How To Get Sponsored!

Site Admin Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 4

I copied this from Paintballforum.com, who took it from pb2x,

Get in line boys and girls.

If you've been reading this magazine for any length of time, you know that we've addressed the topic of sponsorships many times. Yet, it doesn't stop the constant e-mail questions on the subject. E-mails that look like this:

"Hey, I'm thirteen years old and me and my friends want to start an amature team. Will you sponsor us?"

Question number two:

"I want to play paintball, but I don't have the money. Do you know of anyone that will sponsor me?"

Question number three:

"I'm going to let you in on the ground floor of the best kept secret in paintball. My team [insert another average team name here] is about to explode onto the paintball scene, and I wanted to know of you would like to take advantage of the amazing sponsorship opportunity."

Notice the first questions starts with the word "Hey." Not good! The least you can do if you're asking a person to give you money, is address them with a little bit of respect, even if you are only thirteen years old. While you're at it, how about learning to spell the word amateur. It's not like companies are going to get in line to sponsor teams or players that don't have even a little grasp of the English language.

The second question is most typical of what I have the pleasure of deleting from my inbox every morning. My question back to this person would be something like this: What exactly are you offering me? Sponsorships are business deals — it's not charity. In most business deals there's something in it for both parties. And by the way, it wouldn't hurt to actually play paintball before asking someone to sponsor you.

The last question may seem unbelievable to you, but to me it's a once a week occurrence. I'm not kidding. If you are trying to land sponsorships for you team, do at least a little "exploding" before you ask. I'm not saying a team has to win the World Cup to get sponsored, but you should have some record of significance to show a potential sponsor, not just on the field, but off the field as well.

John Amodea's Ten Tips To Land A Paintball Sponsorship

1. Make sure all of the words in your request letter are spelled correctly.
2. Turn off the "Caps Lock" key.
3. Mix in an occasional capital letter to start sentences.
4. Don't start your request letter with the words "Hey" or "Yo."
5. Play at least once, both personally and as a team before you ask.
6. In addition to asking for something, tell the sponsor something you can do for them.
7. Send a team photo in with your request.
8. Have a resume. Once again, with all of the words spelled correctly.
9. Be polite (like me).
10. Don't expect a response the same day you ask.

Good Luck,