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Tracks: Make Your Ticket Holders Feel Like ‘Members’
From the press box at PNC Park.
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a ‘business of sports’ talk with the EVP of Marketing at the Pittsburgh Pirates, Drew Cloud, and take a private tour of PNC Park. It took me back quite a bit to my days at the San Francisco 49ers, and the level at which professional sports organizations like them operate.
I had a ton of takeaways that I feel can be applied to the racing industry. My favorite, by the way, is the philosophy that this blog is based around: look outside of your own industry for best practices and great ideas. Read: if you’re only paying attention to what the track down the road is doing, you’re missing the boat.
One thing that really stuck out to me was how they treat their season ticket holders, or, I should say, their ‘members’. Season tickets are the Pirates biggest revenue driver, and they offer season ticket packages for as few as six games and as many as the full 81-home-game season.
And they view their ticket holders as ‘members’ of an exclusive club instead of money-saving fans.
In my experience, season tickets are one of the most underutilized and/or confusing promotions that tracks generally butcher. Very few have enough information available to potential customers for them to make a purchasing decision. Tracks struggle to structure the price and flexibility (some even sell them at face value, with no rain date provisions), have difficulty getting the word out about the cost savings, or are in a market that generally doesn’t want to commit to a block of time.
The Pirates have to deal with some of the same challenges that we have – maybe even more, since their tickets cost quite a bit more than ours and you can, er, watch their games on television for free.
So how do they sell so many season tickets? By creating value in the ‘membership’. (With the number of promoters that argue against internet broadcasts, the fact that they sell tickets at all is probably worthy of a separate post. It’s about the experience. I digress.)
Depending on the number of games you choose for your package – one of 11 different schedule structures, by the way – you’ll get a number of other benefits, from discounts on merchandise and early access to the park to payment plans and eligibility for post-season tickets.
But my favorite membership benefits? The exclusive Experiences and Rewards for each level of ticket holder, from Hall of Fame to MVP to All Star.
Sound really complicated? Look at the below list of examples that members can choose from, and see how a race track could replicate it:
- Pre-Game Walk on Warning Track (remove the word ‘warning’)
- Pre-Game Tailgate on Federal Street (change to ‘reserved parking area’)
- Meet & Greet with Pirates Alumni (cross out ‘Pirates’)
- Watch Fireworks from the Field (add In- to the word ‘Field’)
- All-Star Game Watch Party (replace with major racing event)
- Concert Field Passes (VIP seating for a non-racing event)
- Members-Only PhotoFest (this is a simple autograph and photo session)
- Members-Only Run the Bases (replace ‘bases’ with track)
- Movie Night at PNC Park (tracks with new scoreboards – this is for you!)
- Seven Springs Activity Pack (great opportunity to incorporate a partner experience)
Overwhelmed? Imagine if you picked one or two of these promotions to create during the season and offered them to ‘members only’. Think that would create some of that extremely valuable fear of missing out we’ve talked about? I do.
Season tickets are such a huge revenue generator in every other professional sport, and most tracks have as many races as an NFL season has games. If they can do it, why can’t we?
It’s not just about saving money – it’s about getting value for your commitment to an organization. Can you work this into your 2016 marketing plan?
xo.
Kristin
P.S. Racers – think this post isn’t for you? How can you make your fans or marketing partners feel like members of an exclusive club? Can you create membership for your marketing partners that allows, say, their employees a behind-the-scenes tour of your hauler or race shop, a pre-event party, or access to exclusive content or merchandise? Do you think there’s value that you can create at little-to-no-cost? I certainly do.
The Sponsorship Sales Cycle and Your Proposal
Of the questions that I get asked regarding racing sponsorship and helping racers, events and tracks clinch the right marketing deals, I would say that the vast majority are about, or swing back to, the almighty racing sponsorship proposal.
I get questions on the number of pages, categorizing by levels, whether to include pricing or not, how many photos to use…the list goes on (and on).
But one thing that my smartest coaching clients ask me is, I believe, one of the most critical questions about sponsorship proposals:
Where does my sponsorship proposal fit in the sales cycle? 
It’s not that those questions aren’t important. They certainly are.
