions for future articles: mrvision@usa.net

Larry Couturier is creating a sponsorship management company and guide which will assist teams and athletes in their search for funds - an ambitious project. Larry’s goal is to see youth from all over the nation have the opportunity to “Achieve the Gold”.

Thanks to Bill Numerick for his assistance.