Frequently athletes get caught up in the excitement of acquiring their first sponsor, but it’s easy to lose focus on why a company chooses to sponsor you in the first place. Always remember, sponsorship is a business.

Imagine yourself in this position:

You’re the team manager for the hottest company out there, and it is now the sponsorship season.  You receive 75 applications a day from all over the country in all age and skill brackets. You spend a half hour browsing SponsorHouse profiles for your first considerations, check for some top talent, results and most importantly, professionalism.  You quickly find that 50-60% of the profiles are somewhat incomplete. No results, no photos, no videos and no love to current sponsors. It is clear the athletes do not really understand what the word “sponsorship” means and are not informed about the sponsorship process.  All you see is “WHAT YOUR COMPANY CAN DO FOR THEM.”  It’s all right though.  The other 40-50% of the applications are customized for your company, offering valuable return benefits like key sticker placement, creative ideas to generate exposure for your company and promise of word-of-mouth promotion in exchange for your support.  They present an individual you want to sponsor.

You would like an endless pool of talent and solid results, but you are very willing to sponsor athletes who have strong communication skills and who understand your support is a trade for promotional value they offer back to your company.  It should be pretty obvious which of athletes make your “wanted” list -the ones with professional profiles and applications personalized to your company.  And, if you think about it from the perspective of this team manager, there are a couple reasons why:

1.  A professional profile shows that the athlete is self-motivated and really wants to represent your company.

If you were a team manager, you would like to see a solid profile and personalized application addressed to your attention.  Sure, you’ll consider a generic profile addressed to no one in particular if the athlete has won a couple regional or national championships, but only if they made it past your first consideration.

To you, it is most impressive that the person researched you and your company to find out that you would be the one considering their sponsorship and took the time to personalize the cover letter to you.  So you might think to yourself, I ought to give this person a closer look.

2.  A professional profile and application proves to you that the athlete not only understands your needs as a business, but that they are trying to help you meet those needs in exchange for your support.

You are now excited there is actually an athlete ready and willing to represent your company in a professional manner both while competing and while in the company of friends.  They understand that the word “sponsorship” doesn’t mean “FREE STUFF.”  They truly realize it is an honor to have the opportunity to represent your company and they are ready to provide 100% of the effort it takes to make you happy.

3.  A professional profile and application shows you that the athlete took the time to write and prove to you that they can write and communicate well.

Anyone could have setup a generic profile.  As you review a great profile and personalized application, you can see the desire and feel the passion, assuring you that the athlete is ready for your support.

4.  A professional profile and application shows you you’re not part of a mass-sending campaign by some athlete looking for someone, anyone to give up some FREE STUFF.  They want your support and your products!

What happens when you receive impersonal junk mail at your house addressed to “boxholder?”  It goes right in the garbage, right?  Team managers do the same thing. Those inquires go on the list of, “to get to, if we have any spots left after the good ones” -not the list you want to be on.  It takes time, but personalize the application for each sponsor.

SponsorHouse is a great way to connect with potential sponsors for the first time. Your profile and application are the first introductions to a potential sponsor.  Be sure to make it a professional introduction because, ultimately, sponsorship is a business.