Latest / UNCOACHED / Helping Youth Athletes & Teams Find Sponsors and Save Families Money
Transcript
- Brad: Welcome to Uncoached, a podcast for volunteer coaches and parents figuring out youth sports as we go. Each episode, we keep things simple, five questions to talk about practical insights you can actually use with your youth athletes. My guest today is Mandy Holmes. She's a fantastic sports mom who has dedicated time to helping parents, coaches, players, and teams find sponsorships. With the cost of sports, this is really something we should all be paying attention to. Mandy, if you'd do me the, the honor of giving me a little bit about your background so the audience understands who you are. Mandy Holmes: Sure. It's great to be here, and I always tell people I'm just a sports mom that figured it out. So I have an 11-year-old son. He plays multiple sports. Right now it's flag football, basketball, and pickleball, and I was always in the business of magazine ownership and advertising. So my whole background was conversations with business owners all day long, and when he started whole journey on sports, it just naturally translated to talking to businesses, but positioning him as a marketing asset for them. So my whole background in marketing, PR, storytelling really helped when I developed what I do now. And we are just a sports family. We are all in, and it is all about sports and storytelling in our house Brad: No, that's great. Sometime I'm gonna have to pick your brain about about pickleball. I've got a son close to your son's age, and he's, he's expres- expressed interest, and I just don't know how to get started in pickleball. So we'll, we'll save that one. But I wanna read... I've got four stats here that I thought would help set the tone, and I know we're talking about sponsorships and helping your child, you know, find that opportunity or maybe represent a brand or some equipment types and things like that. But I... It's, it's, it's always mind-boggling to me the industry that we're in in youth sports. So the average family spends about $1,000 for each kid per year, and I, I... That's all over the place, right? I, I have a feeling a lot are spending more than that, but that's just the average family spend. US families, in total, are spending about $40 billion on youth sports in general. Club teams cost families anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 per year per kid. And then 60% of parents say that youth sports- Puts a financial strain on them. And so I know what we're gonna talk about today here is more than just kind of you know, fundraising i- in general. It's about finding some sponsorships, but I think what you're doing is helping families find a little bit of levity when it comes to the amount of money that it's just costing families to be involved in youth sports today. So wanted to set the tone with some of that, pretty impactful. May- maybe give me some just gut feel on, on hearing those stats yourself. Mandy Holmes: Yeah. You know, when I heard you say $1,000 a year, you know, I think a lot of families are like, "Oh my gosh, we spend well over that every single Brad: Right. Mandy Holmes: you know, it's just wild these costs. And when you figure in if people are traveling, if they're doing multiple sports, it just adds up like so crazy that people don't even-- They're not able to sustain give their kids the opportunities that they want to give them because of the financial pressure. Brad: Yeah. I, I couldn't agree more. And so along that same line of thought, youth sports are expensive, and they're gonna continue to grow. So what are you seeing parents and teams struggle with the most right now when it comes to the cost of things? Mandy Holmes: Yeah, you know, if you're on a, if you're on a club team and there's travel involved, oftentimes that gets crazy expensive because there's flights, there's hotels, there's meals, there's gear. All of that stuff adds up. So I see those parents reach out to me often Asking how they can cover the travel expenses. But then I see it, even the kids on the neighborhood little league team that are just looking to have a sponsored meal at the end of the season to celebrate their season. But that's a financial burden for the parents and the team. Brad: And Mandy Holmes: you know, extensive the ask is, Brad: you know, Mandy Holmes: always the same ask when you're looking for sponsorships. And I rarely use the word fundraising because what I teach people is so much different because it's really creating a brand for your athlete or your team as a marketing partnership, and I know we'll talk about that later. But I really stay Brad: what you Mandy Holmes: the word fundraiser because we're not out there selling chocolate. We're not asking friends and family for 10 or $15 Venmo donations. You know, it's very, very different when you present yourself as a partnership to a business. Brad: have me thinking about is It's different, right? It's, it's different for families, I think, to think of their youth athlete as a vehicle for a company to, to use as a marketing spokesperson, let's say. As a coach, you've got me thinking about what