Being a Motorhead myself, I thought I understood the ins & outs of cars and racing, sponsorships and networking.  But a friend clued me into where the real value of sponsorship comes in, and it took me by surprise.

 

 

Most of us know that race cars have sponsors for their race teams. It’s apparent by the graphics and company name on the cars. And the fancier the car, the more expensive they are to sponsor.

However, the days of just putting a decal on a 3-foot by 3-foot spot on the hood and waiting for the phone to ring are gone. Nowadays, when the race team drives across country to another event, they stop at a branch of a main sponsor, unload the car and start it up to dazzle the troops. You would think the big benefit to the sponsor is the number of “views” of the car on TV during the race, the numbers of times the camera picked it up. Rationale is the more that image is shown to viewers, whether on the camera or out on the tours, the more the sponsor would benefit from that partnership. Incorrectamundo. Big surprise!

A friend of mine said the huge benefit for her company sponsoring a Formula One car, was not from the “views,” but from the networking at the races with the other high-level, successful sponsors. Her company got a lot of new business from the face-to-face, relationship building interactions!

Business success through networking – again !!! People do business with who they know, like & trust; whether for a business deal, a job recommendation, or a referral.  Who will you be networking with today, to build your success for tomorrow?

Photos Courtesy o: Flicker and Salva Mendez (top photo); Pranavian (middle photo)