Inside Athlete Sponsorship: Advice from the People Who Say Yes (or No)
Lessons from those that sign the deals.
Being a sponsored athlete goes far beyond podiums. Some think results are king; others believe it’s how many views a YouTube video gets or maybe the number of Instagram followers they have.
I think most are missing the point.
I believe there’s a disconnect between what athletes think the brands want and what the brands think the athletes want. Somewhere along the line, there has been a communication breakdown.
But what do I know? I’m just a kid who races bikes. With that in mind, I reached out to some heavy hitters in the sports world to ask for their top tips for sponsored athletes.
Here’s how to be a model sponsored athlete.
1. “Know the problem that you’re solving.”
Aaron Lutze, former athlete manager at Red Bull, and Oura. Host of my favourite podcast, Second Nature
“I’d challenge any brand to step on stage in front of their athletes and ask: Do your athletes know what they’re there to do? Just as importantly, if I brought one of your athletes on stage, would their answer match yours?
Athletes and managers are misaligned as often; neither one of them knows what the actual goal is.
It’s an interesting thing to call out, and the responsibility falls on each side. The athlete needs to push harder to get a better understanding of what the brand is trying to accomplish through their sponsorship, and the athlete manager needs to communicate what their goals are.
It’s important to know the problem that you’re solving.
The reason this is important is because at the end of your contract, the question that’s asked is: did the athlete solve the problem, and will they continue to solve the problem?'
At the end of a contract, one question matters: Did the athlete solve the problem the brand needed solving? If not, it doesn’t matter if they won every race on earth - the sponsorship won’t continue.”
2. “Define your values and connect with brands that align.”
Jon Twigg, Pullwood Consulting
“In business, there’s a constant search for so-called 'product-market fit', that sweet spot where what we're offering aligns with what customers are looking for. Athletes need to adopt a similar operating model when looking for partners.
Athletes need to figure out what they're passionate about, what they stand for, and what they bring to the table. That will immediately exclude some potential partners. Find companies whose purpose aligns with yours, and explain to them why working with you supports their aspirations.
Everyone has their own goals, and you can be pretty sure that helping you to achieve your sporting ambitions is not on our list. Don't make us work too hard to figure out why you should be on our list; connect the dots for us. Once you overcome that inertia, we'll start to get excited about your goals.”
This month, I’m doing a small collaboration with buycycle. Readers of this Substack save 30% on seller protection when listing their bike for sale.
3. “Make it easy for the brand to say yes, but don’t let them bulldoze you”
Gabe Multer, co-founder and CEO - Carbs Fuel
“Be clear about what you’re looking for, demonstrate the unique value you bring, and then package it in a way that makes it easy for someone inside the company to advocate for you.
The easier you make it for a brand to understand why they should work with you—and to sell that idea internally—the more likely you are to get a yes. Whether that’s through a compelling story, measurable impact, or a strong personal connection to the product, your job is to remove as much friction as possible in the decision-making process.
Equally, this is your career—know your value and expect to be treated professionally. If a brand doesn’t respect you, your time, or your personal brand, then don’t undermine yourself by working with them. A bad partnership won’t benefit anyone.”
4. “Understand how you're adding value.”
Neil Shirley, Director of Marketing - ENVE Composites
“You need to understand what the goal is and how you’re adding to that. Truly soul search: how are you adding to the bigger picture?
The one thing that is wonderful about athletes is that we can sometimes be disconnected, naive or maybe a little delusional in what we’re doing or the value that we’re bringing.
Being connected to the brand in communication and sharing what your personal goals are and expecting the same thing from the brand. It needs to be a partnership. There aren’t that many athletes that we sponsor that I can say are perfect athletes, but Alexey Vermeulen is one of them.
It’s because he truly wants ENVE to be successful, and he knows that his job is much more than just trying to win a race. That’s where it starts, it’s very important, but it’s not everything. The athlete has to have similar expectations from the brand to create truly a real partnership - it cannot be one-sided.”
Links
Here are some of my favourite resources when it comes to the athlete sponsorship world. If there are any I’ve missed, feel free to drop me a line.
Podcasts:
Freetrail with Dylan Bowman and Aaron Lutze. In my opinion, this is the number one pod of all time on the subject.
Second Nature Podcast: Everything they put out there is top tier.
I remember listening to this when I first moved into privateering. I was riding around the Andorran mountains and thought, damn these guys have cracked it. Now, I’m working alongside them.
Videos:
Articles:
Here are a couple of things that I’ve been reading recently:
Zero Draft - Patrick Crawford is putting out a lot of good stuff at the minute.
Every athlete needs to read this:
1000 True Fans: In theory, it is simple, but in practice very difficult to pull off. https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
I enjoyed researching and interviewing for this article. It allowed me to chat to some friends, and also some of my own managers about a topic I’m passionate about. I’ll almost certainly do a volume two.
While you’re here…
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https://www.buymeacoffee.com/joelaverick
The following brands are racing partners of mine which allow me to do cool stuff.
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