Can I be on your pro-staff? Hey, send me a free hat. I will wear a shirt if you will send me one free. I am a great stick on my home lake and will help promote 5X3. These are one of hundreds of messages we get every week and 99% of them get answered the same way and it goes like this. Great, tell me what you know about 5X3 and how much of our product do you currently own? The reply normally goes like this. Just joined the page and going to buying some stuff very soon. The last reply is critically flawed in that the person just joined the page and doesnt have a real feel or knowledge of what 5X3 is or what we stand for and second he or she owns 0 product we make. I am going to take just a second to explain as a business owner what we look for and what we basically trash as far as sponsorship stuff is concerned. This is meant to help people with all companies they approach for sponsorship and not just 5X3 because no matter how well you fish or think you fish, if you cant sell product, you cant help any company. So here is a list of things that you should know before you step into something you arent truly prepared for. In the fishing industry some people hand out Pro-Staff deals like Halloween candy and others are harder to get into than Fort Knox. To me the harder to get into the better it will be and at 5X3 it is like a bank vault. We hand select very few people to become a part of the 5X3 family and even after selection we maintain a level of professionalism that is second to none. So, here are some points to consider any time you are asking to become part of a company. *Businesses are not in the habit of just throwing out free product. No business model ever states to give away free stuff. If you ask a company for free stuff, 99% of the time the answer will be no. Dont be offended. Successful businesses are successful for a reason and that is because the people that run them want to be able to survive in this industry, which in itself is hard enough without giving away stuff. *Know the business and the product inside and out. If you dont know the product, how can you tell others about it. At 5X3 we are a business that started by promoting locals and amateurs and our clothing is a by product of that. Fans asked for clothes after we started and that is how 5X3 clothing started. We still pride ourselves on promoting locals and amateurs through 5X3 and our newest page 5X3 Center Stage. Whether it be a rod or reel or bait manufacturer, it is imperative that you know the product and the company and what they are truly all about. *Be active in their social media as well as your own. There are 31,000 fans on 5X3 and thousands of very active fans that I recognize instantly and to me that is huge. For instance, Aaron Pousson, he is a guy from Louisiana, and he is very active on the page. John Malzhan is another, Bernard Newton, Luke Sims, Todd Daniel, John Cox, and the list goes on. None of the people are on our staff but you bet when the time comes their names go to the top of the list. *We generally seek out our pro staff members. I am the owner of 5X3 and research people and their social media and generally go to them and ask them to be a part of 5X3. Never have we had someone ask and us say okay. As a business owner I have to be very particular about who we make pro staff as they are representing my company in a particular area of the country and they can make me or break me so I have to choose wisely. *Being a good fisherman has almost zero to do with it. Sure, we have pros like Gerald Swindle, Michael Neal, Cliff Crochet, and Shaw Grigsby that we sponsor on a national level but those guys were fans of 5X3 and I went to them and asked them to be a part of 5X3 and they accepted because even on the top level, they make a living by having 5 fish by 3 0Clock. Got sidetracked. But being a good fisherman on the amateur level doesnt provide 5X3 with a lot of media coverage or publicity. What we need are good fisherman and women with good personal and social media skills that can move product. At the end of the day their are two sides to 5X3. A social media side where we promote locals and amateurs and a business side where we have product we sell as a business. So dont get wrapped up into thinking you have to be KVD on the lake to be part of 5X3. We had rather you be good on the water and great in the boat ramp parking lot talking about 5X3. *Dont use your social media to bash other anglers or products in the industry. That is the biggest turn off to potential sponsors. SOcial media is a place where the old saying if you dont have something nice to say, dont say anything at all rings true. *If you have social media either use it or get rid of it. Nothing worse than looking at a prospective pro staff member and their social media having not been used in weeks or months. Shows me that you loose interest fast and that is a sign that we need to look elsewhere. *Be the first to help or volunteer with a potential sponsor. We have a pro staff guy that became a heavy blip on the radar when he showed up to an event and saw us struggling and stepped in and helped without asking for anything in return. Showed his enthusiasm and willingness to help and shortly there after we asked him to come on board. *Be prepared. When the time comes and a potential sponsor comes to you be prepared to answer questions they might have for you. Keep a good detailed resume on file. Not just fishing resume but work resume as well. Your work history has a lot to do with how well you will fit in with a company. *Last but no least. Realize this is a business agreement and you are not doing them any favors by being on staff. The company itself is assuming 99% of the risk as they are letting you be a spokes person for their company and with that responsibility you can quickly damage the companies reputation very easily. Whether they give you discounts, free product or money it is a business agreement. You dont perform and they dump you. You perform and they dont reward you, then you dump them. It has to be a cohesive unit or it will never work. *This is last but not least as it burns me up. DO NOT SEND A FORM LETTER TO ALL POTENTIAL SPONSORS! They are easy to spot and we trash them without a reply. If you dont have time to type a personal letter to 5X3 then we dont have time to reply. Hope this helps some. This is a crazy industry and we hope that everyone can gain something from this. I may have missed several thing but I think this covers the basics at least.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 14:56:19 +0000
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