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06-13-2007, 11:20 AM
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| Member Rep Power: 12258    Posts: 58 Join Date: Nov 2006 |  Marketing yourself Sarah, Welcome to the forums. I have a question about marketing and getting sponsorship. How does one go about getting a sponsor? I'm sure that having a good pool game, good looks and a sense of business must help, but what is the best way for an upcoming player to get a sponsor? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Dezi |
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06-14-2007, 08:24 AM
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| Member Rep Power: 12354 Posts: 59 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orlando | Quote:
Never think about what you want, always think about what you can offer and why a company should sponsor you! Put yourself in their shoes, and be honest with your answer, then critique it to a yes. | |
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06-18-2007, 11:20 AM
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| Member Rep Power: 12258 Posts: 58 Join Date: Nov 2006 | Quote:
I wrote this several times and took it down because it didn't feel right. Please keep that in mind as you read. As far as my game, I don't get to travel to tournaments so much because I'm in grad school and the profs have a nasty habit of handing us weekend assignments, so until school is done, I'm not to sure about traveling to tournaments. It's pretty hard to travel to smaller tournaments because I don't have a car (woohoo public transportation) and would have to get a ride. None of the girls want to go and that would leave me getting a ride from one of the guys and that would introduce a new set of problems. I do play little 25-35 player handicapped tournaments locally. I've been winning "lunch money" for a while now and I'm the second highest ranked player locally. There's a guy that's a 11 and I'm a 10. I can consistently perform an array of shots, safeties, banks, jumps and other shots. I break pretty hard. One of the guys brought a "jugs gun"(?) in one time. I guess they use it in baseball to measure pitch speed. I broke about 10-12 times with most being around 23 mph and 3 being over 24mph with me parking my rock. I did run 48 and out playing straight pool the other night. I don't know whether or not to count that because we were only playing for $20. I do gamble, with both men and women when possible. I like gambling because of the rush and the fact that I can make my own hours. I get a stipen, but it doesn't pay everything. This is why I'm asking about marketing, sponsors and earning potential. I did a road trip with a friend on mine this last spring break. She's not local or she would be perfect to go travel with all of the time. She knew some places to play and took me around. I ended up winning almost $2100 on my end. It felt really good to pay some bills with that money. I mostly played guys this time around, which I really don't mind at all. I usually can get a better game with a guy than I can a girl. With women there are so many complications and to be truthful, we're used to getting the game that we want. Most of the time, it's hard to get down with a girl because the game is bad or they just don't gamble. When it comes to what I can offer a company that's a touchy subject. For the sake of analytical conversation, I will list several of my attributes. Now I know why athletes have agents. Who likes to talk about themselves? This is pretty egotistical sounds and makes me feel funny, but here it goes. I'm healthy, young and fairly attractive. I'm 5'9'', 128 lbs and I do not like to miss a workout and I played a lot of sports growing up. Okay, I'm smart (told you this gets weird). I've gained work experience (in the summertime) by selling ads for a newspaper, managed a bar and restaurant, and was an programmer for the state during one summer job. My degree is in engineering. I'm going for my MBA now. Though it would be a "tech" MBA, it would still be an MBA. I have no vices except gambling. I understand that gambling is frowned upon, but it is my best way to earn money right now while I'm in school. My goal is to either get a job using my MBA when I graduate or play pool. To play pool, there needs to be some possible money in it for me. I can't take a huge pay cut just to play pool for a living. I can still use my MBA and play people on my schedule and make good money doing it if that's the case. I noticed that the WPBA isn't publishing there prize money anymore. That has raised some concerns with me. How can I calculate whether or not to take a shot at the WPBA if they don't show us the prize money breakdown? I don't mean to knock the association, but really, what's that all about? The word "professional" means that you do it for a living and for someone like me to be able to make the decision to become a player, they need to know if they're going to be living under a bridge or not because of their choice. It actually makes me wonder about the politics and whether young women like me should be interested in a future in pool and/or the WPBA. I'm surprised that nobody else is saying anything at all about this. This seems to be made to keep those players that are already there in place and to deter any hopefuls like me from coming along, in a way. I mean you had to come from another country but you at least knew how much money was there to win when you made that choice. So you know a little bit more about me now. This is how I think and who I am. I want to help companies with their marketing but I need to know how to find them. I mean that I can rifle through the BCA members and send off information until I'm old and gray. What are they looking for and who's looking? Do they all want something different from each other? Do they only want champions or are some looking for a bargain player? I'm not asking you for a sponsor. I saying that this is really what is on my mind. I may quit pool because it makes very little sense at this time. I may just give up on the idea of becoming a professional. I don't mean to go off, I just would like some advice about this all. I hope that I don't sound too mental. If I missed what you were asking and I just did all of this and it wasn't what you were asking, then I apologize now. Thanks, Dezi | |