could I be doing from a team perspective, right? There seems like there'd be a lot of opportunity there from, from a coach's perspective as well, because, you know, there's many things that pop up during the year for a team where I'm pulling out of pocket to, to help the team and, and do different things, right? So I love the thought process. I don't know, may- maybe, you know, this isn't one of our official topics, but maybe you have some thoughts on, on how a team might do that too. Mandy Holmes: Yeah. Everything that I teach people, you can apply either to an individual athlete or in a team setting. You know, I know my guy, we've gotten his team meals comped all season long just with one simple email, and it's just the way you position it. And it's so fun because a team meal is so much more than just the food you're eating. You know, it's team bonding. It's setting the tone for the season. It's getting the families involved, and they feel like it's an opportunity for the team really to come together as, as one. And it-- that's so much better than just, you know, getting Chick-fil-A on your way to the ballpark. It's like, "No, we're gonna sit down, and we're gonna bond with each other. We're gonna learn about each other," and that's gonna translate onto the field or onto the court because we're b- really building that chemistry off the court. Brad: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's great. And, and I know... So we touched on just a second ago, you know, this isn't necessarily fundraising because sponsorships are a little bit different. So how should parents and coaches think about sponsorships in more of a practical way? 'Cause I think when you hear this word sponsorship, you think, you know, LeBron James in a sponsored sneaker, and it's, it's not, that's not really what you're talking about here. So maybe you could put it into practical terms for the folks that are listening in. Mandy Holmes: Yeah, you know, when we talk about sponsorships, it's unlikely that your kiddo's going to get a Gatorade or a Nike sponsorship right out the gates. Maybe, you know, LeBron James was just a kid with a dream of becoming pro, so, you know, you never know. But what I teach is very much a local partnership, so positioning your kiddo as a good pillar of the community. You know, they're not the kid out there that's cursing out the teammates or that's being a jerk to their parents after a loss. They're showing good sportsmanship. They're out in the community. Maybe they're doing community service. Maybe they're active within their school. It's all of these things outside of their actual sport that help kind of build their story, and that's what brands want to partner with. So a sponsorship is truly, you have to view it as a partnership and really let that business know, "Here's what we are providing for you." Maybe it's the logo on the jersey. Maybe it's an email blast to the team. Maybe it's posting on social media. There's a bunch of different ways you can bring value to local businesses. And I always tell people, your first sponsorship is probably way closer than you think, because if you just think about the people you're already doing business with, your kiddo's dentist, their doctor, their favorite pizza joint, the realtor that sold you your house, your insurance person. Like, all these people you are spending money with on a daily or annually basis, it's like, let's go to those people first because you're already supporting their business, and they're really highly likely to support what you're asking for. You know, a couple hundred dollars here and there, it really adds up over a season. Brad: Right. And then what I think the genius of this is we're all hungry, I think, in this social space to have content that's legitimate and genuine feeling. And so, you know, I can see where your youth athlete is out there, and maybe they're wearing the logo, or they're eating at the local establishment, or they're using some of the facilities that are locally available. I can see how that tie-in is, is a very nice practical relationship where the, the, the youth athlete's getting something out of it, but that business is also getting some, some local advertising, some messaging out there as well, which I think is extremely valuable, and I think it's a really smart approach to sponsorships for youth athletes. Mandy Holmes: Yeah, and a lot of businesses don't even... You know, they, they haven't even thought of this before, that, oh my gosh, this is a really reasonable way to do marketing in a very organic way, and it's just positioning them as a supporter of youth in their community, and that speaks volumes Brad: Yeah, that's Mandy Holmes: it's reflected on a business. Brad: that's a win-win. So I, I think it's, you know, super smart. I, I love the thought process that you've put behind this, and I think it's really fantastic. I would say There's probably a lot of people that feel a bit awkward having this conversation with busine- businesses for a sponsorship, for a product, for a free meal, right? For money. What are you-- What are some of the guiding principles you're giving folks on the approach