We are always looking to grow our business so give us a call and and let's discuss your expectations for representation and how Q Sports might be able to address those needs. Brian Rogers and Stefan Klaus, the Q Sports Skysurfers, found us online a few years ago. With the help of Q Sports they went on to win X-Games gold and silver.
In the meantime we now offer a collection of services designed to help you, the athlete, help yourself find sponsors. Follow the link below for some FAQ's about becoming a Q Sports Athlete.
Unfortunately, there aren't any that we know of (and we search the
web pretty often). That's why we created Q Sports, to help these elite
athletes who happen to be in lower profile sports. For the most part, large
commercial sport marketing companies spend most of their time in big time
sports: basketball, football, baseball, tennis, golf etc. If you're not
a big name athlete in a big time sport, then it's very difficult to get
a big sport marketing company to take you on. Worse yet, even if they do
take you on you may not get the attention that you were hoping for.
The first step is to put yourself down on paper. Create a brief,
but visually exciting, resume that tells a bit about yourself and your
athletic credentials. The better an athlete you are, and the bigger you
are in your sport, the more professional your materials should be. That's
not to say that you need to dump hundreds of dollars into a multimedia
video presentation but keep in mind that your materials say something about
you. If you're seriously expecting to find some good financial support,
you won't get it if your marketing materials are done in crayon (although
you may get some points for creativity). Q Sports can help you make promotional
materials or you can do it yourself on a home computer. Keep it brief and
try to structure it so as to highlight what's special about you when compared
to other athletes in your sport.
Pick your target companies. Don't just go after Nike, Microsoft
and the US Mint because they have a lot of money. The more specifically
you pick your target companies the more likely you'll find a sponsor. Look
for companies to whom you can offer something unique.
If you can answer this question then you've found a great
target company. If you can't think of why they should sponsor you,
the company sure won't be able to.
Call. Pick up the phone and ask the receptionist..." who
normally handles athletic sponsorships?" Don't just mail off your resume
to 100 different companies. That won't do anything but waste some postage
and line the bottom of 100 trash cans. Wait until you speak to someone,
they'll ask you to send info, then mail it directly to them. Spell their
name corectlie.
Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. Don't expect your phone to
ring. It won't. Corporate marketing directors are super busy people. They
don't even call us back! Periodically call back and politely check in.
It's nice to open your call with..."If I'm interrupting you I could
call back at a more convenient time."
Yes, lots. But that's all for now. Keep in mind that Colonel Sanders went to hundreds (literally) of people before one said yes to what eventually became Kentucky Fried! The hardest part about sponsor seeking is getting comfortable with the word NO. You'll hear it a lot. But, with all sincerity we tell you that there are "yeses" out there. So each time you hear a no, try to keep in mind that you're one step closer to finding a yes.
(got other questions? send us an email to add to this section)
Sport physiologist Rob Sleamaker will design a personal training program
patterned according to your schedule needs and shaped to bring your fitness
and competition readiness to peak form. Follow the hot link above for more
information about SportsAdvantage or check your local bookstore for Rob's
book, "Serious Training for Serious Athletes".