How to give your sponsorship pitch documents the wow factor

You may be a championship-winning team on track with top notch premises and a talented workforce, but before you can show this off to potential sponsors, you’ll need to get your foot in the door first.

How can you do this? A sponsorship pitch document is the first port of call… let’s take a look at what this entails.

What form should the pitch document take?

Your pitch document can be created in a couple of ways which largely depends on how you are delivering it. If it is an email-based document, then an iPDF (interactive PDF) is ideal. These can have clickable links embedded into the file that can send the reader off to websites, download links and the like. The usual set up for this would be an A4 landscape so it’s desktop computer monitor friendly.

If you are attending a meeting in person, a well-designed and printed document is a great option.

The print cost for low run items is not as expensive as you may think and leaving a tangible item with your potential sponsor will ensure your visit (and your race team) remains memorable after the event.

A third option can be a generic iPDF uploaded to your website, ready for potential sponsors to download in exchange for their email address. This registers interest a little more ‘under the radar’ if they’re not quite ready to make contact. Keeping an eye on the stats here is a good insight into what types of businesses are interested in your race team.

How long should the pitch document be?

The first ‘overview’ document sent out to break the ice should be around 5-6 pages. Any more than this and you risk losing the focus of the reader. The key is getting the information across succinctly, encouraging the reader to get in touch to discuss the opportunities further.

If the initial document has gained a response from your potential sponsor, this can then move on to a far more detailed and focused presentation tailored specifically to them.

There is no upper page limit, but I suggest this stage can be tied up in a 16 page document.

What sorts of things should be included?

A few key things to include are the team’s history, past results and your vision for the future. I find that ‘humanising’ the document is important when writing the copy.

Don’t forget to maximise the benefits to them of joining you on your next adventure. Describing your team and the expertise held within it is important too, but this document should be about why they should get involved with your race team.

You will need to prove that their investment in the team will elicit a ROI by showcasing marketing activities that you can offer both on and off track.

Creating bespoke events for the sponsors to attend outside of a race weekend is always popular – this shows commitment to them and keeps them on board for multiple seasons.

The mocking up of visuals featuring their brand in different scenarios across the entire team is a vital aspect to include. The scope of exposure and interaction is of huge benefit and must be shown in detail.

Equally, always take on board suggestions from the potential sponsor on what they would like to achieve. Do they have a certain product they want to expose to market? It’s your job to find the best way to get that across to the fan base.

Should the mock-ups be tailored to the sponsor?

Mock-ups in the initial document can feature the brand you are pitching to – I’d suggest not a full-out set of branded visuals at this stage however as you want to hold some back to show at a second stage meeting.

The second stage is where you can increase the branded options, 3D livery mock-ups, visuals of printed items such as posters and signing cards, and special offer handouts on a race weekend for example.

3D mock-ups are a great tool to show the cars, trucks, walling and merchandising, bringing that wow factor to the presentation.

Click here to view some 3D work I have created that can be used in pitch documents. It doesn’t have to be a static set of images either, a short animation of their brand on a livery never fails to impress!

Next steps

So, you have sent the document out to your prospective sponsor, what happens next?

You may wish to make a courtesy phone call to check if the presentation was received safely and open a discussion about the next stage.

I find picking up the phone to your contact is a far more personal way to gauge interest rather than a ‘chase up’ email.

This way you can begin to engage in a discussion about the many methods open to them market their brand via motorsport.

In summary

If you are looking to approach a potential sponsor and need a professionally designed pitch document, I can help. Get in touch to chat through the options.

Take a look around the website for the services I offer and join my email list for other newsworthy items!