to that conversation without having them feel uncomfortable? Mandy Holmes: Yeah, and that was me. You know, when I started, I didn't wanna do it face-to-face. I didn't wanna walk in and meet with somebody and ask for something. And so I started with email, and that is a great first step to just get on their radar. Sometimes you wanna follow it up with a phone call or a walk-in, but I am telling you, these emails that I have them down to a science now of exactly what you need to say, what you need to include in your ask to make the conversation happen. So your goal is not to send an email and ask for $10,000 right away. You're not even talking about a dollar amount in that first email. It's to get a conversation or a meeting going with the decision-maker, with the right person. So if people are scared, easy because you, you're hiding behind a computer screen. What's the worst they're gonna do? Not respond to your Brad: Sure. Mandy Holmes: it's not scary sending an email. If you are more of a person that likes to get out there and meet people, I teach folks how to go to networking events where there's lots of business owners in the same room, and how to have those productive conversations with them to, again, get a meeting outside of that room and really, you know, nail down exactly what you're asking for and what they're getting in return, and why this partnership makes sense for them. But if you're scared, always start with the email, follow up with a phone call, and if you still haven't heard from them, follow up with a walk-in. And then I give you the exact tools that you wanna bring with you to that walk-in. It's a little media kit of your child, it's photos of your family, it's some highlight reels of your values and what you can offer that business. And when you walk in and hand that to someone, that is kind of your security blanket. You know, you have something in your hand, you can drop it off, and you are really likely to get a phone call back and get that conversation going after a walk-in. Brad: that, that's great. And maybe this is part of your secret sauce, and you can't share it, but, you know, when... I, I'm with you. Like, sending an email is, what's the harm in that, right? There's no-- You don't have to see the person's rejection. You don't have to feel that. What's the what's your approach to finding the right email addresses? Are you going to websites and using the Contact Us? Are you going to LinkedIn? All of the above? Is there any other special tips and tricks that maybe you have as far as finding an email address to get ahold of somebody? Mandy Holmes: Yes, and this is where my background in advertising and magazine ownership kinda comes in because I always needed to reach Brad: Yeah. Mandy Holmes: You know, it wasn't... There's a lot of gatekeepers Brad: Yeah. Mandy Holmes: the people that we wanna talk to, so it's really important that you get past that gatekeeper. And I have some tricks on how to do this, and one of them is to Google the owner's name of the business and then call that business and say, "Hi, may I please have John's direct email? I have a great marketing opportunity I'd like to run by him." And oftentimes they'll just give you his direct email or direct phone number, whatever you're asking for, if you're already calling with their name. So figure out who the decision-maker is first, then call, get their direct contact information and preferred method of contact, and then go to them. My other tip is to reach out on social media, and you can send them a direct message on Instagram or on Facebook or whatever you use and say, "Who handles your marketing for your company?" Sometimes it's the business owner, sometimes they have an outside PR or marketing firm, sometimes they have somebody dedicated just to their marketing campaigns, and oftentimes that person is kind of your gateway into the decision-maker if that's not the decision-maker. So kind of doing a little research before you just send out Brad: Right. Mandy Holmes: email to the Contact Us form definitely makes a huge difference because then they see you're invested in their business. You've done some legwork. You really wanna work with them. Brad: No, that's great. Thank you for a peek behind the curtain there. That's, that's some good, good tips. S- so we talked-- we touched on this really, really briefly, but what are some creative ways that teams or players are providing value back to those sponsors other than just the traditional, "Hey, let's slap a logo on the sleeve of our jersey," right? Or, or hand out something at a, at a game. What's-- what are some creative ways that maybe you're investigating or that you've seen done to date? Mandy Holmes: Yeah, well, if you're doing a meal, that's one of the easiest asks. So that one you can position your team as if you host the meal for our whole team, then the families, the parents and the siblings, will come in and they will pay for their meal. So oftentimes I see, you know, restaurants will give us the private room, they'll set it up, they'll make it so nice because we're saying, "Yeah, feed our athletes for free, but we're also bringing you a handful