How to Be Patient With NHRA Racing Sponsors

The NHRA or National Hot Rod Association has hundreds of racers and even more sponsors. Tracking down a sponsorship and earning a commitment from this is a tricky thing, which means that you need to be patient with them. This includes the early stages and later stages of the deal. You need to keep an eye out for conflicts and keep everyone as happy as possible.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between sponsors, meaning that you don't use two companies selling the same products. If you agree to work with one gas station, skip signing a second gas station.
2. Talk to people at the track to drum up future sponsorship opportunities. You never know when the next big sponsor will be standing in front of you.
3. Take your time with the sponsors and possible opportunities. Even the biggest names in the sport struggled in the beginning.
4. Sign long-term deals, but wait for the payoff. When Coca-Cola took over sponsorship of the NHRA in 2001, they had to wait several years to see their brand become synonymous with the sport.
5. Focus on doing your best every single race, instead of winning as much as possible. Sponsors would rather see a racer finish consistently than wreck often when fighting for a win.
6. Give the companies space and time to make their decisions. When UPS was evaluating the decision to leave racing, they spent months weighing the pros and cons before deciding to stick with it.
7. Ask your team owner to take over some of the responsibility. Though you're the public face, they need to be involved in the process of finding and earning sponsors as well.