But what’s more important to understand is that your marketing proposal isn’t what sells sponsorship. Just because the proposal is the item that you (almost always) have push across the table (or internet) to seal the deal, it’s not actually what makes the deal.
You’re what makes the deal.
And knowing how the racing sponsorship proposal fits into that process of presenting you is just as critical as knowing what to put in it.
So what does the Sponsorship Sales Cycle look like?
I can honestly say that it’s different for every person, but I’ll tell you what I suggest and in what order:
Identify what’s sellable in your program. Take inventory of the assets you can offer – tangible and intangible. Have a great social media presence? Own a truck and trailer you can have lettered? Know a high-end videographer who can produce great footage for a partner? These are all sellable assets that you can include in your racing sponsorship proposal.
Build a portfolio of those sellable assets that you can pull from (with values). This is your list from which you can reference to create the right packages for the right marketing partners. In this (internal) list, you should also note what you feel the value is to a sponsor, and what the costs (both hard, as in cold, hard cash, and in time and effort) are to you. Note what the cash value might be to the sponsor, and the non-cash value. Will they be building their brand share in a certain demographic? Will they receive press or community relations benefits? Note them.
(P.S. Need help with the first two steps on putting the right offerings together? Check out this blog post for more tips.)
Put together your targeted prospects list and do your research. Who might be a great fit for you and your audience? Who might enjoy or get the most value from the benefits that you listed above? Who is spending money or launching new marketing campaigns? There are tons of resources on this blog for information on matching your value up to a sponsor’s wants and needs. Check out the Sponsorship category for more info.
Contact your prospects and ask questions. Then listen. Use your phone. Or your email. Or your carrier pigeon (<- unless you’re pitching me. Birds are TERRIFYING.) Whatever method you feel fits both your level of comfort and your prospects, use that to get the ball rolling.
If you can get a meeting, get a meeting and ask as many questions as possible, respectfully, about the company’s marketing goals, who their target audience is, and how they value sponsorship or certain marketing activities. (Just don’t ask for information about money, ever.) If you believe the organization is a good fit to work with you, then say that. And ask if you could send a customized proposal for them to review.
Create and submit the proposal. For goodness’ sake, what have you been waiting for?! Just kidding. Patience is a virtue that racers are conditioned not to have, so don’t feel bad.
It’s finally your time to shine. (<- Changed from all caps and smiley faces. Forgive me.)
This is where the process gets exciting. At least, it should. You know what will make that company’s dreams come true, and you feel that you’re capable of helping them get there, so by all means TELL THEM with an effective, attention-grabbing, beautiful proposal that they can’t resist. And, once they haven’t resisted…
Agree, then activate. Once they’ve jumped up and down at the prospect of working with you (hey, it happens!), and signed the agreement, it’s time to activate. As in, do what you promised, and more to earn your money and a long-term relationship with your marketing partner. Here are more tips on sponsorship activation for your reading pleasure.
Rinse and repeat.
Now, are you psyched to put your racing sponsorship proposal in front of the right marketing partners, or what?!
Knowing what to do and when often simplifies the process for my clients, and makes it more actionable. But if you’re still not confident about how to create and utilize an effective sponsorship proposal, I’d encourage you to check out our newest training on exactly that with our newest Sponsorship Marketing Workshop: Creating Effective Proposals.
You can get all of the details here.
Questions? Comments? Do your sales cycle differently? Leave a comment, shoot me an email or reach out on social media. I’m always happy to hear what’s working, and what’s not.
xo.
Kristin
P.S. Want another post on a racing sponsorship proposal? Here’s one for you: The Proposal (a.k.a. The Sponsorship Clincher).
Best of 2015 + Upcoming Workshops
As we close out 2015 this week, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the past year. We all experience successes and failures in life, work, and racing, and I’m no different. Last week, I shared the powerful impact of 2015, both on me and on the community, and how grateful I am for the progress we’re making. You can read that here.
Today and tomorrow, I’ll be in the office attempting to close out 2015 and plan 2016. (I’m only three months late on my October ‘2016 Planning’ target. If you’re behind, you are not alone!) We have a lot of fun things in the works for next year that I hope to announce in January and February, but we do have one coming up SOON:
Sponsorship Marketing Workshop: Crafting Effective Sponsorship Proposals – Live on Sunday, January 10th. On-Demand Forever. Details Here.
