Best way to get sponsors?

[Marty]

I know nothing about sponsorships, but being uninformed never kept me from mouthing off. ;D The following is a letter I sent to what is known around here as "Another Site." What do YOU think?

LETTER

I am light years away from the world of organized fishing and sponsorships. However, I read with interest the Dock Talk item in which Guido Hibdon's advice to anglers seeking sponsors is to "catch fish."

Intuitively, that seemed overly simplistic, as I suspect there are thousands of skilled anglers who are deficient in the sponsorship department.

Coincidentally, the next day I read the article in the January Bassmaster about the Federation Nation angler who has a boat wrap and numerous other sponsors. He stated, "Most companies don't care about how many fish you have caught. If you can lay out a marketing plan in which everyone benefits..."

It's not rocket science to figure out which advice I'd follow if I were a sponsor-seeker.

[JT Bagwell]

Let me know what Jay's (the owner of that site) response is to your letter.

That was a very good point that you made and I also

know which advice I would follow.

Take Care,

JT Bagwell

[Chris]

That did give me a chuckle. ;D Back when Guido Hibdon was dominating the tour to be honest that was all he had to do back when the industry was simple. Catch fish, win, show off a bait or technique. I remember watching Guido on the "Pro's Pointers" part of the Bassmaster program teaching the viewers how to skip a tube under docks or how to site fish beds. If he won a tournament he got air time to talk about lures or techniques and products sold. When he won a Classic he became a hot commodity pushing the Guido frog, (strange bait to push for a site fishermen for years you could buy the same lure from Netcraft or Stamina)Guido Bug, ring worm, Flying lure, Renosky jerkbait with a skirt tail, Poe's/Hotlips/Timber Tiger,(not known as a crankbait guy) I am sure I missed a few. They slapped his name on all kinds of stuff all he had to do was catch fish and build his name recognition. It isn't like that now I am also will be curious to see the response if any.

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

Just do well in tournaments and don't worry, the sponsors will come to you.

[Marty]

Let me know what Jay's (the owner of that site) response is to your letter.

I'm not expecting a response. They may or may not publish my letter, but they generally publish letters without comment unless a question is asked or a disclaimer or clarification is needed.

[CSB]

Just do well in tournaments and don't worry, the sponsors will come to you.

I disagree. In todays cut-throat business world, performance is secondary. You must be able to consistently catch fish, but more importantly, you must be marketable. That means being able to speak coherently, present yourself as a professional at all times, and have full knowledge of the product you are representing. You are essentially a salesman for the company.  If you arent marketable, you arent getting the attention of major companies.

[Hale]

just do well in tournaments and don't worry, the sponsors will come to you.

For everyone that truly believes this....good luck with you careers and I hope your good at your regular job. You will never afford to fish the national level unsponsored, and you will never be recognized enough to be approached until you hit the national level. (Chicken or the Egg?)

Okay now Im sure there is someone on here that will say but I got a sponsor form XYZ and they approached me.....first off we are speaking about a real sponsorship. Who cares if they gave you some rods, lures and you sport out their decals on your truck. Paychecks and entries fees. You think you have skills? Convince a company to write you a check each month!

[CSB]

It is just my opinion, but I think many anglers and the companies they pursue dont take marketing to fisherman seriously. Lets look at the facts:

-44 million Americans participate in the sport of fishing

-Anglers buy over $2 billion in equipment every year

- The average BASS member is 51 years old, has a college education, and makes $66,000 per year. He/she also spends $2000 per year on fishing equipment.

- This is a $75 billion industry (freshwater fishing)

- Tournaments are nationally televised on a variety of networks including the Outdoor Channel, Versus, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, and FOX Sports Network

Why arent more anglers getting serious about marketing? Why arent more selling their service (advertisement, promotion, and marketing of a product/service) to companies like super-regional stores, home improvement stores, hunting and fishing equipment retailers, restaraunts, gas stations, textile retailers, etc. I can go on and on?