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06-19-2007, 09:41 AM
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| Senior Member Rep Power: 38703  Posts: 609 Join Date: Jan 2007 | i'm just a hack but i don't find playing pool professional any different than trying to do anything else professionally. so here's my 2 cents... pool should be your passion and you want to turn pro because it's all you want to do. you can't see yourself doing anything else and being happy. if you're just playing pool to get rich you're better off finding a different profession. i doubt very few players earn the salaries of top executives in this country. i think it's hard to find a sponsor without a "pool" resume. your going to need high finishes in tourneys against good talent. winning $2,100 gambling...great but it's a hustle. did you get weight? what caliber of players are you beating? were they drunk? win a few tourneys with recognizable names - that's saying something. sarah said it best: ...think about what you can offer and why a company should sponsor you! Put yourself in their shoes, and be honest with your answer, then critique it to a yes. |
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07-03-2007, 09:30 AM
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| Member Rep Power: 12354 Posts: 59 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orlando | Quote:
Education should be your first priority. I would say that right now you should concentrate on school and getting your MBA. There's a lot of players on the WPBA tour that hold full time jobs, there's no reason why you couldn't do the same. Right now we only have 8 events, which leaves plenty of time for a full time job. As for why WPBA have stopped publishing prize money, please refer to my online chat. On sponsorship, as you are still in school and you aren't planning on qualifying for the Pro tour anytime soon, plus you don't really play any local events that would add value for a company, or create some media interest, it may be hard for you to capture the interest of a company. If you played regular in a league and you and or your team won your local league championship and you were on your way to a National Championship, then you have something to present to a sponsor. There's some media value there, they can contact the local papers and logo the team up, that's probably your best option. A local beer distributor could be a good fit, then they would be able to do some activation at the big event with their local affiliate. Hope that helps! Sarah | |
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10-31-2007, 12:47 PM
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| Member Rep Power: 12258 Posts: 58 Join Date: Nov 2006 | Brooklynjay, thanks for the advice. I really don't feel that I mustn't have any other options in my life to qualify my passion to be a pro. Also, my schooling is important to me because I feel that having a financial safety net in life is smart, especially if you want to chase a dream that has no definite financial security. With as few tournaments that are worth going to, it's safe to say that one could do both professions. It would be tight with vacation time, practice and being and entry level employee. Sarah, thank you for the advice. I understand the premise, but I do not agree with holding back information as it can be viewed by sponosrs as a severe issue on many levels. I believe that not publishing the prize money is a huge mistake. Young women like myself are not getting all of the information. Many that could bring something to the party, and possibly even advance the WPBA years from now, are turning away because they feel like that are being mislead, non informed, and kept as an outsider by not having open access knowledge that is available in every other profrssional sport. I feel that this is the perfect plan if the current WPBA stars want to be the stars 15-20 years frm now. Promoting the sport should be a concern and the WPBA should try to find the right formula that permits the free exchange of knowledge and information. Otherwise, years from now, the mistakes they're making today will be felt. I want to make it clear that I didn't say that I wouldn't play tournaments. My attitude is clear. For now, I'm flying under the radar and by not going to tournaments, I could do what I love and actually make more money doing it. Doing it in a professional tournament would be a bonus. If I have to match up to make decent money, so be it. Tournaments and a chance to earn a living outside of making a ball is what a lot of players strive for. If you think that this is incorrect, ask them. They all want a check for doing something that doesn't involve making a ball and possible doing something as simple as having their picture on a package containing the product that they endorse. As far as what I can do besides stand beside a product, pose for a picture, or wear a logo in a tournament is market? I'm not a single-talented individual asking to some company to fill my hat with spare change. I'm capable of developing a marketing plan that could lead a company to success. If I decide to play tournaments, I would like to be able track my performance so that a company can actually see what I'm bringing to the table. In short, I want to decide if I want to play professionally. Having everything make sense financially is hard without published payouts. Making a decision to go professional might be the silliest thing a young woman can do unless it's her only option. I feel that the WPBA is shooting themself in the foot and can't see the forrest through the trees. thanks for letting me speak my mind, Dezi |
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10-31-2007, 01:38 PM
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| Senior Member Rep Power: 38703 Posts: 609 Join Date: Jan 2007 | Quote:
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11-01-2007, 09:23 AM
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| Member Rep Power: 12354 Posts: 59 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Orlando | As long as you are happy and healthy, there's no reason you can't do both. Good Luck with your MBA, I know that's a lot of work and very intensive..... Sarah Quote:
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