During Carter´s professional career as a race car driver and
team owner, he has spent countless hours meeting corporate executives and
working with sponsors. Andy is without doubt one of the most successful
persons in the European drag racing community when it comes to raising
sponsorship for his team and maintaining sponsors to stay with him season
after season.
And although now having put his own drag racing
career behind him, the advice shared by Andy Carter on the topic of
working with sponsorship can no doubt be useful for anyone who wishes to
learn more about connecting with and maintaining
sponsors.
Start with the ground
work
There are a few things that are really important you
have in place before anything, says Carter. He calls it “ground work” and
means that you have to have the ground work in place first. It includes
- a first class business card
- a first class website
- a
first class sponsorship package that you can present to a potential
sponsor
The sponsorship package should include facts about the
sport, the team and information about TV- and media coverage.
Take
a while to think about what you can offer a potential sponsor, says
Carter. It can for instance include advertising space on the race car,
support car and transporters, clothing, website, hero cards and offering
to participate in a number of shows together with and on behalf of the
sponsor.
Carter realized early the importance of having a
marketing person connected to his team, said person could then work with
the marketing people at the companies he was connected with, to get the
most from the partnership.
But he stresses that a marketing person
can´t replace the driver when it comes to some aspects of working with
sponsorship. It is the driver sponsors wish to meet and talk with, states
Carter. People want to connect with the driver and are fascinated by it.
In general I believe the saying is that "people want to be with winners.
And people want to be with people that other people want to be
with”.
In the process of trying to find sponsors it is crucial that
you get out and meet people, states Carter. It is very unlikely you will
get sponsorship by sitting at home.
Something that may seem
obvious but is worth pointing out, is that in order to be successful, you
need to act professional. And appearance is everything, means Carter.
You need to be (or work to
become) a confident person. “Mentally in your head you have to be right or
make it right”.
Staying at the top level in European drag
racing is an achievement in itself and it can make a driver physically
worn out at times, something that Andy himself also recognizes. He says;
there have been days for instance when I have not felt up to calling a
company and asking for an appointment for a meeting. But when that
happens, I tell myself you can do this Andy and just pick up the phone
anyway. The key is to keep pushing yourself, there are no shortcuts and
you will not get anything without making an effort yourself.
Networking is
everything
On the question on how Carter has worked to
find sponsors, he tells that he never or very rarely sends out proposals
to companies. He says networking is the way to meet and connect with
people. For instance a natural setting to meet corporate people is at
shows. When I first meet someone, I don´t put on any pressure or ask for
sponsorship. I just make whoever I am talking with feel comfortable and
take an interest in what they have to tell. It is also about meeting
people and having them like you. But you have to be honest and stand
behind what you are saying. People are clever and will soon spot anything
that feels fake.
Normally after I have had a nice chat with
someone at a show we exchange business cards. I then follow up by calling
afterwards to ask for a meeting or if it feels right ask for a meeting
while with them.
The importance of appearance
On the
question what he wears at a corporate meeting he rapidly answers “shirt
and tie” and adds “if it is a company I am already connected to, I can
occasionally wear a team shirt” (especially good if their logo is on it).
In line with Carter´s belief that appearance means a lot also
comes the advice to arrive at a sponsors office in a nice and clean car.
“If you don´t have one yourself, borrow one!” he says.
Working with
sponsorship involves a lot of psychology, where you need to “build
yourself up” mentally. Attending to the details and making sure you have
them right can make you appear “bigger” than you are and it will make a
professional impression. 
