You need to break up with the traditional sponsorship package structure of gold, silver, and bronze. In this post, we’ll be covering why you should be avoiding this old-school pitching structure, as well as what you should consider doing instead. You’re totally capable of landing dream sponsors, but doing what “has always been done” isn’t going to get you there.

It’s Not Customizable

When every potential sponsor gets exactly the same deck with the same exposure options (“your logo here”), you miss out on meeting the client where they’re at in a win-win way for both of you. Every company is different, and creating target-specific proposals just for them shows that you’ve done your homework and that you truly value working with them.

It’s Not Affordable

Look, I get charging for your expenses like entry fee and tires, but this structure only shoots you in the foot. If you stack your package so that only your top level (“gold”) has the very best to offer, you risk strong-arming the sponsor or alienating them. If they don’t want everything you packed into a tier, or they simply can’t afford the level that has what they do want, you’re likely to lose them.

It’s Old School

If we’re being honest, this sponsorship package structure is just outdated at this point. It’s been so tried and true that it’s no longer really serving its best purpose. It’ll come off as lazy or naive to pitch sponsors with this style of package.

So what should you do instead?

You want to pitch the right mix of assets at the best price for them or give them a menu of all of your assets to pick and choose from

What are assets? 

Your assets are what you can offer to a potential sponsor, for example, logo placement on your race car or fire suit, hyperlink on your website, tutorial video on social media, hospitality in your pits, or a car show with a contest or game to bring in spectators.

You can’t seek out sponsorships if you don’t have assets to sell to them. It’s more than just putting a sticker on the side of your car and calling it a day, you must be creative and find ways to stand out from everyone else. Build up an inventory of assets and figure out how you can connect your potential sponsor to your audience beyond simple logo placement.

Need help with creating your assets inventory? Set up a private 1:1 coaching call with me!