Help me get sponsored

sponsors dont always mean you get shit for free. almost never does unless your a complete BADASS.

most of the time they will offer smaller discounts. like 20, 30% off and whatnot. free shit, hah good luck man.... doesnt work like that.

what can you do for these companies, that i cant do?

 

If you have to ask for sponsors, you cant afford it.

 

Alright guys shit don't crusify me for not knowing everything. I mean I just got my drivers license 2 months ago and simply want to learn stuff which was the point of this thread. If I knew this stuff I wouldn't ask

 

I have been on TW for a while now, and have sponsored a lot of things. Most have been charity events and the like, but I did also sponsor the local rodeo.

That being said, here is something that may clear things up a little for you.

1. When you are new, with low post counts, and a truck that is not paid for in cash, sponsors will tend to balk. What if I were to send you $500 in parts for your truck, but next month you miss a truck payment and the truck gets repossessed? I am out the parts, and the exposure.

2. Sponsors are looking at a couple of things. One is name recognition. Are you already an important figure in the desert racing community? Then yes, that would bring me closer to a sponsorship. Do you have a team already, with a driver, crew, and some cash backing? No team? No crew? Well that makes me concerned about how much exposure my product would get.

3. Many times a company may help someone who is up and coming, but with an established team, build their truck. That doesn't mean that they will give it to you for free. Perhaps I would want my 2WD hubs to get some exposure. Well I may sell them to you at a discounted price after getting some details on your team, and then later on if you become more established I might send regular cash sponsor money, and some spare parts. The only time I would right off the bat send you a totally free set of hub bearings and some spares would be if you were already a champion driver, with a few wins under your belt.

4. Sometimes trucks are built by sponsors from the ground up when the group of sponsors get together as a network, with an established business plan. They also have a team ready to go, with a driver, navigator, chase truck, and pit crew.

So no, you didn't make a mistake asking for help. Your method and means were just totally off. You need to have something to offer the sponsor, and to be honest, you have already said that you don't have anything to offer, and you have no experience. Keep working on the truck and building it as you can though! Get a few races under your belt! Even in the top Nascar circuits, new drivers have a hard time getting sponsors. I have even seen Kurt Bush back in the day drive a car with NO sponsor, that they built on a shoestring budget. Now he gets sponsor offers all the time.

 

There are varying degrees of sponsorship too. Back when I raced off road motorcycles everyone was "sponsored" but pretty much all of these were low level where you got a slight discount (rarely more than 20%) on parts, only top guys in any sport get free stuff.

It was the same when I lived in a ski town everyone claimed to be sponsored but really they were just getting slight discounts.

 

About the only thing I can say to that is the truck was paid for in cash and I have no monthly note. Everything else you said is completely correct.

 

Camburg said 10-15% off but no total sponsorships

 

about the same you get for being a member of tacomaworld

 

On a different note, sponsors want exposure and business driven their way. You are still in school. When will they have exposure and to how many people?

 

Hey OP for the thing on Level7 he built that truck himself and now hes more recognized by companies for the effort hes put into the truck I'm sure he gets discounts here and there but he built that thing with his money and it was even in SEMA this past year
His names Chris he works on the same base as i do i see Level7 pretty regularly

 

I'm starting to get the sense this is a kid in his late teens or early twenties who doesn't know how the world works. He probably noticed a lot of stickers on race cars and the trucks around his area so he somehow figures there's sponsorship money out there for whoever wants it.

As others have said you won't see a penny until racing or building desert racers is your number one purpose in life. Even then you won't get much free stuff, it'll be mostly discounts and, as previously said, you'll have already had to of built and rebuilt your truck many times on your own dime before you see any of those discounts. No one is crucifying you or trying to make you feel bad, but what you are doing does come off as a bit silly.

 

This is after you show us what you have to offer.

we dont sponsor anyone for a "full ride"

we "sponsor" drivers who own race trucks and run our products and do well. we back anyone who runs our product and try to help with any parts at a discounted rate.

NOBODY gets free LT kits here or anywhere else that i can think of.

 

Yea I got that. I just wanted to point out how wronging was thinking it was possible

 

I wish all these spam/fake emails I get about wraping my truck for $300/month were real. I would so let someone wrap my truck with ads for $300/month

 

sorry OP, but you got your answer from both sponsored folks and sponsor-ees

if it were that easy, we'd all be sponsored

 

You are getting some good advice from some knowledgeable people. I can't offer anything more in terms of the sponsorship stuff that hasn't already been said. What I can do is offer advice on how to present yourself in a better light as to not elicit a negative reaction like you did.

Your post above screams, "I want free stuff because I am young and think I can scam some companies into giving it to me!"

You come across as a typical self aggrandized, entitled teenager that just wants the cool stuff without working for it, and that includes doing your own research (your post above is not research). Here are some tips you may or may not chose to read:

* Present yourself in a professional, mature manner. Spell check and grammar are key. I am anticipating a response of: "I am posting this from my phone so it's hard." That's an excuse for laziness and doesn't fly when you are looking for help.

* Don't ask for stuff. You keep mentioning you don't know anything. Getting a sponsorship is done in phases. It is hard work. That hard work starts out with research. Your initial post here should have said something to the effect of:

"Greetings all,

I have searched on numerous sites (mainly here, Google, POR, and a couple of other sites), but haven't found exactly what I am looking for. I am interested in getting some companies to sponsor my truck. I found some sites stating to start with small local shops (window tinting, lube/body shops, detailing shops, etc) before trying to get bigger companies. I understand that most sponsorships only entail a slightly bigger discounts or covered entry fees, which is understandable.

What I haven't found is the best way to approach these companies, especially since I won't be doing any racing or climbing competitions. I am looking at building a show truck. I've entered a few local competitions and have done pretty well, but I want to take my truck to the next level.

In short, are there any sites you can recommend I visit that I may have missed in my prior research? Maybe some personal experiences that may help me in my quest? Is there anyone on this site that sponsors trucks and is willing to offer up advice, from either successful or failed sponsorships?

Any tips or information to help me research is much appreciated. Thank you."

** Edit - I had more, but I am sure it has been covered in the 3 pages that popped up in the time it took to type this out.

***Edit 2 - Damn... sorry for getting back on topic guys...

 

I'd gladly sponsor the jack stand queen but you'd never see my product behind all those lights...

 

Rick hendrick Chevy in North Charleston sponsors Rock racing. A few years ago I helped build a roll cage at B&R off road Budget was 60G. A few weeks ago I went back to them for a sponsorship and or start up money. The GM told me build ONE and then win a few they will do it. SMH good luck tho bud