tournaments sponsors

[tritonmagnum]

hello all
i have ust recently started fishing tournaments and am 16 i have a broad range of knowledge of the sport of fishing as i have been fishing since i could walk. I have always loved it and will continue to love it and do what i can to maintain a good fishery.. I plan to be involved with the sport as actively as i can for as long as i can until i can no longer flip the bail or tie a knot. I have done good in the few tournaments i have been in as i placed 15th in the first one with two fish at 5 pounds and some smaller smallies. i have put together a fairly good album of the few pics that we do take(wishing i had have taken more of the big fish i have caught) Brand new triton magnum last year to get us around that guzzles gas like no other. I am looking to get into some sponsorships to help cover some of the costs of doing these sorts of things and will sticker up the boat and tow vehicle as well as other thigns to advertise. ust wondering what sorts of places i should look to first for this sort of thing or should i just get my name and pictures out to everyone that i can?
thanks guys
-tm-

[iankrzyzanowski]

is that your white triton just off carling?.
some of the lads on here will have the advice you need!

[tritonmagnum]

no i have a black triton 176 dv magnum dual console witha 150 merc on the back..normally fish sutrgeon and balsam but periodically go to rice and head adn anythign else that sounds fun

[grumpy7790]

TM,
I can give you some advise from a business person's view rather than from an angler's point of view. Other I'm sure who are sponsored will help you with that.

I recommend you forget about how well you place or how many fish you can put in the boat. Concentrate your efforts on what you can do for a sponsor that will increase sales and promote their products. You need to develop a resume that not only shows your fishing achievements but rather highlights your business or sales knowledge. Be sponsored makes you a partner in the business.

Example, you could attend trade shows or sportsmen shows and help man a booth say for a tackle vendor. You could help answer questions and introduce potential customers to their products.

Take some marketing or business management courses in school. This can help out the resume.

Don't expect to get paid early on. You'll probably just receive product discounts.

So my advice is to look at sponsorship as a job interview and concentrate on what you can bring to the company help generate sales. Make your fishing experiences secondary.

I know some other anglers will have good advice on how to open doors to just get in front of potential sponsors and what to expect from your sponsor.

Good luck,

G

[kunobasski]

This is a question that has been around for as long as there’s been fishing tournaments.

But I think I can help, as I was once in a position just like yourself, and I have certainly asked all the questions only to get all the same opened ended answer, “it not what your sponsor can do for you, it what’s you can do for your sponsor…..results don’t matter”

That’s the biggest load of horse manure I have ever heard!

I took a lot of flack for a lot of years because I knew that at the end of the day, their would be potential corporate sponsors that want to support anglers who are good talkers and chat up a big game……and their would be sponsors who choose to support anglers who are high profile and put up huge weights and win a lot of bass tournaments…..mind you, you still have to be able to promote a sponsors product, but what better way then winning a tournament with their gear and showcasing their product by way of proven success in the field…?

I ask you this? As a consumer, would you listen to, or take seriously, a sponsored angler who promotes any given product if they routinely placed mid pack in the standings. Or would you take more seriously a sponsored angler who wins a lot and places well, by demonstrating actual proof that the products he is supplied with, works by means of effectiveness resulting from its use on route to a tournament victory?

Yes it’s important to be a good sales person and have a good personality, that’s a given. But regardless of what anyone says, RESULTS DO MATTER. As this industry and the marketing opportunities continue to become more rewarding for corporate sponsors, skilled anglers are beginning to make headway by using their most marketable characteristic…Their Ability to WIN.

Thanks to the internet, skilled angler’s results can be seen more publicly by fishing enthusiasts and in doing so, it adds “value” to their professional image. If they are successful, this adds credibility to their sponsor’s products. Conversely, less successful anglers who have limited success, find their sponsor’s customers re-evaluating the effectiveness the product their promoting due to their anglers mediocre showing.

Ken Dagenais, my long time tournament partner and I, have fished for the last 3 years for “free”. This is a term we use as we have minimal costs that come from our own pockets. We were faced with the same dilemma as you are, and found that the fishing industry is very clique and not really that generous in handing out support to those not in the “in” crowd.

So we thought outside the box, so to speak, and began to guide for corporate partners in return for actual cash. We promoted ourselves by promoting our successes to potential corporate sponsors who in turn, rely on this angling success to take their customers on fishing trips of a lifetime. We have literally had business deals signed on the back deck of the boat during the excitement of boating a huge largemouth! That’s return on investment right there for our sponsor.

Just remember that you well get a lot of advice from a lot of people, and only half of it is any good. The best advice I can give is that you…….. always remember where your priorities are. Do you want to be hotshot and prove to sponsors and fans that you’re the real deal? Do you want to cash cheques and pull off unbelievable wins in the face of impossible odds? If so, don’t let anything stop you, and go balls to the wall hard in reaching your goals. The sport is changing fast and so is the business aspect of it. In my opinion, the days of having a nice smile and shaking hands and kissing babies are numbered. Fans, Sponsors, and supporters are looking for the total package. Personality, credibility, character, and over all, the RESULTS…..

