Sponsorships—if they were easy to secure, everyone would have one. And one look around social media tells us that more and more athletes regardless of experience are getting a sponsorship deal.
follow our 10-must do plan and I will guarantee you will raise your level of success in gaining a sponsorship.
Who doesn’t want to get on the front cover of a magazine, be part of a supplement company and their advertising, being plastered all over posters websites representing a company be it a supplement or clothing company is something many dream to have.
Is it really as easy as it appears, we all know an athlete that maybe doesn’t do too well when he or she competes, but they have a huge following and have a sponsor backing them, they also appear to get a tonne of stuff for free.
This is all within your grasp, we did this for athletes for years completely free of charge and after a while we began to charge for this service. We got so many athletes interested time restraints were so tight that we simply had to stop as it was taking up so much of our time we even outlined all the steps to some our own athletes who went on to find a sponsorship deal from other companies as well as ours.
There has been so much response to our recent video on how to do this that we have put together this list of points to help you get the deal you want.
This is our top 10 questions that we are consistently asked about landing a sponsor.
My knowledge base come from working with supplement companies as a consultant handling sponsored athlete packages and owning my own company handling my own athletes. We run the clothing side of our site as well as running the magazine side and have helped athletes get on the front cover of our magazine as well as build a profile to get sponsorship deals time and time again.
1 DO I HAVE TO BE A TITLE HOLDER TO GET SPONSORED?
No. Winning a competition may help, but it is in no means a must have when it comes to gaining a sponsorship deal.
There is a vast amount of athletes out there have have a sponsorship deal and there is just as many who have won shows and never had a sponsor.
Companies don’t have a criteria of qualifications in terms of body building titles to sponsor an athlete. In my experience, the woman is far more interested in your persona. The more coverage you have in a positive manner on social media for example the more coverage they can get as a company.
After all, if people look up to you taking stock in what you say and do and trust your judgment on products, it’ll be easy for a company to build credibility and a customer base with your physique and persona backing them up to aid sales and a positive light shining on the company.
QUESTION 2 DO I HAVE TO HAVE A HUGE FOLLOWING ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET A DEAL?
Social networking is the number one method currently to get noticed and build a following that will help aid the sales of the company you are linked with.
Getting this kind of exposure can and does take time and effort being part of the face book, twitter, instagram and snapchat world can be very time consuming and many athletes consider this as a full time job and reap the rewards in return.
“Start small, start with what you have and what you have is plenty!” One of my favourite quotes and basically means work hard!
Share your experience of the product and your experience with the company you are targeting to get a deal with. If you share videos online then make sure you are wearing the brand drinking the product etc.
QUESTION 3 BUT WHAT DOES A SPONSOR LOOK FOR ?
They love loyalty, personally each and every one of my athlete have been customers in the past and have pushed my products, even buying for others whilst telling the world how good a company we are. They don’t just stop there! They continue to use their discount for others friends and family benefit from the athlete discount they get and they also get the free stuff we are all looking for. The more the athlete puts in the more they get out.
Companies in particular supplement companies want you to know what you are talking about so when discussing with possible customers the product you can explain in detail how and why the product works.
If you are a positive individual make a point of helping others and pottery the sport in a positive light then most companies will rush to sign you up. You don’t have to be the most confident person and be expected to speak at seminars etc as there are others who will happily do this, but you have to show a willing to promote the company and the more you can do in regards to this the better. Many athletes will approach their own gym and help get the company on the shelves as a trade sale, this is a sure fire method to get noticed.
QUESTION 4 SO HOW DO I GET A DEAL?
Don’t be backwards in coming forward. Approach the company and treat it as a business deal explain what you can do for them, put some time and effort into this if possible put together some figures on how much revenue you can bring to the company. Don’t take rejection personally because a lot of it is just luck and timing.
Never ever approach a company saying, ” hey send me some free stuff i will wear it in the gym be a good way for you to get noticed as a company because i look great” You would be surprised how many of these messages I get weekly and every time a message starts this way I will politely decline the offer. I am not sure where these individuals think our clothing is to be worn, but in a gym so how is this helping me as a brand ?
Remember that there is a huge amount of competition for a spot on a companies sponsored list and if you want this bad enough you got to work for it.
Companies love to be tagged in social media and yes they look for this and make a note of who is supporting them. Personally it gives me a great buzz seeing athletes advertising how happy they are with our service and sending others to our site.
`Do your home work get to know who runs the company how the company started out and why.
QUESTION 5 WHAT COMPANY SHOULD I APPROACH SHOULD I FOCUS ON ONE PARTICULAR ONE OR TRY EVERYONE AOUND?
Just remember to get a deal its always a good idea to keep a few companies happy, but whilst doing so remember also that loyalty is an important aspect of this business, the fastest way for you to get noticed may be to contact lots of companies but it also maybe the biggest turn off for a smaller company such as ourselves. We do not want to see you promoting others!
QUESTION 6 WILL I BE PAID?
The truth of the matter is most companies are generally trade prices I do this with all my athletes to begin with and of time they build a following and bring work to our brand they get more from us in return further coverage on our website and free items with orders etc. We believe in looking after the ones who look after us!
If the company you get sponsored with doesn’t give you anything in return for your hard work and does not give you coverage on the website etc then take my advice and get rid of them this should be a two way deal not a profit only deal.
Few people get both supplements, clothing AND money, especially just starting out. But if you make the right relationships when you start out, you’ll build a foundation that could take you further. You never know what opportunities may be coming your way.
QUESTION 7 KEEPING MY SPONSOR?
Always remember that looks fade and over time you may retire from bodybuilding this doesn’t or shouldn’t mean you lose your sponsorship, as long as you are putting int he work the company will continue to put effort into you be it free items or more publicity.
Did you have a contract make sure you keep to that contract and stay within the rules set out.
Try to stay within contest shape if possible a fat out of shape athlete is never a good look for someone who is promoting fat burners for example.
QUESTION 8 WHAT NOT TO DO?
Now this could go on forever, but heres my take on what I think are the most important aspects of what not to do..
You must remember at all times that you are representing a company.
Never post pictures of yourself drunk and falling over, Think about it what message does this send.
Practice what you preach.
If applying to muscletricks for example don’t make the mistake of sending a picture of yourself wearing another companies clothing.
If invited to work at trade shows, show up on time, sober and looking great.
Do not complain, no one wants to hear that the journey was a nightmare that you are shattered etc.
QUESTION 9 IF I GET IN A MAGAZINE WILL I GET PAID FOR IT?
No there are hundreds of individuals out there that will work for free model for free and never ask for anything but publicity in return. I the company is happy with the exposure you have gave them i am sure they will make sure you are looked after. I have personally sent out over two hundred pounds worth of product to a athlete not sponsored by ourselves that works like crazy to promote us and has a huge following being featured in a recent interview on the bbc etc wearing our brand.
QUESTION 10 WHAT’S THE BEST METHOD TO SECURE A DEAL A WINNING FORMULA?
The most important thing to remember is no one deserves anything for free everything comes at a price in this world and if you want to get a deal then you got to work for it.
Never lose hope always stay positive and never slag the company off if they don’t give you something for nothing….
Have you ever been to a local supermarket took milk off the shelf and expect to walk away with it free because you have great arms and abs??