We had a great response to the first sponsorship marketing workshop on crafting and value the perfect offerings (you can get the on-demand version here if you missed the live event), so I’m adding more workshops just like it to the calendar. This is something that I’ve always thought could bring value to the community with a lower price point than private coaching, so I’m excited to share that we’re planning on releasing at least one workshop per month going forward in 2016. More details on that later, but if you want to weigh in on the topics and content, please feel free to share your thoughts with me here.
Some of you are new to this blog (sign up for the free newsletter if so!), and you might not know how we roll here. So if you’re looking for something to read that will help propel you forward in racing, and maybe in life, I’ve listed 10 of the most popular posts from the blog in 2015 for your enjoyment.
If you have something you’d like to read more about in 2016, please post that in the comments!
Let’s kick it off with a New Year’s themed post:
Before You Move on to 2015…Do This:
Breaking Down the Donald Trump Sprint Car Sponsorship
Sponsorship Marketing Workshop: Crafting and Valuing the Perfect Offerings
How to Invest in Your Racing Program in 2016
Sponsorship Pricing: It’s too expensive versus it’s not worth it. (This one’s from 2014, but it was still one of the most popular this year!)
Selling Sponsorship is Hard. Here’s the (Secret) Reason Why.
It’s not the racing that’s broken. It’s the marketing.
Sponsorship Activation: Earning Your Money (and a Long-Term Partner) (Also from 2014, but still rockin’.)
Racing Isn’t What it Used To Be. Here’s Why I’m Glad:
Wishing you a happy, healthy and relaxing New Year!!
xo.
Kristin
Thanks for an Amazing 2015!
I’m tired, friends. In fact, I’m borderline exhausted. And I’m pretty thankful for that, because I can chalk up this lack of brain function to a whirlwind of a year.
A whirlwind of a year that I have you all to thank for.
So much has changed since one year ago, and I would never have guessed how it has played out. In 2015, I worked with more than 25 race tracks and close to 30 drivers and teams, conquered my fear of public speaking did 3 speaking engagements, wrote 59 blog posts, welcomed nearly 200 sponsorship seekers into our free DirtyMouth Sponsorship Success Community, reached more than 300 racing promoters, helped produce a very successful 2nd annual Dirt Classic, created the first in a series of workshops to help racers achieve their dreams, supported our own race team and marketing partners in finding success on and off the the track and watched Carl Bowser’s first television commercial hit the air waves, and so much more.
Whew. I still didn’t even realize how much has happened, along with things I can’t even talk about yet, until I started writing that!
I bet you’d experience the same if you took a few moments to reflect on your year – surprise and gratefulness. In fact, I wrote a post last year about what you need to do before you move into the new year, with your new motivation and your new goals: count the successes you’ve had this year. It’s still relevant. Read it.
It’s so easy to move on without taking stock of how far you’ve come and how much you’ve learned. I know – I work with y’all. Our memories are short.
But I want to tell you, with all my heartfelt thanks, that I couldn’t have done any of this without you. In 2015, information that I’ve built thanks to your feedback has reached over 10,000 different people on this website alone. If that doesn’t blow your mind, well then you’re not me.
Because – poof! That’s my mind on analytics.
And here’s where it matters: I’d like to believe – I have to believe – that because of you all, we’ve been able to help many of those 10,000 people to achieve their dreams in racing. That’s what this sport is built on – dreams. And that’s what this business is built on.
And you’re making mine come true, just by being here.
So, for that, I thank you. And I’m wishing you a Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating, and a Happy New Year!
xo.
Kristin
Selling: Know Who Your Customer Is
It’s selling season, in case you haven’t noticed by the glut of marketing materials, the number of trade shows and expos, and the amount of time you and I are spending thinking about how to make our businesses and race teams work in 2016.
And my email box reflects that, too.
The questions I’m getting most right now are about selling – creating offerings, making an effective sponsorship proposal, targeting customers and potential marketing partners, pitching, and the mindset and all of the tactics that go into the many things we need to know to be able to sell.