You can fake them all, but you can’t fake results….and just like any other sport, those who put up the numbers, are gonna reap the rewards.

Good luck, stay focused, and never become satisfied.

Militant Angler T.A.S. Pro
Trevor Kunopaski

[Wallyboss]

Holy Crap somebody is full of himself!!!!

To me (a regular everyday Fisherman) I would rather listen to somebody that talks well and knows his stuff than to somebody that is so conceited that he calls somebody a B$%^$*iter just because he has a different point of view than he does. I call those guys "Showoffs" and everything they say goes in one ear and out the other.

"""This is not the site for that kinda crap, keep it ego pollution free.
Trevor Kunopaski""""

Just to remind you what you posted before!!

[JP]

tritonmagnum, send me a pm I think I can help you.
Cheers
JP

[mikemicropterus]

Trevor no offence to your suggestions and I think fad buyers follow the leader and die hearts are the corporate wish.

Bob Izumi does no have to win to get people to listen to him and neither does Big Jim.

Personality goes along way these days as does good promotion, remember milli vanilli.

We are so gullable as human beings and doubly so as fishermen that when people find someone who they feel is genuine they will give their allegiance to that person whole heartedly. That is what you should be projecting to potential sponsors. I'm not saying you have to be a Jimmy Jones but to get people to listen to you without judgement is difficult in this day of instant experts. I'll just google that and know all about it. There should even be some pictures to look at.(sic)


I think that this day the person looking for free money should have a package together stating what the potential could be for the sponsor as well as meet the pro days or a photo op question/answer seminar, etc must be part of your presentation or no sponsor will take you seriously.

Also Trevor is right that winning helps but if you were a giude say you in one season will help and teach more people about the sport of fisinhg than an tournamment dude will.

Dale Earnhardt will live in the hearts of his fans forever,

Long live the KING Elvis is another Icon that still exsits yet his body is gone.

If we keep his memory alive for the next 6000 yrs will he be the next jesus.

The archeologists will be sifting through our remains only to find Graceland and the artifacts that lead them to believe he was a diety and worshipped by thousands, only to be oppressed by the moral majority of the day. After all he was called
"the KING of RocknRoll".




Have a good day

The Mikemicropterus

[mikemicropterus]

I forgot to add that the sap is running and you all should go out and buy some freshly made maple syrup.

Go visits this weekend the local syrup producers and suport the great industry we have in this area.

NOTHING BETTER THAN FRESH SYRUP AND PANCAKES,



The health benefits of this type of natural sugar is what your body needs to ward of the nasty effects of winter and the lack of sunshine we have all faced. Go get some vitamin d and replenish the minerals your need to maintain a healthy immune system and live longer and of course it will help you to fish better.


I know it works for me.

No seriously, I put out about 35 taps and will get 5 or 6 gallons that we use during the year. I have a to-die for recipie for pancakes and sunday is for pancakes and fresh syrup. My wife likes my cinammon raisin bread french toast, one step-daughter has bluebery pancakes while the other has chocolate chip.

I must say that I have been boiling sap for the past few days and the smell and the tasting have put me on a natural BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Gotta go and check to see how the sap is boiling.

[kunobasski]

I may recipricate that your opinion is duely noted and that I find your response harsh. With that said, I feel that a re-read of the actual subject may be considered, as at no time did I render anyone's opinion of a lesser value.

The points I made are a fact for most, and if you have skills that result in tournament success, it can be a very valuable marketing tool. I used myself as an example, And I well not apologise for being successful or for that matter mentioning it on a public board. I did so with clear written intesion to establish a more accurate viewpoint that well help the poster triton magnum gain support from corporate sponsors for COMPETITIVE FISHING PURPOSE and PERSONAL GAIN....not to be politicaly correct and hope to win the approval of those looking to make trouble.

The other approach (as mentioned) works fine. Take JP, a fellow tournament anglers and a poster on this thread. He is very sponsored becasue he is viewed as a nice guy. Not because of his stats. But he falls into a very large group of people that have similar performance characteristics and it is harder to promote yourself and get noticed.

Having the option of using performance results is wonderful, its just that very few anglers are listed in that catagory, and the ones who are get labeld as ego maniacs if at any time they use thier stats as a marketing tool to help them gain support.

You know what, It works for me. I have great stats and plan on continuing to gain corporate help. It does not make me a bad person or a ego filled bully....I use alot of of the support we gain through support contacts to fund a bass tournament that allows new anglers to get thier feet wet in the scene, as well to support one on one coaching for parents, teaching them about the accesability of angling and how to rig up thier summer from shore with the kids.....

