How to find a sponsor for a sports team? Investing in sports: profitable or not

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

No matter how talented an athlete is, it is extremely difficult for him to move up the career ladder without financial support. Unfortunately, in some cases it is not possible to realize his talent at all, because instead of developing skills, he is forced to work in order to earn a living. That is why the question of how to find a sports sponsor is relevant for both individuals and teams. And it is worth dwelling on it in more detail.

Investing in sports: profitable or not

The issue of raising funds is never an easy one. Especially in sports. Often, large and medium-sized businessmen simply do not see the prospects of such a method of investing funds for several reasons.

Even if the team succeeds in the future, the sponsor of an amateur team may be left with nothing. They can forget about him and suddenly turn away from the support provided earlier.

Of courseyou can object by saying that in this case a contract is concluded. However, if we are talking about a children's sports team, the contract will have to be signed with the parents of minors or their guardians.

The benefit from such an investment can be very small or even negative. The latter is possible in case of unsportsmanlike behavior of the wards. Some of them may use alcohol or doping, be rude to their own sponsor, etc.

When talking about sports, the subject of injuries and other unforeseen circumstances cannot be avoided. Unfortunately, they are able to unsettle the athlete for a long time, and turn into financial losses for the sponsor.

Knowing all the difficulties described above, we can conclude that in order to reach agreements with a potential sponsor, you will have to make a lot of efforts and show a real gift of persuasion.

Investing in sports is often justified when it comes to world famous teams or athletes. That's why it's not uncommon for football players to wear branded T-shirts at all kinds of championships. I must say that the contracts are estimated at millions of dollars annually. For example, users are often interested in which football teams are sponsored by Gazprom? If we talk about Russian sports, then this is the well-known Zenit. In parallel, a large company has a contract with the German company Schalke.

What you need to know?

Don't despair. Although finance is a hot topic inin any field, it is in sports that sponsorship is developed quite strongly. At least better than other similar industries. There is a completely logical justification for this.

Sport attracts a huge number of people. Those who are watching him, as well as those who are directly involved. And it's not just about athletes competing in competitions. There are still a huge number of people who produce equipment, provide sites, etc.

What will the sponsor get?

So, any cooperation should be mutually beneficial. The benefit of a sports team from having a sponsor is obvious - getting funding. What will be the benefit for the sponsor? Why should he spend his own money specifically on financing sports activities, and not on something else?

After answering these questions, it will be much easier to understand how to find a sponsor for a football team and what you can offer him. Be prepared for the fact that no one wants to invest their own funds if we are talking about a little-known team that rarely participates in competitions. In this case, it is extremely difficult to convince a potential sponsor that he will get a return on his own investment.

The situation is quite different if the football team is well known to the audience, is active, has achievements in its field and attracts the attention of fans.

Cooperating with a well-known football team, a potential sponsor expects to receive intangible benefits related tobecoming more famous, etc.

So, now you understand why it is important to put not only your own interests from potential cooperation in the first place.

Preparation

When asking how to find a sponsor for a sports team, you need to know what his interest is. The ultimate goal is to make a profit. That is why the emphasis in negotiations should be on this point.

You need to carefully prepare for a dialogue with a potential sponsor. First, make a list of all competitions in which the team or athlete has taken part in the past period. Next, sum up the total number of viewers who attended the events. The resulting figure is the reach of the audience that a potential sponsor can count on.

In addition, any sporting event is covered by representatives of various media, which further increases the reach of a potential audience. You should definitely tell the future sponsor about this in order to interest him in financial support.

Sponsor advertisement

As you already understood, it is not enough to know how to find a sponsor for a sports team. It is equally important to successfully negotiate. And for this, you need to clearly understand how the other side will benefit from cooperation with the team.

As a rule, potential sponsors are attracted by a wide range of potential audiences. That is why, even at the preparation stage, it is necessary to puzzle with the question of where it will be possible to place the sponsor's advertisement.

For example, it could be the facade of a building. The advertising poster will be noticeable and will certainly attract the attention of a potential audience.

Some teams have their own vehicles, which can also be emblazoned with the sponsor's logo.

Another place to advertise is the equipment and uniforms used by the team. However, in this case, the amount of advertising will be regulated by sports federations, as well as the organizers of sports competitions.

Be active

Those who plan to receive financial support need to constantly be in the public eye, expanding their circle of acquaintances. The more people who know about you, the more likely you are to successfully find a sponsor for your team. You should try to constantly participate in sports activities.

However, even in your free time, you should not sit idle. In the age of the Internet, you can try to find financial support on various sites. Create accounts on several resources and regularly update them with new information, talking about the achievements of the team

If you managed to get in touch with a potential sponsor, describe all the benefits that cooperation with your team promises him. Provide data on the coverage of the potential audience, which was mentioned in the previous paragraph.

How to write an appeal?

It is very important not only to know how to find a sponsor for a sports team, but also to be able to competently build negotiations. Your future position largely depends on their outcome. Will you have to continuesearches or it will be possible to focus on sporting achievements.