One thing I wanted to address today are two principles we touched on in my most recent on-demand workshop on creating the perfect sponsorship offerings:
- knowing who your customer is, and,
- knowing what you’re selling.
Gone are the days when we can create a product that we think is fantastic and then go out and find someone to buy it. Discretionary income is not the same as it used to be -even if we have extra money for something we didn’t know we needed prior to you showing up to sell it to us, we now need to see return on investment for that extra money. And we need you to prove it to us, whether we’re a consumer or a business.
And how will you do that if you don’t know who we are?
So why do we still sell sponsorship and marketing that way?
“Here is the great thing I have, and here is why you need it.” – Doesn’t work anymore.
The more effective sales strategy today is a relationship building strategy, in which you learn what your prospect actually needs and then offer a solution that solves that problem.
Flip that script. And stop calling it a script, even if it does rhyme.
Solving a problem starts at the most basic of principles: you have to know who your customer is.
And, by the way, there’s no secret, right answer to this. Not all race fans are male, ages 35-52, blue collar and married. You and I both know that. So why do we act like that’s what we have to ‘sell’ to advertisers and marketing partners?
When you know who your prospect is, you can learn what their wants and needs are. You can understand what problems and challenges they face. You’ll learn what their business goals are, and what hoops they’ll have to jump through to get a program or expense approved.
All of those things can help you build a program that fits their needs, is easy for them to get internal buy-in on and, at the end of the day, will provide value that outweighs their investment and, in turn, makes them look like geniuses.
People who invest well in motorsports doing more than just well. They reap huge rewards. They are smart cookies. We applaud them.
And the better you do your job as the provider of services, the more clear that their smartness becomes to them and the decision makers they report to, even if that’s just Aunt Nancy who does the books every month. (And who doesn’t want a nice-job-cheek-pinch from Aunt Nancy?! You know she’s going to call your mom.).
How do you know who your customer is? Take a look around. Find the similarities in those who already support you. Can you see a difference between them and those who support your competition? Ask yourself why that’s the case. What about you and your brand presents differently than theirs, and who will that appeal to? What is your brand?
If you want a little bit more on this topic, here’s a piece I wrote on knowing where your customer is right now. It’ll give you even more insight into the importance of knowing your customer and who they are, and how many different types of customers you actually have.
We all want that silver bullet – the easiest path to selling and earning – but the reality is, you have to build the foundation before you can put the wreath on the front door.
So here’s to building a solid foundation.
xo.
Kristin
P.S. Want to dive even deeper? I’ll be creating more live and on-demand workshops over the coming months on topics just like these. The next one will launch on Sunday, January 10th and cover marketing proposals. Want to be the first to know about it or weigh in on future topics? Put your name in, or suggest an idea, here.
How to Invest in Your Racing Program in 2016
Invest in yourself.
It might sound oversimplified, but I think it’s true.
When you invest in yourself you’ll reap dividends in many areas of your racing program. At first you might not see a clear result for your action or investment, but over time the benefits will compound exponentially.
Think it’s all about investing money? Think again. I believe pretty strongly that we will get better results when we have skin in the game and that’s why I spend a healthy five figures each year on education and training that I pass along to you, but time and effort are often just as valuable an investment as cold, hard cash.
Would you run a car with dirty fuel and expect it to perform at its best over the long run? It’s the same as running your body and mind with junk food. How about running a chassis 200 races, day after day – will it flex out in the way that your body and brain do after months, or years, with no time off? I say, probably yes.
When you invest in yourself, your racing program will improve – sometimes immediately, and sometimes over the long run. I believe, with the ‘investments’ I’m detailing below, your racing program can benefit on the track with better performance from you as a driver and better performing equipment, and off the track with better funding,
Here are a few ways that you might consider investing in yourself in 2016 and beyond:
Learn new things.
Read a book on any area of your program you want to improve, whether that’s on improving your own mindset, building a fan base, understanding shock dynamics, becoming a better leader within your team, etc. Here’s a racing reading and resources list that I’m constantly adding to if you need somewhere to start. Download a podcast or an e-book. Join a public-speaking group.
