I am curious what to put in a race resume. I am in the middle of my rookie race season and would like to try and get some sponsors for 2005. What should be included in a race resume. Any suggestions on getting sponsors, how to approach, where etc etc......any examples that you may have would be appreciated
Jim
Tuna I have somne names of books that are coming out that talk about this- jsut not with me- I will get them though. In the meantime...
A racer resume is a lot like a job resume. You are trying to get money for your work. When I mean work, I mean promotions, keeping equipment clean and nice and other great things you can do to get your sponsors name in the public eye. If you are after small stuff like parts help, your resume should include: best high profile race if you have one, don't make it up. Goals for next season- not how much weight you want to lose but racing result orientated. A small bio about yourself to include Birthplace, race history and any other intersesting tidibts. Keep negative info out " I would have placed third but blew up my bike and crashed..." is not a good sell. A picute of you, head shot. Clean up and shave you hippy ;D, now one wants to sponsor a freak unless your name is Anthony Gobert and even he is having trouble finding a job. A action shot- the cleanest best one. A photo of you knee down and heeled over at speed looks awesome, but it does not show sponsor locations very well- you want to showcase what you can do. On that line, include in your PARTICULAR client cover letter things like personal appearances, fund raisers, news or magazine coverage you can get and so on. Put together a nice package and call the sponsor. Find out who to send it to and talk to them if you can (or leave a msg) then send the package and follow up in a couple of weeks with a letter thanking them for thier time and if they have any ?'s. Get with Super Dave- he is a self promoter from hell. I have never met him yet but can just tell ya know?
In addition remember that you need to return a result for their investment in you. What I mean by this is if your looking for sponsership from something like a local restraunt, yet your closest race to them is 200 miles away, how would it benifit them to sponser you? If that same restraunt is fairly close to a local track, and there are several events a year at that facility, then I could see more potential.
I personally have never sought sponsership beyond the dealership that I purchase my motorcycles and parts thru (Beloit Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki in Beloit Wisconsin ;) ;D). I have had thoughts of seeking additional sponsership over the years, but got somewhat discouraged after seeing several racing buddies make a very strong effort at it and not secure so much as 1 non-race related sponser. The common thought they all seemed to have was that sponsership was something all businesses had a budget for, yet they couldn't really tell me a reason why those businesses should sponser them as a racer (in other words what return the business was going to see by sponsering them?).
I certainly don't want to discourage you, but instead make you aware that it may not be very easy to secure sponsership outside of racing related businesses. And for those race related businesses you may seek sponsership from you have to remember that there were racers before you and there will be racers after you that will try and seek sponsership from the same places, so you need something to make YOU stand out from the other racers. Race results speak loudly as does proffesionalism about your racing effort and how your equipment is maintained and presented to everyone (do you, your bike(s), and pit area stand out at the track as a serious effort?). This doesn't mean you have to have the latest greatest equipment and the biggest trailer and motorhome, but instead are you presenting what you do have in a proffesional manner.
I am an example of someone currently not very organized in my racing effort and it shows. On the other hand I have seen racers who didn't have the greatest bike or equipment, yet they made what they had stand out in the pits by 'looking the part' of a serious racer. Their bikes were painted (even rattle can paint can look good if you put a little effort into it), their pit areas were kept looking good, they were freindly and willing to talk to anyone, and they promoted their sponsers in any way possible.
Something that somewhat changes when getting sponsership is the attitude toward your racing effort. Racing is supposed to be fun, but sometimes when it turns into work the fun aspect can be diminished. Depending on the requirements of your sponser you may be required to place well before recieving any backing and also may have to prove in someway that your racing effort is benefiting their business (for example people going to the business and saying that they heard about them thru you, or possible even handing out coupons that show proof of your effort). Just make sure that your racing effort doesn't become an overwelming burden and keep it fun! :)
Thanks for the replies and advice. I am not really sure what to expect when trying to get some sponsors, but anything will help. As we all know this is not a cheap hobby we have.
Like I said this is my 1st year racing and I have done fairly well. I race CCS in the Loudon Road Racing Series (LRRS). Loudon has 3 levels, AM, JR and EX. As an AM I won a few races and placed top 5 in 7 of the 10 races I entered. After 10 races as an amatuer I bumped up to JR and took a 3rd in my 1st race. I started having some crashing issues after that. Anyway I hope to bump to EX by the end of the season.
I don't expect to be on the box as an expert as Eric & Jeff Woods, Scott Greenwood and a few others basically own Loudon....but if I could be a consistant top 10 finisher as an EX in the middleweight class I would be doing pretty well.
I am unsure what sponsorships are available but I figure I may as well put a resume together and try...even if I got brake pads I would be happy ;D
less crashing also helps... ::)
Quoteless crashing also helps... ::)
LMAO.....yes it does