I dont think fisherman are successful in their quest for marketing partners (sponsors give you product, marketing partners pay you to market their product/service and they seek a return on investment) because they arent caling the right people, they arent asking these decision makers the right questions, and they dont have the materials to present tournament fishing as a winning program for a particular company. Its not because these fisherman are stupid, just ignorant to the sports potential. There is a lot more to a marketing program than wrapping the truck/boat and wearing some logo's. If you seek the big dollars, its going to take considerable time and effort on your part to get them and keep them.

[earthworm77]

you must be marketable

And you must know how to market yourself. I know a guy who is the absolute clumsy angler, Bill Dance bloopers X10. This guy is not a good fisherman but he holds a bunch of prime sponsors because he knows how to market himself. Catching fish is secondary.

[Hillbilly_Hooker]

earthworm,

Are you talking about me?   ;D

I have only fished competitively for one year and I'm certainly not placing or consistently catching fish in tournaments.  I do have my moments (big fish at one, won 2nd at one, and won one), but I'm not 'the guy' that everyone is trying to emulate.  I have, however, been able to secure several sponsors for the coming year and I'm working on a couple of others.  The amounts of $ aren't large, but I will have enough sponsors paying me $ that I won't have to spend any of my own money on entry fees, travel, or motels in '07.  They didn't give me that money because of my fishing prowess.  They gave it to me because I have nearly 30 years of sales experience, many years of experience working trade shows, open houses, etc., and a lot of experience in public speaking.    I can speak and write effectively, am college educated, and professional in my appearance and presentations.

I would have to agree, catching fish is secondary.

[George Welcome]

Mr. B.B.

If you ever bump into Sid Ryan tell him I said howdy.

[Hillbilly_Hooker]

George,

I just sent you a PM regarding Sid.

Hillbilly

[Chris]

Just do well in tournaments and don't worry, the sponsors will come to you.

I disagree. In todays cut-throat business world, performance is secondary. You must be able to consistently catch fish, but more importantly, you must be marketable. That means being able to speak coherently, present yourself as a professional at all times, and have full knowledge of the product you are representing. You are essentially a salesman for the company. If you arent marketable, you arent getting the attention of major companies.

That's right

[WBFishing]

I don't have any sponsors, but I am a tackler buyer.  The company may put catching fish secondary, but where do you as a buyer rank catching fish.  Marketability may get you the sponsorship, but I thnk catching fish is going to keep you with that sponsor.  If you are the only person marketing XYZ bait, and you aren't catching fish on it, why do I need it taking up space in my box?

Just as an example, what appeal does a senko have to a beginning angler who simply sees it on a self.  It is a plain looking bait with no appeal in contrast to the everything he has to choose from.  But he sees pros filling up live wells, reads mags and sees pictures of fish caught with it.

[Chris]

But he sees pros filling up live wells, reads mags and sees pictures of fish caught with it.

That is part of marketing. Ever watch a fishing show that the guy was trying real hard to cover up what he was using. Then you get a good look at it and at the end of the day they talk about a different lure?

"Luke Clausen and his sponsor would really like you to think that the Classic was won on the Hardnose Worm.  But we here at Gambler have the ESPN pictures that tell a different story. "

I wouldn't advise this practice but when you are paid by a sponsor and catch fish on a non sponsor lure some fishermen are tempted to stretch the truth because it means product recognition, a check, and sales. The tournament pro might have caught fish on a sponsor lure in the course of the tournament but the public is lead to believe that the whole tournament was won on the sponsors lure.

"Original Rattlin' Rogue the bait that won the 2005 Bassmaster Classic"

KVD did use this lure and did contribute to his win but the lure that he uses bears little resemblance to the bait that comes out of the box. He tweaks that bait to do different things that the original bait will not do in the original form. The public is lead to believe that if they buy that bait it will perform the same. The truth is that he uses the old style rogue the most. (the one they don't make anymore) Now they came out with old style for $6.99.