Take a class – you can find them at your local community college, online (check out iTunes University – you can take classes on just about anything from real colleges like my alma mater, Columbia University, Stanford, MIT and many more!), through racing-focused businesses like mine (here’s our most recent workshop on Creating the Perfect Sponsorship Offerings), at your chamber of commerce, at your favorite speed shop, and many other places.
The possibilities are nearly endless.
Improve your health.
This might sound like it should be lower on the list – everyone needs to do it, but are there that many racing payoffs? YES. Improve your diet, and you’ll improve the way your body functions, from how focused your brain can be under stress (think: on the race track) to your energy levels. Lose some weight? Your race car (and your wallet, if you’re already buying titanium) will thank you. Improve your workouts, and you’ll likely increase your strength and stamina, which is great for outperforming your competition at the end of the race when they’re tired and you’re just getting started. Good sleep improves your mood (think: better crew relations) and can help you recover from each race faster.
There are endless benefits on and off the track to investing in your health.
Upgrade your safety equipment.
I’m sorry to break it to you, but ‘it will never happen to me’ isn’t the mindset of champions. You don’t finish every race without being prepared for the parts failures and more in your racing program, and you don’t survive and thrive after a wreck without good safety equipment. If you’re only spending one dollar on your racing program for next year, make it on safety.
Whether it’s saving your life or just giving you peace of mind, you need to be investing time, effort and money into improving your safety program – it’ll pay off in the long run for obvious reasons. Don’t know where to start? Check out Motorsports Safety Education Foundation for fantastic courses (even narrated by Dave Argabright!) that align with various sanctioning bodies.
Find like-minded people.
I can’t emphasize this enough. Surrounding yourself with people who have the same goals as you do – or at least the same mindset, even if they’re in a different industry – will help you leaps and bounds. You’ll find inspiration and motivation, as well as get practical advice and new ideas from inspiring, like-minded folks.
You can do this in person – look at your local chamber of commerce or other professional organizations/associations or search MeetUp.com if you don’t have these types of people at your fingertips. Or, you can go online. Many web-based consultants and coaches have their own ‘mastermind’ groups, which can help keep you accountable and moving forward towards your goals in addition to providing a support network, or join a Facebook group that’s within your focus. There are lots of general or regional racing groups out there, and if sponsorship is your focus, you’re welcome to request an invite to our free Sponsorship Success Community, where we talk all about how to find, acquire and keep marketing partners.
Seminars, conferences and workshops.
There is so much value in taking part of group learning experiences, and not just because of the knowledge or skills that you’ll gain.
Today, we’re in Indianapolis at the Performance Racing Industry show, where we’re meeting new people, connecting with old friends, learning about new products and technology and so much more. Yesterday, I spoke at the RPM Promoter’s conference at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where I did more of the same. You never know where you’re going to meet someone who’s been doing exactly what you want to do, and what you’ll pick up from them. Even one sentence can be a huge a-ha moment for many of us. Even if you can’t do them all or attend every year, find an event that you can attend, racing-related or not, in which you might be able to meet someone or pick up some new piece of knowledge.
Get involved in your community.
Whether it’s the racing community or your local area, you never know what opportunities will come your way from attending functions in the places where you live, do business or race. Help out at a non-profit, attend a church, patronize local businesses, show up to your kids school events, or support causes that are important to you. You’ll likely meet some of those like-minded people along the way, and build a network that will pay off down the road in spades.
Get a mentor or coach.
It’s not always easy to find someone to push you along the right path – and it’s not always easy to be the duckling, either. But finding a mentor can help you bypass some of the growing pains most of us run into, identify great opportunities or next steps and keep you inspired and motivated on your journey. It can be as simple as asking a racer you admire for advice or as involved as hiring a coach or consultant. Think the right person for you is out of reach? You don’t have to be personally involved with your mentor – if you admire someone’s path, you can always follow them on social media, read articles about them, watch interviews and more.
You might think – I have a race car or track to pay for, I can’t afford to invest in myself!
Can you really afford not to? Putting in a little extra time, effort and/or money now can reap you much larger benefits down the road than just getting by with what you ‘need’.
Hope that inspires you to take some action and make an investment in yourself in 2016 and beyond.
xo.
Kristin
Connect!