Saxton's sponsorship kit can be racer's most vital tool

The racing season for most local/regional tracks is just about wrapped up, and for racers this is the time to not only start rebuilding their cars for next year, but also their budgets.

As a money driven sport, a driver can drain a pocketbook faster than it takes to make a lap. According to Ernie Saxton, Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News publisher, this is the time of year when they should be looking to renew sponsors as well as seek out new ones.

"In fact if race teams are not already working on their sponsorship for next season, they are already running behind," said Saxton, considered by many to be a motorsports sponsorship authority.

"Most of the guys in our areas are lucky if they can get maybe two, five or 10,000 dollars in sponsorship."

Although that is considered good money on a local level, Saxton points out those amounts may not necessarily cover the cost to go racing at the present time. Many businesses are still trying to rebound from the recent recession, which has taken a toll on precious racing dollars in all levels of the sport.

"Securing sponsorship has gotten tougher in recent years, and the current economic picture is not going to make it any easier. That means you have to start sooner and offer more to attract sponsorship. I don't think there are any race teams around here at any of the local tracks that they can actually get what the racing is worth."

For years racers from NASCAR to go-karting have come to reply on Saxton's expertise in obtaining sponsors. He continues to produce an excellent monthly newsletter filled with all types of information that can lead to sponsorship, whether it is in the form of cash or products.

Unlike most stick and ball sports, in racing you need to spend money in order to make money and an investment that can yield positive returns comes from the hands of Saxton with his "Doing It Right" sponsorship package.

It is a complete kit that includes a Milt Gedo CD on how to create a winning sponsorship proposal, a generic proposal that includes a contract and cover letter, the Hodgepodge of Sponsorship Helps and a one year subscription to Saxton's Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News, which is now approaching its 27th year of publication.

"In my mind the recession is far from over. But, on the other hand there is a company based in Chicago, the IEG Sponsorship Group, which does analysis and says that sponsorship is on the way back. The availability of sponsorship money is getting back to what it was," said Saxton.

Marketing, opportunity and exposure should all be up front, noted Saxton. PR reps are most interested in that rather than how much a driver is going to go out and win races.

"You have to be willing to give 150 percent to get 100 percent. You have to be able to dot the I's and cross the T's and show a potential sponsor that you can drive traffic to their store or you can generate exposure."

There is a protocol in setting up a meeting with a sponsor. It's not just walking in, putting your proposal on the table and hoping for the best.

"Most of the sponsorship proposals I have seen are done backwards. They spend at least 50 percent of their proposal talking about themselves and then way in the back they may find out what the appeal was that the sponsor was going to get as a result," explained Saxton.

His knowledge can be very rewarding to those seeking serious corporate assets or perhaps looking to gain something scaled more towards the local level.

"A sponsor is available as long as you don't get over zealous in what you are asking for. Consider the crowd you have coming to the events you will be attending and the demographics that the average fan is making. You don't want to go to a Mercedes-Benz dealership if you have fans in the stands that are only making $35,000 a year. That won't work and you have to research and learn what your potential sponsor is looking for," said Saxton.

"This is the only sport that will allow you to be as commercial as it is. There is no other sport that allows you to walk around with advertisements and names all over your uniform or drive around with logos on your vehicle. It's also the only sport that I know of that lets you give thanks to your sponsors right there during an interview."

The price for this special package is $149.95 plus $10 to cover shipping. In addition Saxton is offering, for those who do not want to take advantage of the "Doing It Right" sponsorship package, a one year subscription to Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News. For a limited time the newsletter is available for just $29.95 a year (normal price is $59.95).

"It's not just the newsletter. You also get the proposal that is already done. All you have to do is personalize it to your racing. You can spend the money for the kit but it won't work if you let it sit on the dining room table," he said.

His knowledge can be very rewarding to those seeking serious corporate assets or perhaps looking to gain something more scaled toward the local level.

Orders can be placed by telephoning 267-934-7286. Orders can also be sent to ESC, Inc. at 1448 Hollywood Avenue, Langhorne, PA 19047. These special offers are not available on the Saxton website but you are invited to visit www.saxtonsponsormarket.com for free sponsorship information and other packages that are available.