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One of the most common questions I ever get asked is “How do I get my vehicle sponsored?” Its not an easy question to answer, but after receiving a ton of phone calls, emails and personal inquiries, I decided to take this month’s edition of the project update to tell you about sponsors and how to get them. To start with, you must have a vehicle that is exceptional, or have built killer rides in the past. Don’t call up Enkei and say you need some 18” wheels for your ’89 Civic on cut coils with a primer spot on the door, especially if you previous ride never showed. Granted, most people say, “Well if my car was cool, I wouldn’t need sponsors.” True. However, a sponsor wants a vehicle that can showcase their product and make it look good. That ’89 Civic just won’t cut it as is. You’ve got some work to do. If however, you’ve built some quality rides in the past, and have possibly had magazine coverage for it, then you’ve got a track record. Show this to the company you want to sponsor you and show that you have a history of building cool stuff; this is just your new project. The next thing I usually do when starting up a project is detailing what I plan to do to the vehicle, how I intend to do it, and what potential sponsors I would like to get. Now take in mind you may not get all of the sponsors you want, shoot you may only get one. However planning your project out for your own good is a good idea anyways. Then you don’t waste money on parts that you’ll end up replacing later. After you have your project written up, its time to write up a proposal. A proposal is just that; it’s your way of telling the company who you are, what you have, and what you want. I’ll give you the basic overview of my proposal:
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Intro (Hello, my name is Kevin Whipps…) History (History of who you are and what you’ve accomplished) Personal info (Name, address, contact info.) On the next page, briefly list your basic modifications you plan for the vehicle. A rendering would be great for this also, and if you do get one done you can use it as the cover for your proposal. After that is done, list the shows you plan on attending. Finally, sum it up with what you are requesting from the company. As a side note, also put down a time in which you will contact them, say two weeks from the send date. By the way, this is all info I got from my friend Ryan Leonard from Severed Ties Phoenix, who helped me out a lot with making my own proposals. Once you have your proposal written, take it down to your local printer. Print it on some nice paper put it in a nice report cover and get it ready to go. The key here is to make your proposal presentable and to make it stand out. The people who eventually will receive this proposal usually get tons of these things and have to go through every one. I remember I once was talking to my sponsor at KMC, and he showed me his stack of proposals that he still had to go through – it was at least a foot high. Therefore, make yours stand out. When you have the proposal good to go, start making your phone calls. Call the company of your choice and see whom you can speak to regarding sponsorship. Usually this is the person in charge of marketing, as they do a lot of advertising work, but not always. Once you get a hold of them, briefly explain who you are, what you would like, and that you will be sending them a proposal in the next few days for them to look at. Also explain that you’ll be following up in a week or two to make sure they’ve received the proposal and reviewed it.
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