I'm sorry my post made you feel that I was pushing the ego truck on you walleye boss. It was an alternative to a sitution that I have dealt with extensivly and found a successful means, explained by personal experience, to a question asked by a young FH poster.
I'm even more sorry that I feel I have to defend myself becasue of it.

Please enjoy your toast, I hope you relish in the thickly spread coat of smuggness that you obviously so enjoy tasting.

Trevor Kunopaski
Militant Angler T.A.S. Pro.

[McQ]

Here's a repost of an article I first posted here 3 years ago. I believe it is still valuable today.

Part 1

So, you want to be a professional fisherman. You would like to attract sponsors to help defray your costs. You feel you’re good enough as a competitive angler that your profile is worth endorsing. You may even feel that there is a possibility to actually make your living in the business of fishing.

Any of the statements above are being entertained by thousands of tournament level fishermen at this time of year. You have just finished up a reasonably good season, maybe even placed in the money a few times but you have NOW come to the conclusion that you’ve embarked on a very expensive course and would seriously need some “financial” support if the next level is to be achieved.

What has to be understood in its entirety is that fishing is all business at the sponsored level and requires very special talents from those who succeed. Let’s look at a few of the requirements..

What you need to do before taking any other step is to assess yourself in the areas of marketability. Do you have a strong personal desire to succeed in a business that is very demanding? Do you have special skills that would complement your fishing ability? Does your day job allow the flexibility to take time off and spend that time working for a sponsoring company?

The primary motivation from you and the sincerest question you have to answer to the face in the mirror is – do I really want to do this and can I?

There are reasons behind my opening remarks and they are multi-facetted.

First off – there is no pat answer, nor is there a schematic that can be followed. So if you are inclined to pursue sponsorships then by all means do so but start your approach with a sound business plan.

If you completely understand what I have written so far, then let’s take a look at the next level.

Part 2

The Business Plan.

What do I need to do? How do I structure it? How can I keep it simple? How can I make it easy for a potential sponsor to make a decision?

The first step is to gather up all the inventory (education, experience, any special courses, any special talent, etc) you’ve got. in your background. Remember this one point – you are applying for a highly skilled job – so put your best foot forward.

It is important that you be able to show skill as a fisherman but this is not the lead criteria for a sponsor. All the fishing success in the world is only going to establish you as “one of the many wannabees” who are chasing the same dream.. Placing in the money at every tournament entered is not really in the cards for most of us.

The inventory of skills you gain as you progress through life will establish your credentials. Has your education/job provided you with any marketing or sales talents? Do you have writing skills, are you comfortable on a stage talking to the public, do you have enough knowledge to address specific questions put forth by the public? Everything you can do that places you in the public eye as a credible source of information will add to your value as far as a sponsor is concerned.

Once assembled, all of this information needs to be brought together and built into a format that shows the progression of your skills and emphasizes those talents in your possession that would make you a valuable asset to a sponsored support team.

This is the opening display of your skills to a sponsor, it is recommended that your CV reflect accurately all these talents that you bring to the table. A two – three minute PowerPoint presentation is one of the best ways to build a controlled and point by point flow of information. You can also incorporate pictures to emphasize certain points and a bit of simple animation can be used to reflect your humor. This presentation should be generic but be constructed so that it can be directed to each potential sponsor in a way that reflects your fit with them. Be direct and don’t get wrapped up in fluff – keep to the point.

You are competing with many other submissions for a piece of a companies marketing dollar. The time any corporate marketing or promotion specialist has to consider what budget allocations are to be made for the upcoming year is limited. Be concise and build your presentation in a way that a favorable decision is made easy. Don’t be disappointed if you are turned down the first time – if you have done your job well, there is every reason to believe this company will watch your progress into the future.

Part 3

Turning Fun into Business

Let’s step back for a moment and try to understand why certain things have to be done before we move forward too aggressively. Let’s be sure this is the best thing for you to consider doing. There is absolutely no sense in turning a fun thing into a project that will only result in grief and hardship. There is a huge potential out there for the person who has his/her head screwed on right but most of us would be silly to even think we qualify.

The whole deal evolves around family, it all begins there and will grow or be foreshortened relative to the planning you put in place. The first consideration to make is can your family responsibilities be handled within the structure you will have to follow. Are you in a position to divert household monies to cover expenses. What I’m saying is, can you afford to buy the tools you will need to get your business set up. Regardless when sponsorship occurs the interim period of costs have to be covered. Do you follow a budget – do you even have one?

Is the family able to function without you being around everyday. Do you have the time to be a good husband/wife, father/mother and in the same breath keep your employer happy. Do you really have the time availability to add on the responsibility of satisfying the requirements that sponsors will place on you?

