Sponsorship questions.

[racerj5]

I've never had a sponsor before in all my years of karting, so I don't know what to ask for. I own a carpet cleaning business, so obviously that will be on the car somewhere, but I have a few others interested in getting on the car. I have a contract to clean carpet and tile with a chain of Pizza Huts and the manager of the one here wants to do something. The guy I bought the car from and his son own an auction company and they already told me they would help out, possibly with fuel and entry fees.1. Being new, how would you charge for a quarter, hood, fender, etc?2. Those of you that have sponsors, do they pay for their own decals, or replace them when sheet metal gets torn up?3. Do you mostly ask for money, tires, parts?Thanks for any advice!

[Egoracing]

Stickers are your responsibility, if they give you some it is a bonus but many people can let you know who does the stickers for them or they have them on file so it will save the art charge.
As for sponsorship..... Talk to them an see what they are comfortable with. Being new all you have to offer is a sticker in front of people. We have had people fill up the truck, to give free food and some offered cash. All of it helps. I would not give up a complete quarter panel to anyone unless they are offering something that REALLY helps with the car. I see some people that load there car with stickers and leave nothing if someone wants to come on board and then someone with something substantial comes along and there logo ends up smaller than others that have given MUCH less.
Being new I would check your offers and list them as to $$ amount. Pizza Hut is a big one, you could ask for Pizza's on race nights to take for you and the crew on race nights and show nights. Show nights you take the car to one of there restaurants when you are not racing. Keep it looking good and clean and make sure they see the advantage to the sponsorship. Keep the inside of the car clean and let people get in and take pictures (Remove the fire extinguisher or lock the pin with a cable tie! Had a friend that had a 4yo pull the pin and then the next person in to take a pic hit the release!) Pizzas do not sound like much but if you race 3 week ends a month for 6 months that is not a lot for them but it saves you $$ and then after you get going and show them the advantages you can ask for more. Build the relationship into something, don't ask for a bunch of money up front and take a chance on turning them sour on racing if something happens and puts you out for a few weeks they only get 3-5 races out of you.
Money would be nice from all of them but you have to start somewhere and you want to keep all the help you can for as long as you can and that takes a little work.

[racerj5]

Stickers are your responsibility, if they give you some it is a bonus but many people can let you know who does the stickers for them or they have them on file so it will save the art charge. As for sponsorship..... Talk to them an see what they are comfortable with. Being new all you have to offer is a sticker in front of people. We have had people fill up the truck, to give free food and some offered cash. All of it helps. I would not give up a complete quarter panel to anyone unless they are offering something that REALLY helps with the car. I see some people that load there car with stickers and leave nothing if someone wants to come on board and then someone with something substantial comes along and there logo ends up smaller than others that have given MUCH less. Being new I would check your offers and list them as to $$ amount. Pizza Hut is a big one, you could ask for Pizza's on race nights to take for you and the crew on race nights and show nights. Show nights you take the car to one of there restaurants when you are not racing. Keep it looking good and clean and make sure they see the advantage to the sponsorship. Keep the inside of the car clean and let people get in and take pictures (Remove the fire extinguisher or lock the pin with a cable tie! Had a friend that had a 4yo pull the pin and then the next person in to take a pic hit the release!) Pizzas do not sound like much but if you race 3 week ends a month for 6 months that is not a lot for them but it saves you $$ and then after you get going and show them the advantages you can ask for more. Build the relationship into something, don't ask for a bunch of money up front and take a chance on turning them sour on racing if something happens and puts you out for a few weeks they only get 3-5 races out of you. Money would be nice from all of them but you have to start somewhere and you want to keep all the help you can for as long as you can and that takes a little work.Thanks Ego, The Pizza Hut deal is my big business cash cow, and the owner likes me. If it works out, I plan on taking the car out there on race day, since it's just 5 minutes away, and on the way to the track. I'm not planning on asking for a whole lot from them anyway, since the carpet care deal is MUCH more important than racing. If it evolves into something good from that, I'll act accordingly...the owner only has 98 stores ;)O'reilley's paid my way to the Indoor Kart Nationals a few years ago, so there may be some potential there, too. Do you have any dealings with auto parts suppliers?:) I know what you mean on safety. Years ago, I was working with the First Priority Christian club at one of the schools here. Scott Sexton brought his car and crew and shared his faith with the kids. He was letting them get in the car while it was idling......til one of them matted it. Fat Boy shut it off after that. Kids will hit any button or lever they can reach.

[RuggedRadios]

Normally the company that is sponsoring you will provide the decals for the trailer and your car. also depending on the company that is sponsoring you, they will either give you a discount on product or give you free product. also if you do get sponsored it would be good on your part to provide a resume with races you have competed in and provide pictures of your team and you racing. The pictures are good for many reasons whether it is to prove that you are actually out there racing, or if they want to use them for media. Good luck!