Team Resumes, Try #2.

[Thordic]

Hopefully this thread can be drama-free.

ted.c0bb1es, this is what I threw together for Black Cell a few years back. It was far from complete and kinda got scrapped before I got anywhere near finishing it, but maybe it will give you some ideas.

Its about a megabyte download, sorry for the size, it has some graphics in it.

Old Black Cell Sponsorship Portfolio

I hope that helps. This one was going to be geared towards AGD at the time, you may want to customize yours depending on the sponsor, and have a few generic ones on hand to give out at tournaments if you win and end up talking to a sponsor.

Feel free to let me know if you want help, its actually pretty similar to what I do for a living.

[Chronobreak]

just wanted to say i hate to see innocent threads clsoed because some members cant keep things to pm's

really nicely done man i can tell alot of time and effort went into it and possible sponsors love things like that.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

This is from an article at p8ntballer.com that was linked on our private forum a while back. the article is gone, but the closing paragraph was quoted, and sums up the idea of the whole piece. It is not directly related to a team resume, but more on the general theme of your responsibilities as a sponsored player:


"Sponsorship will not just come. You need to work towards that goal. You need to establish your team as being competitive, nice guys who are going to be around for the long haul. Just remember this one simple rule: You and your team are a billboard. You are billboard when you play, you are a billboard when you walk fields, you are a billboard at the hotel. Your goals in getting the best deal possible are a reflection of how valuable a billboard you are. So be the best billboard you can be. "

[ted.c0bb1es]

Hey thanks for saving this topic for me . That looks like a really impressive portfolio. I think i'll use some of those ideas like including pics and hosting an event.

Currently I am specifically targeting paint companies like sever and draxxus. What do you think I should ask of them? What is reallistic: discounts, money for tournaments, or practice paint?

[Wc Keep]

discounts on practice paint. usually what teams get are cases of white box. my team has a deal with a local shop for white box for 30 bucks. it probably has to be the most important sponsorship because of the fact that you need to practice alot to get better. the more you practice the better you will do at a tourney. and that equals better discounts.

[Wc Keep]

you should also target a local store, this way you can drive to get your practice paint and they can help you when the time comes to present yourself to these bigger companies. your local store sponsor can call up the company and say hey i have this team that i think you should sponsor, and this will be more effective since they have money being moved between the two.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

WC Keep is right. A local store/field sponsorship is easiest to get, and will help a lot in getting other sponsorships later on.

You are on the right track. It's important to know what you can reasonably ask for when approaching a potential sponsor. If your expectations are unreasonably high or low, they will not respect you.

[SlartyBartFast]

How to Organise and Run a Team

With the many questions asked about how to find sponsorship, I'd think the main problem is that most are tackling the problem from the wrong direction. Long before you approach sponsors a more important question to answer is: "How should a team be organised and managed?"

After all, before you can attract meaningful sponsorship you have to have some kind of organisation/entity to be able to sell to possible sponsors. If you aren't serious enough about the team to organise it properly, why on Earth would someone else take it seriously enough to give you sponsorship?

Unless you're simply being "sponsored" with discounts or inconsequential merchandise or services, the sponsor will definitely want to know their interests are going to be looked out for and that the money or equipment ends up where they want it to end up.

Surely proper organisation of a team would have to consist of written bylaws covering:
- Team Management/Executive (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, PR)
- Membership (attendance, dues, player ranking)
- Accounting procedures (Team finances)
- Equipment storage and use (who can use team owned equipment and when)
- Meeting rules and regulations (quorum, voting requirements, decision making/debating)

Think that's too complex? Well, how do you determine:
who's on the roster for the next tournament?
who can compete in a tournament using the team name?
who does what before, during, and after a tournament?
how to kick someone off the team?
how to accept and rank new members?
how much money the team has or equipment is available?
when the team should be dissolved and the assets liquidated and who should get the proceeds?

I hazard the guess that a better run team should result is a better performing team. Team performance, presence, image, and organisation would certainly be judging criteria for any serious sponsor.

[PBX Ronin 23]

From a Sponsor's perspective, here's food for thought:

The team details and all the tournaments that you've place really means very little unless you're Team Dynasty. But nonetheless you still have to provide this information. As a sponsor, I will only glance over this stuff. What I'll be looking for is how you can possibly help my business in both it's marketing and it's day-to-day operation.

Don't think about what you can take, think about what you can give. For example, provide them with some tangible idea to promote their business such as creating a buzz over the web with your people. Perhaps you may want to volunteer your time reffing or assisting in some form of fashion.

Additionally, present yourself, both in person and on paper, as professionally as you can. Your image counts. Looking dissheveled when you make your pitch works against you. The sponsor has to be assured that you will not be a potential embarassment in any shape or form. Looking presentable is your critical "first impression" and you shouldn't drop the ball on that one. The last thing you would want your potential sponsor to think is that you can be a liability by not caring how you're perceived. Have your most articulate and affable person on your team make the presentation.

Lastly, you have to accept the FACT that you are neither the first one nor the last one to ask for a sponsorship. Everyone wants to cut the cost of playing, that's a fact. But don't think of just yourselves (or your team). If a sponsor decides to support you, they're taking resources away from something and putting it somewhere else. If they're cool and totally sypathetic paintballers, sometimes the place where they take that resource from is THEIR OWN FAMILY DINING TABLE. Be cognizant of that.

If your mentality is all about TAKE TAKE TAKE, you've already lost the battle.

Good luck to you in your pursuit of a sponsorship.