Okay, so you have succeeded in convincing some fishing and boating related manufacturer that you can help sell their product – and that you would make a good representative of their company.
You officially have a sponsor. What now?
Hopefully, you will now begin receiving a regular paycheck from your new sponsor. But it doesn’t matter if you are starting on the bottom rung and receiving only free product. The principles involved in making your sponsor happy and maintaining – even improving – your deal with them throughout the years are the same.
Success in that regard centers on having a game plan and working hard to implement it.
Set goals
Every professional in any occupation should set goals. As a sponsored pro, your basic goals should include:
1. Getting exposure for your sponsors’ products.
2. Increasing your sponsors’ actual sales.
3. Representing your sponsors in a classy manner.
4. Working with the press in an effective, but non-offensive manner.
Watch out for opportunities
The most successful businessmen/pros are those who work at representing their sponsors on a daily basis. They do some type of marketing of themselves and their sponsors’ products every day.
For example, when working with the media, they are always alert to opportunities to insert product mentions into interviews and ultimately all stories that result from those interviews.
There is an art to getting product mentions in print. You can’t just haphazardly toss out phrases like “Brand X rods are the best on the market” and expect to read that statement in print. That will not see the light of day. Instead, you have to position your sponsors’ products in a legitimate light. For example, informing a writer that the “Brand X cranking rod is ideal for a certain technique because it is a fiberglass-graphite composite…” gives the statement legitimacy – enough for the writer to possibly include it in his story.
Another good opportunity is to always have a ready supply of your sponsor’s press kits. When working with the media, it gives you something to leave behind after the interview or day on the water is over. The writer will appreciate it because he can learn about that company’s products at his own pace – and it gives him a valuable piece of reference material for checking spellings, product availability and so on.
Avoid these mistakes
In representing your sponsors, it’s important to know what to say and not to say on the weigh-in stand of a tournament. Plug your product sponsor by making the same type of statements mentioned above. Fishing fans are not fools; you have to give your product mention an air of legitimacy to convince them.
Avoid any criticism at all – no matter how benign. For example, don’t say “I would have had a big limit today, but I broke an 8-pounder off at the boat” while wearing a Stren or Trilene patch on your shirt. Your line sponsor certainly won’t appreciate it. And don’t tell the weigh-in audience that you lost a portion of your fishing day because of a mechanical breakdown while wearing a Mercury or Evinrude cap. The audience will easily connect your statement to your sponsor. And it won’t go over big with the outboard company that sends you a check each month.
One of the worst statements heard on the national tournament scene involved a frustrated angler who asked into the microphone: “Has anybody seen the OMC crew? I broke down a couple of hours ago and need their help.”
Appearance, appearance, appearance
Whether you are on the water, standing in the weigh-in line, posing on stage or launching your boat, remember that appearance is everything with sponsors. A clean, sharp appearance will leave a lasting impression that connects you with your sponsors.
Unfortunately, a less-than-sharp appearance also has the same effect.