Reguarding sponsorship

[SPEDBASS]

My son is 16 and a member of the NH Junior Bassmasters. He is looking to get sponsors. I was wondering how to go about doing that?

[Wesley]

Well first yall need to get together a resume for him.  Then you need to contact the manufacturers of lures your wanting sponsorhips from and let them know how your son is going to help them sell thier product.  Something like this is where your networking and buisness skills come into effect.  Remember its not what your sponsors can do for you, its what you can do for them that matters.

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

Look through this section, there is some professional advice.

8-)

[Brian_Reeves]

You're son is definitely taken more steps into the business side of fishing than a lot of people, so that helps.  I'm not an expert by any stretch.  I don't have any official sponsors and I work loosely with a few pro-staffs, but I don't collect a paycheck and I rarely recieve free lures.  What I'm doing now is building relationships with companies that I would like to be associated with in the future because of their products, services, or a few other key factors.

Competition is going to be a huge part of gaining and retaining sponsorships.  Success on a tournament trail will almost certainly get the attention of lure manufacturers, especially if the victory comes off of one of their products.  Contact the manufacturers and ask what entry level sponsorships for Jr. Bassmaster's is.  Don't be afraid to ask around at both large companies as well as small, web-based businesses.  There is no telling who will say yes and who will not.

Building a resume' isn't a bad idea.  I still hold firm to the belief that tournament performance will get more attention than a shotgun resume, but it wouldn't hurt.  Besides, resume writing is a good skill for your son to be familiar with as he gets older.

[Tin]

I would get your son on this site and reading up on this section so he can learn seeing as though he will be the one trying to get the sponsors and let him build his own resume. There is a lot of compitition in the industry coming from kids trying to get sponsors. I would also track down Travis Foster. He came out of the NH Junior Bassmaster program and he is doing very well for himself when it comes to sponsors and tourney success.

[Bassnbrett101]

You came to the right place to get an answer to your questions about sponsorship.  This is a great forum and some of the recent topics will help you very much in what you're looking for.

First of all your son should compete in as many tournaments as he can, to get more exposure.  I would even suggest him joining an adult club as well.  He wouldnt be able to compete in the State tournaments as an adult if he wants to compete in the Jr. State tournaments but your son will learn alot more if he fishes with an adult club in club tournaments as well.  I've been in his position and it helps alot.

Second I'd suggest you make him a resume, it might not help as much now as it might in the future but its a good thing to have to show sponsors that are interested in him.  Most of the time sponsors that are interested in sponsoring him will contact him in some way.  There are plenty of resumes on the site that are great examples, try looking up JT Bagwells resume.

I would also suggest he make a myspace if he doesn't have one already, I know this sounds off the wall but a company contacted me over myspace and its the start of a great relationship.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

You came to the right place to get an answer to your questions about sponsorship. This is a great forum and some of the recent topics will help you very much in what you're looking for.

First of all your son should compete in as many tournaments as he can, to get more exposure. I would even suggest him joining an adult club as well. He wouldnt be able to compete in the State tournaments as an adult if he wants to compete in the Jr. State tournaments but your son will learn alot more if he fishes with an adult club in club tournaments as well. I've been in his position and it helps alot.

Second I'd suggest you make him a resume, it might not help as much now as it might in the future but its a good thing to have to show sponsors that are interested in him. Most of the time sponsors that are interested in sponsoring him will contact him in some way. There are plenty of resumes on the site that are great examples, try looking up JT Bagwells resume.

I would also suggest he make a myspace if he doesn't have one already, I know this sounds off the wall but a company contacted me over myspace and its the start of a great relationship.

I will agree with everything you have, except what I highlighted.

I am pretty sure this is not what you meant, but I think his son should be the one completing the initial resume and then Dad assists afterward.

Nothing worse than the kid becoming dependent on "grown ups" doing the work and then when it comes to crunch time, he has absolutely no clue about fending for himself.

Like Tin (Diesel or whatever his name is  ) said, get your son on this site and have him read up on the threads in this section.  Have him absorb info and come to his own conclusions.

Make the kid do some work!!!!  

[Bassnbrett101]

your right, I didnt really mean for the father to write it for him.  As a sixteen year old he should be able to write it for himself, its good practice.  Thank you for pointing that out though speedbead  ;D