Seeking Sponsorship
Seeking Sponsorship ... though not a direct requirement of entry, may help finance your team... Sponsorship is very much part of the “ethos” of Formula One. We suggest that it would be prudent of any F1 in Schools Team to seek sponsorship from a local company.
Approach One:
- Write a letter to several companies in your area, requesting sponsorship for your Formula One in Schools Team, perhaps including some background information about the challenge, your team and what the company could gain from sponsoring you.
- Follow-up the letters with a telephone call, enquiring about the letter you have sent and the possibilities of arranging a meeting. It is often much easier to “sell” your ideas to a potential sponsor, face to face.
- Prepare a presentation, using Microsoft Powerpoint or A3 boards, for use at your meeting. If you need any special equipment at your meeting (such as a projector) don’t forget to organise these beforehand.
- Be professional at all times. Judge and sponsor feedback from each season’s challenge includes many positive comments, regarding the organisation, presentation and professional appearance of the F1 in Schools Teams.
- Be clear about your expectations and what the sponsors will get from their investment.
Approach Two:
- Explore potential sponsors through parents, teachers, your school/college, business or industrial links and your work experience/careers service. It may be that you can find a suitable contact through a parent, a parents friend, a parents work colleague, a teachers friend or a team members present employer.
- Ask the contact whether it would be possible to write and/or telephone the potential sponsor.
- Before making contact, ensure you prepare yourself thoroughly and don’t forget to mention to your potential sponsor how you became aware of their details. Again, it might be worth asking your contact if they could arrange a meeting for you. If this happens, always send a confirming letter to the potential sponsor, indicating that you (and members of your team) will be attending the meeting.
- Prepare a presentation, as outlined in approach one.
Important Considerations.
- Always approach companies in a professional manner.
- Keep written proposals, such as proposals or team reports, fairly short (no more than two sides of A4 paper).
- Check the spelling before sending any documents.
- Practice any presentations before visiting a sponsor.
- Organise equipment beforehand.
- Keep presentations concise and to the point (generally no longer than 10 slides/display boards and/or no longer than 10 minutes duration).
- However, feel free to take any extra materials along to meetings. If the sponsor shows interest in a particular area, you can always expand your presentation or leave work for closer inspection.
- Try to develop some piece of work specific to the sponsor, before you attend a meeting, such as a drawing of your car with the company logo already in position - this will impress the sponsor that you are keen to work with them.
- If a company sponsors your team, try to provide them with copies of any work, possibly even a duplicate model of your car, for display in their headquarters.
- Perhaps invite your sponsor to any events at your school or college, maybe to see your design being developed or manufactured.
- At the end of the season, always remember to thank your sponsors for their valuable support.