of paying customers also." So that's a super Easy way to get marketing and provide some business some financial, you know, business back to them. But also, you can always do the logos. One tip I have for people is you can order a logo for anything in an iron-on form. I use Etsy personally, but if it's just the local, you know, Subway down the... Well, Subway would have a logo. But if it's a local mom-and-pop-owned business that they're like, "We don't have iron-on logos," you just have them send you a picture of their logo, you turn it black on Canva, it takes two seconds, and then you can order iron-on logos to put on anything, bags, warmups, equipment, anything like that. And then of course, there's social media. You know, social media is so valuable now, and brands don't need athletes that have thousands of followers. You know, my little guy has about 800 followers, but because of the content we post, he gets over half a million views a month. And people share it, businesses share it, all his sponsors share it. So they're not necessarily looking at number of followers. I say start a social media. Start a brand early for your kid. Show the behind-the-scenes, show what they're having for snack on the way to the tournament, show your celebration afterward, what's in their bag, how do they train. Like, that's what paints the picture of your kiddo athlete. So start on social media, create that brand now. It's only going to benefit them if they wanna play, like, college sports or beyond. And then think of your social media. You know, what can I offer from a sports mom perspective to a business? It's different than what my 11-year-old can offer. And so I post on my social media from the mom's perspective. "Oh, I love this gluten-free pizza that's loaded with veggies, and it's a sneaky way to get his veggies in." And he's posting, "This is the best cheese pizza I've ever had." You know? So it's two different perspectives, same content, but really utilizing our networks of our people that we can kind of spread the word about that business to different audiences. Brad: Yeah, and I can imagine that this new form of kind of guerrilla marketing is gonna set apart some of the local businesses, right? I, I feel like this is a different opportunity that they have and possess as an opportunity, and I think the way you're positioning this is, is fantastic. Like, I'm ready to sign up and, and do this for, for my team as well. So I, I love hearing what, what you're providing us here. So for the parent or coach listening who says, "You know, our team could really use help, but I don't really know where to start," do you have a set of starter tips? Maybe it's a, you know, here's your first step, here's your first three step, whatever that looks like. But, like, what's your recommendation to somebody looking to start this type of adventure with, with marketing? Mandy Holmes: Yeah, so in the Sponsor My Athlete course, I do give you every template you need, a list of all the businesses in your town that you should reach out to first, a 20-day plan of one little tip you can do each day to start your asks. But when it comes down to who to ask, look for those community-focused businesses. And so I will give you lots of ways to find those folks. You know, one is to drive by your high school and see whose banner is on the fence at that high school, because those folks are already invested in youth sports within your community. Another thing you can do if you're part of a team is ask all the parents to submit 10 businesses that their family loves, their favorite restaurant, their favorite movie theater, their favorite thing to do on the weekends. And their, and home service businesses, like HVAC companies. Who did they use to fix their sink last time it broke? It's all those kind of businesses, you know, if you can find the owner and it's locally owned and operated, those guys are a great first person to ask. So use your team's connection, use your school connection, y- look for on Facebook groups are a great place where people are always promoting their business. Somebody gets on a Facebook group and says, "Does anyone have a great recommendation for a local photographer?" You bet I am emailing all those people that were recommended on that Facebook group and saying, "So and so said you're really good at photography. Would you be interested in taking pictures for our team?" And every parent is going to, you know, maybe pay you $50 for high-res shots of their child this week, but I'm gonna negotiate it so I get mine for free. So, you know, it's like bringing value to other businesses, but also providing them with a value add also. Brad: Yeah. No, that's great. And we've, we've touched on this kind of briefly, but maybe you could spend some time and talk about the product that you've created where folks can find it, how they can find you, and maybe you could just talk a little bit about that at this point too. Mandy Holmes: Sure. So my little guy plays pickleball pretty seriously, and we travel three or four times a month To different states. And so obviously you can imagine that got really expensive. And so once I finally