get &
by Ken sauret
Story & Photos
keep L
et’s look at what a “sponsorship” really is. to you - the tournament angler - a spon- sorship is a way to offset some of the expense of traveling to and competing in bass tournaments. Consider the company that could be your sponsor; they’re looking for ways to increase their customer base, sales and therefore revenue for the bottom line. a proposal to a prospective sponsor needs to contain creative ideas detailing what you’re willing to do to help the company increase exposure and sales of their products and therefore increasing their revenue. Your job is to come up with new ideas that will separate you from the multitude of guys proposing the same old ideas going after those precious sponsorship dollars. in slow economic times, like we are currently experiencing, there is no better time to approach companies; because they need to grow their business. We, as fishermen, need to re-think our idea of what it means to be a sponsored fisherman. let’s use a new term to get to better describe what a sponsorship really is. Your sponsorship is a “marketing partnership” between you and a company selling product. Think of ideas about how you will bring more exposure to the company’s product or service. You may be able to sell the product directly to consumers, open new dealers for the company, direct customers to stores that carry the product or hand out marketing materials. in other words
a spons
you are “marketing” your sponsor’s stuff to increase their market share and their revenue. Companies want to sell more products, you want a sponsorship; therefore you become a salesman of that company’s product or service because you believe in it, recommend it, and guide people to where they can get it. i’ll give you an example. Think of the last time you went on a job interview. You were “selling” yourself
42