6. Don’t show too much of your privacy.
Especially in social networks you shouldn’t post all of your daily life. It’s unprofessional to publish pictures or stories when you are drunk or high at parties. You want to show that you are an awesome person? Even tough, professionality should be guarded. You can show your coolness in skills in action sports and enjoying time with your community in a professional and authentic kind of way.
7. 7. Don’t see the sponsor as self-evident.
Try to support the sponsor and show him what can be reached with you. For them it is important to have information about your reputation, social media engagement and reach. It is not enough to be an advertising space which means only to be there to wear and use their products. So you should not only expose yourself as an advertising space. Show the sponsor that they can reach their long-term goals with your sponsoring-concepts and ideas. Moreover, that you want to support the sponsor with your skills and values to become even better known.
8. Don’t be carelessly when you search for a sponsor.
Quality over quantity. Choose three sponsors which suit to you and contact all of them in an individual way. It is better to focus on less to reach an optimum. The sponsors will notice if you always use the same motivational letter. You should always focus on the individual brand, which can set you apart from other applicants. You should take the time to contact everyone, after all you want to work professionally with the sponsors over a longer period of time. A first contact via telephone is always a good idea to introduce yourself and inform them that your application will be sent. Maybe the sponsors will remember you and your application will stand out. And if you don’t get an answer for a longer time, call back to show your continuing interest. Nevertheless, you should give the sponsor time to make decisions.
9. Don’t waive a contract.
Only because it takes time and you don’t want to put the sponsor under pressure you shouldn’t waive a contract. The probability is high that there will be legal disputes which is way more time and cost intensive. With clear rules, guidelines and contract conditions you always know how to handle different situations. You shouldn’t be scared that you could lose the sponsorship without reason.
10. Don’t demand for too high prices.
Especially at the beginning is it complicated to estimate how much money you want to receive out of a sponsorship. Try to ask for a comparison with other athletes what they get in their sponsorship. Try to think about your performance. Your performance is composed as follows: the sportive success, the media awareness and the target group appeal (younger or older people, low or high purchasing power). The higher your performance the more money you should get.
