SPELLING IS SOOOOOO OVER RATED !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mattlures]

The title does not say its ok to use bad grammar. It simply says spelling is over rated, meaning there are other things that are far more important in getting sponsored than the spelling of your resume.

Cart I think you got it and didn't even realize it. ALL SPONSORED FISHERMAN ARE SALESMEN!!!!!! Nobody pays you or gives you product just for you to fish. They expect something in return. You need to benefit the company somehow or you're not worth the "free" product. This is reality

My getting sponsored has nothing to do with the world record living here. I used their products and spoke well about them. I recommended them and they heard about it. I mentioned them on my website. My swimbaits have become one of the more popular brands of swimbaits. They are in magazines all the time and have been on TV several times. I am a good bass fisherman but I choose not to compete because I simply do not have the time. I am sponsored because I am useful to the company that sponsors me. I provide a service. I help test their prototypes and I do use their products and recommend it to others. Does this mean that this would work for everybody? No it's just an example. Glenn's post says it all. There are millions of guys out there fishing tournaments that will never reach the elite level. Unless they learn how to "sell" themselves first and a product second then they will never get or keep a big sponsor. I am helping the youth by telling them about this reality.

Like I said before I get many resumes sent to me and I basically ignore them.

There are certain guys who I seek out to give stuff to. These are guys who I feel would be most beneficial to me.

As far as spelling and grammar goes, get this in your heads. Nobody is going to sponsor you based on your spelling and grammar. They may decide to NOT sponsor you because of it though. So yes it is important to use good grammar and spelling on you resume and you should. BUT if you want to become sponsored you need to make yourself marketable first. You need to be a "salesman" Every big pro is a salesman!

If I get a couple resumes a week imagine what Berkley gets. They must get hundreds weekly. You are competing with thousands of other hopeful sponsories. Why should they pick you over everybody else when 98% of the other resumes are well written? That is the question you need to focus on.

That is my whole point.

BTW Mr. Cart I have no hard feelings towards you. I obviously struck a nerve with the spelling thing. GOOD that was its intention. I wanted people to realize that the resume should be sent AFTER the potential applicant has made himself or herself marketable in some way. If you read all of the post you will get the point. I believe it would be extremely difficult to get any real sponsor on just your fishing credentials. Only very successful anglers carry that kind of weight, but even they have to be able to "sell"

I also did a spell check just for you

[cart7t]

Very good reply Matt.  I'm sure that's what you were initially trying to say but it just didn't come out that way.  I agree.  No manufacturer gives anyone anything, from a boat all the way down to a slip sinker unless they have some assurance that somewhere along the line they'll see some return on their investment, regardless of the size of that investment.  

[Triton_Mike]

I am sorry I caught this post a little late here but thought I would give some input. BTW Matt thanks for the kind words

I've been in the fishing industry for 25 years. I am also the national prostaff manager for a line company for the past year almost. Let me tell you a little bit about the resume's I receive. It was certainly an eye opener for me.

99.9% of the resume's I get are anglers that have quite a 1 page sometimes 2,3 pages of tournament experience and they wear the patches and put the decals on the trucks and cars and boats etc etc.

If you match the above description in bold your competing with about 1 million other anglers. Gonna be a tough job getting a very GOOD sponsorship deal at ANY level

It's one thing to have a TON of tournament experience but can you sell product??? Can you influence people and get our product in front of the consumer and close a sale?? I got to the point that I got so many tournament resume's it was hard to decipher what to do to make a decision.

So what I am doing now is taking a completely different approach to this job. When I get resume's with a ton of tournament experience I fire them back an email saying wow cool tournament experience but what can you do for us aside from fishing tournaments?? Do you write articles for magazines, newspapers, internet etc? How about TV, radio? What about doing seminars with a sizable audience?? Can you draw an audience?? Can you get me dealers?? If so can you give me references from companies that you have already gotten dealers for?? Do you guide?? Do you even use our lines?? (You'd be surprised at the answers I get on that last question), can you communicate to me on a quarterly basis with QAULITY reports on what you are doing besides fishing tournaments? etc etc etc. 9 times out of 10 I get NO response back..

Guys if you want sponsorships seperate yourself from others. The more niche's (as described above and not limited to the options listed above) you have the more valuable you become to companies both big and small. 99.9% of the anglers fish tournaments and I can tell you this right now tournaments will not seperate you from anyone unless you are just really really good at it (extremely rare). Just because you fish tournaments doesn't mean the companies should fall over giving you product or $$.

One other rule of thumb that I learned a while back. If you sponsor hop often enough your going to end up with a bad reputation very very quickly. Most of the guys in the fishing industry knows somebody that knows you. Whether it be a previous sponsor or a present sponosor. I can find ways to find out info about you and your character and the quality of work that you do. The fishing industry "fishes" very very very small. It's OK to change sponsors but you better be doing it for the right reasons and that reason is because you believe in the product. If you haven't used a potential sponsors product and accept a sponsorship your doing not only yourself a disservice but your audience as well. If I preach Lucky Craft hardbaits today and Pradco tomorrow what does that say about my credibility?? Associate yourself with the BEST and stay wtih the best and create a name for yourself by associating yourself with the best products not which company gives you a better deal to switch. Also don't accept a sponsorship just because you "CAN". If your not going to use a potential sponsors product don't accept the deal. They will respect you more by being honest than taking them for a ride. Remember the fishing industry "fishes" small comment that I made. Hopefully this will help others.

BTW I can spell but my grammer is the pits. I get the wife to proofread my magazine stuff before I submit it . My wife calls me the run on sentence king LOL

Mike