got him sponsorships, paid for hotels, flights, meals, all the things, the other parents were like, "Hey, how are you doing this? What's the secret?" And so I started teaching them in, in person. In real life, I would teach classes locally to sports teams, booster clubs, individuals. And this last year I thought, "Oh my gosh, I need to be reaching people beyond Brad: Yeah. Mandy Holmes: where I Brad: Mm-hmm. Mandy Holmes: And so I created a 60-minute course, and it's called Sponsor My Athlete, and it teaches you exactly what I've spent the past two and a half years figuring out. What emails to send, who to send them to, what to ask in the meetings, what's a reasonable ask. And I will be candid. One gentleman who I had test the course when I was writing it, he was able to get $4,500 of cash sponsorships within the first month of doing this for his kiddo. And now his kiddo has to file taxes, you know, and do all the things. But it's a great opportunity to kind of like tre- treat it like your child's first job. You know, they're gonna hear no. They're gonna go to the meetings with you. They're going to have an input in, "Oh, I love this restaurant. We should reach out to them." And it's cool to see because they're, they're part of the sponsorship journey. They're controlling who we're asking, what we're asking for. You know, it's very driven by the kiddos, which is like just a side benefit that I didn't even think of until we started doing the course and hearing the success stories from other families. Brad: For sure, yeah. Teaching a little bit of business acumen can't be a bad thing for kids, right? So it's it's fantastic. I think all around there's, there's a lot of wins associated with this. And then what's your... You know, w- how, how should folks reach out to you, your social media handle, or, or what's, what's the best way to reach out to you? Mandy Holmes: Yeah. So my social media is Carpool to Contracts, because that's what we're doing here. We're driving carpool to get the contracts. But the website for the course is sponsormyathlete.com, and it's, like I said, a 60-minute quick course. They can download it there. You can watch it with your sports friends. I've had moms, you know, go in on it together, and they all gather and watch it together. Brad: fantastic. Mandy Holmes: And it will give you all the emails, all the DMs to send. It's really, really pl- cut and paste. So you just Brad: Before Mandy Holmes: it out, change it up for your athlete, your sport, and then it's really just easy. It does its job. Brad: I let you go, I know, you know, my whole thing is let's keep it to five questions, but I do like to slip in a bonus question. So... And Mandy Holmes: Okay. Brad: thought this would be a good one for you. What's one mistake that you see parents of players or teams that are making when they're trying to raise money, or they're trying to get sponsorships that can actually hurt their chances of getting support? So something they should probably stop doing. Mandy Holmes: Yeah, I would say teams usually, or individuals, make it more about them- And not what the business gains from partnering with them. So that's when it all comes back Brad: That's Mandy Holmes: branding. You know, you're not sending the email saying, Brad: good advice. All Mandy Holmes: I have $2,000?" Brad: right Mandy Holmes: this collaboration. We can come in and tape content for your social media channel." You know, whatever you're offering, it's the good old-fashioned what's in it for you approach, and that's what people forget. And follow up. Always follow up. I had a business owner the other day tell me that she gets probably 50 solicitations a day, but it's the ones that follow up and show how persistent they are and that they really wanna work with that company that she, you know, will typically donate to. It was an IV bar, and so she gets people all the time, but she's like, "The ones that really, really follow up and keep bugging me and leaving me messages at my front desk," and she's like, "Those are the people I call back because it's not just a mass email to everyone. They, they really do wanna work with you." So it's all in the follow-up. Don't think you're being annoying. You're probably just getting lost in the shuffle so you wanna make yourself stand out. Brad: For sure, and I think that translates well to youth sports too, right? You show some dedication and some effort, and usually things can pay off for you, so that's, that's really good advice. Well, Mandy, thank you so much. I appreciate it. I know that the folks that are listening and watching the podcast here are gonna walk away with some valuable insights. I would encourage everybody to reach out to you. Thank you for your time, so much. Mandy Holmes: Thank you for having me. This was great. Brad: All right, if this episode helped you, share it with another coach or parent who's figuring things out, too. You can find Uncoached and this episode wherever you listen to podcasts. You can watch the episode on YouTube, and make sure to follow The Coaching Dad on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. We'll see you next time on Uncoached.