[JT Bagwell]

Chris is right on several points.

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors.

JT Bagwell

[Hale]

You guys are full of crap! There is no way that the media would lie or decieve us...they are known for always delivering nothing but the truth!    ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Sam]

Opps!  No, the guys are correct.

I know a professional guide who wears is Berkley shirt when he guides and then takes photos of the fish caught even if other than Berkley products are used.

He sends in the phtos to Berkley, and his other sponsors, to prove that 1) he is still guiding; 2) that he is wearing the Berkley red and white shirt and; 3) that he was using Berkley products when he and his clients caught the fish.

He does this so he can continue his Berkley sponsorship although he loves and uses Abu Garcia and Allstar rods and reels plus a vaiety of Berkley and non Berkley baits.

Hey, you got to do what you got to do!

[George Welcome]

Sam,

The guy you cited is not a professional guide by any standard if he does what you suggest he does.

Further, I have yet to meet any dummies in promotion departments of equipment suppliers, and it doesn't take long to discover that a person has no integrity.

Contrary to some perceived notion that I sense in a lot of this sponsorship issue, the fishing industry is really quite small. Your name, good or bad, takes very little time to make the rounds. You may be able to pull the wool over some eyes for a short period but your not going to last doing it. No one in this fishing industry that are major players got that way because they were a bunch of dummines.

One of the strong points needed in order to obtain real sponsorship is a reputation of unquestionable intregrity.

One other thought: anyone can buy a shirt, wear the patches and tell his friends that he is sponsored. There are a lot of people in this fishing pasttime that do just that. It seems that they are able to feed their ego with this nonsense, but they sure can't feed their family with it. I see it all the time. I even see people out there buying a wrapped boat and leaving the wrap on so they can posture and pretend when they are at the ramp or on the water. Go figure!

[Hillbilly_Hooker]

George,

I'm guilty of pretending to be a bass angler, when in reality, I do way more casting than catching.   Does that make me a bad person?   ;D

Hillbilly

[JT Bagwell]

Sam,

The guy you cited is not a professional guide by any standard if he does what you suggest he does.

Further, I have yet to meet any dummies in promotion departments of equipment suppliers, and it doesn't take long to discover that a person has no integrity.

Contrary to some perceived notion that I sense in a lot of this sponsorship issue, the fishing industry is really quite small. Your name, good or bad, takes very little time to make the rounds. You may be able to pull the wool over some eyes for a short period but your not going to last doing it. No one in this fishing industry that are major players got that way because they were a bunch of dummines.

One of the strong points needed in order to obtain real sponsorship is a reputation of unquestionable intregrity.

One other thought: anyone can buy a shirt, wear the patches and tell his friends that he is sponsored. There are a lot of people in this fishing pasttime that do just that. It seems that they are able to feed their ego with this nonsense, but they sure can't feed their family with it. I see it all the time. I even see people out there buying a wrapped boat and leaving the wrap on so they can posture and pretend when they are at the ramp or on the water. Go figure!

George,

That is one of the best posts I have seen in a long time.

JT Bagwell

[Banor]

Integrity is everything.  If I ever make it to the sponsor arena I will give you a guarantee that you can quote me on 10 years from now.  I will never pursue a sponsor of a product I do not use or have confidence in.  I will never use a brand because I can get it for free.  I will use a brand if it works for me based on quality, performance and productivity.  If the makers of those products choose not to sponsor me so be it, but I'll continue to use that product because it works for me.

In the mean time I continue to pour whatever plastics I can and use my own  Some things I can not pour and some things just arent cost effective to pour but I love them just the same so I'll buy them until they run out.  GYBC hula grubs come to mind.

Integrity is a choice.  I choose to keep mine.  It is for this reason that I refuse to purchase some products marketed by Pro's who have chosen to leave their integrity at home in the interest of lining their pockets.

B