So, according to experts, the appeal should include four main points.

• Justification. This is mainly a story about the team and its achievements, as well as its plans for the future.
• Benefits. It is worth talking about the prospects that the sponsor will receive through joint activities. Here it is worth mentioning the coverage of the potential audience, which was mentioned earlier.
• Opportunities. Describe in detail several options for the development of events that are possible in cooperation with the team. Tell us in detail about the prospects.

If negotiations with a sports sponsor in Russia were successful, carefully read the terms of the proposed contract. You need to know what is expected of you and make sure you live up to your team's expectations.

Where to look?

Now you know how to find a sponsor for a sports team. However, the question still remains where to look for it.

As a rule, there are three most popular and common options.

• Sports fans, which can be individuals and organizations.
• Manufacturers of various sporting goods - inventory, equipment, uniforms and even food.
• Enterprises that cater for sporting events in one way or another. These are all kinds of restaurants and hotels, sports clubs and medical institutions, as well as companies providing transport services.and logistics.

You can refer to the last two categories according to the standard scheme, sending letters and talking about the benefits.

With private sponsors, things are somewhat more complicated. In their case, motivation is especially important, so the approach to each of the potential sponsors will have to be sought and found individually.

The difference between professional and amateur sports

As experts say, the difference between the two sports listed above is enormous. They differ in many ways:

• regulations according to which competitions are held;
• training level;
• fee amount, etc.

In general, amateur sports create more favorable conditions for athletes than professional ones. The achievement of certain results depends solely on the motivation of the athlete himself. Amateurs often become participants in various competitions, tournaments, and olympiads. At such events, they usually represent a sports club or school where they study and train.

When it comes to professional activities, completely different rules apply. First of all, the differences relate to the level of training. Professional athletes usually outperform amateurs. If the latter can skip training, for example, for he alth reasons, then for a professional this is considered unacceptable. For the reason that behind each athlete or team there is often a sponsor and, accordingly, large financial injections. That's why professional sports are also calledcommercial.

Sponsor for sports fans

For unknown reasons, there was a stereotype that attracting a sponsor is an impossible task for amateur athletes. Most likely, the explanation lies in the very essence of sponsorship. This is not charity, but an investment. Accordingly, a potential sponsor wants to get a return on their own financial investments.

Professional sports tend to attract huge crowds. For this reason, sponsors are interested in it, which, thanks to the athletes, get the opportunity to reach out to their own potential audience.

Amateur sports have become a mass phenomenon, which involves more spectators and participants than in professional activities. However, if we talk about a specific event, the number of viewers may be at the level of tens or hundreds of people, which cannot be compared with thousands of audiences for professional events.

Attracting sponsors for amateur teams is difficult precisely because of the small audience coverage.

Features of finding a sponsor in Russia

Unfortunately, in our country, sponsorship of athletes is not very developed. This happens for various reasons and ultimately leads to the fact that the marketing laws of the market do not always work when seeking financial support.

Some sponsors act solely on the back of their own emotions. It is possible that they grew up in the same city as the members of the sports team. That's whyWhen looking for financial support, it makes sense to first turn to those with whom you have something in common. For example, interest in football. It is possible that this will be the key factor in the negotiations.

Even if you know how to sponsor a hockey team, it may not be enough. In any case, you will have to negotiate. This is a special art that requires prior preparation.

How to convince a potential sponsor?

So, you have already learned that the financing of a sports team should be beneficial to those who invest their own funds in it.

That's why before you even make an offer, you should know who your audience is and how interesting it might be for a potential sponsor.

For example, if we are talking about a football team, you can try to negotiate with equipment manufacturers for players. Through such cooperation, they will receive advertising and be able to increase sales. This principle also works vice versa. Football matches are rarely attended by girls. Therefore, it is unlikely that it will be possible to attract manufacturers of cosmetics or wedding dresses to cooperation. You will most likely be wasting your time.

So, the higher the chance of matching your interests with potential sponsors, the higher your chance for a successful completion of negotiations.

When entering into a dialogue, you should be ready to tell the potential sponsor in detail about your achievements, first of all, what kind of audience coverage he can count on, and also list the events in which the teamtook part and what plans he builds for the future. It would also be useful to mention where the sponsor's logo will be placed. For example, on the uniform the players are wearing? or on the transport on which the team members move.

When you have collected enough arguments to convince a potential sponsor, you can proceed directly to negotiations.

In case of successful completion of the conversation, you will have to conclude an agreement. It is advisable to indicate in the conditions the number of spectators who came, and not the number of those who will purchase the manufacturer's products. This is due to the fact that a sports club is able to build a system of influx of customers, not sales.

At the first cooperation, the amount of sponsorship may be small. However, this experience will allow further convincing other sponsors. After all, the sports club will receive information about the number of visitors and those who bought the goods. In addition, if the first sponsor sees a positive effect, it will be possible to conclude a new contract on more favorable terms for the club.