Adventurists: Get Sponsored

Calling all Adventurists – This is by no means a foolproof guide, you’re going to have to use your noggin and judge each sponsor before approaching them, but here are a few tips to get you started:

Adventurist participants prepare to take on the Mongol Rally

 1. Build a professional brand image

Building a website to tell sponsors a little more about your team and adventure is a great way to make a strong first impression. Check out our handy guide to building websites here. Think about adding a sponsorship page with a shopping list of things that you need to be sponsored, fuel, visas, spare parts, etc. This will show your sponsor that you’re on it and mean business.

2. What can you do for them?

At this point, you can start to define the specific things you can offer sponsors as Adventurists. Think about what you’re good at, if you’re a media wizard you’ll have an easy ride. Examples of things that you could offer are:

• Their logo on your website
• Their logo on your car/t-shirt
• Social media mentions
• Videos or images of their products in the backstreets of Ulan-bator

Divide your sponsors into levels, those that sponsor more get more from you. Then use this as a bargaining tool, “If you sponsor £100 more you’ll become a Gold Sponsor and get your logo on our car”

3. Sell Yourself

You should think of selling sponsorships like selling a product. What makes you and your Adventure different from everything else? This could be your unique team name, your mode of transport or even where in the world you’re going. Outline all of this in a few sentences, keep in mind:

• Your event’s mission or cause – this is Cool Earth and Adventuring in the name of the Rainforest. Check out the flyer in the fundraising pack for help.
• What can you offer that is of value to sponsors – this could be logo space on your car, photos or videos of their product in crazy places, or your huge social media following.
• What differentiates your event from others?
• How big is the potential audience? How many people will be at the launch and along the route?
• How the sponsor will benefit from the relationship.

4. Reach out to your personal network first

The lowest hanging fruit is the people you already know plus their friends, family, and colleagues. So get badgering. If your mates can’t help they may know someone that can.

5. Target your efforts

Think about what kind of companies would be interested in sponsoring you and your team’s brand, otherwise, you’ll be wasting your time. What will you need for your adventure and why? A head torch for finding your loo roll in the middle of Turkmenistan is a must, and a business might want an image of you using it

6. Always, always follow up with prospects who didn’t respond

We all lead busy lives, and it’s never going to be someone’s top priority to give you money or products for free. So it’s vital to reach out to your potential sponsors at least once more, if not twice.

7. Deliver the goods

As soon as you’ve secured your sponsorship, deliver on what you’ve promised. Whether it’s mentioning them on social media once a week, or sending them a product placement photo, start as soon as you can. This will build their trust in you, and you can then use them as a case study to secure further sponsorship deals.
So there you have it, our top tips on gaining sponsorship, it’s hard work, but can really pay off.