If you can answer the above positively then let’s move on.

Begin by creating a spreadsheet that accurately reflects the costs of pursuing your passion? Tools (boat motor, tackle, etc), hidden operating costs (insurance, maintenance, etc), actual participation costs (entry fees, fuel, lodging, meals, etc) and any other of the many reasons that force you to open your wallet. It is critical that you be very honest with yourself, look into every detail.

Understanding the costs both real and illusionary are paramount in moving forward. If you want to proceed as a sponsored fisherman or woman then you must also put a price on your worth. Establish a fee structure if you are following my gist.

By providing a service that adds value to a sponsoring company you have the right to expect fair compensation. Unfortunately the high numbers that are seeking the same brass ring bring the levels of compensation down. Expect that you will be offered product at a discount or in exchange for your time at sport shows etc. Getting paid in cold hard cash is a rarity that only a select few can hope to attain. Now in the opening stages product savings aren’t all that bad – they will reduce your capital and operating costs but in the long run you have to position yourself to get that good old cash flow up and operating.

Part 4

The Nitty Gritty

I’ve heard so often, just like everyone else here that the action is in the States. Canada is too small a marketplace to really get a good shot at the big time. You know, in a way that’s true but one very big distinction sets us apart. This is Canada – 1/10th the population size of our neighbor to the south but with a really concentrated market. I’m sure we all realize that 60% or so of our population lives, works and plays in the corridor from Quebec City to Windsor, what are we talking – 800 miles in length and at the extreme 100 miles deep. What an easy geographical area to work in.

We have a fishery that is so superior in diversity, health and concentration to be the envy of the world.

When you hear the term “Professional Fisherman”, the immediate picture that springs into your mind is about some dude running across a lake in a 60 MPH bass boat, wearing a lettered up shirt and switching hats every 15 minutes.

I don’t want to burst any bubbles but my thoughts surrounding the term equate to that person who has sufficient skills to earn a living in and around the fishing business. Yes, the bulk of everything that we use in pursuit of our passion originates in the US or Japan but do the same promotional rules apply. Our number 1 fishing quarry in Canada is trout, (2) is walleye, (3) is perch/panfish, (4) is pike and bass ranks 5th.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Do you know that the tourism side of fishing as a business is approximately 5 times larger than fishing related retail and the huge majority of these folks aren’t coming to Canada for the bass fishing.

If you want to make fishing activity self supporting for yourself then try to discover a niche that will provide an opportunity for you to excel. Don’t get caught up in the narrow focus of the average tournament angler, Open your mind to what’s out there and choose an area that you can gain satisfaction from working within. Discover the real “Pro Fisherman” attributes and enjoy the satisfaction of being an integral part of the fishing scene

Polish up your writing and communication skills, learn how to take great pictures, become a recognized authority in a specialized skill and most of all take the time to research contacts and opportunities.

Part 5

Categories of Sponsors

Fishing – rods, reels, baits, terminal tackle, accessories

Boating – boats, motors, electric motors, accessories

Vehicles – national programs, regional and local dealer associations, rental companies

Electronics – sonar, gps, thermometers, cameras (underwater & digital), communications

Clothing – fishing gear, raingear, all weather gear

Security – life vests, survival suits, survival pacs

Electrics – batteries, solar panels, chargers

Travel – motel/hotel chains, fuel companies, airlines

Transportation – trucking companies

Construction – builders, renovators, glass suppliers

Food – snack foods, beverages, fast food outlets

And the list goes on restricted only by your imagination. As far as contacts are concerned, you’ll have to do your own homework. I wish you the best of luck, good fortune and may your career be all your dreaming of.

[OBD]

Wow, I have to thank you for all the great info McQ, very informative article

[GetTheNet!!!]

Hmm, that gets the gears turning... Thanks McQ!

[Corey Gaffney]

I would just like to say, Don't jump into anything too quickly your still very young and I too was in your shoes a couple years back. I'm now 22 and have learned about the business and the people in the area that can help you progress as a tournament angler. Perfect your all around game and get out on all the waters because doing well and putting up numbers does help. I can't believe someone mentioned Big jim's name as being a person who is not listened to because of his results. Do you know his tournament history? Any tournament guy loves to chat with him because he's one of the greats and he's been too the top. Anyway take your time and just go out there to win. When you get there there come looking for you! It really seems like you love the sport. And don't listen to anybody fish your strengths and fish to win!
I'll see you out there on the water!

Team #8
Corey Gaffney

[Corey Gaffney]

I'd just like to add that of course you need to be good in sales and know your product but most fisherman are addicts to buying gear. And these are the people that customers want to talk to guys that have tested the gear and have had success using it. I'd have to say both on and off the water confidence and perseverance is all you need but keep a good aditude and respect your other anglers. I wish you the best of luck

Corey