Tips on creating a racing sponsorship deck

I know a lot of you are creating motorsport sponsorship decks ready to go out to potential partners. There are a few things I think you need to know in order to nail your deck.

What’s the difference between a sponsorship deck and a sponsorship proposal?

Many people use these interchangably. For the purpose of this article, I’ll clarify what I mean when I say a deck and what I mean by a proposal.

Sponsorship deck - A document that shows your value and offers other information about you and your racing career. Often used to back up a more personalised pitch email.

Sponsorship proposal - Often sent later in the sponsorship sales process. These are more personalised to the particular sponsor and contain the specifics of the kind of partnership you’re proposing (including your sponsorship packages and costs).

In this article, we’re going to be covering a sponsorship deck in particular but you can use the following tips as you create bespoke proposals too.

Lead with the benefits

While a sponsorship deck is designed to give more info about you/your team, it's important to lead with the stuff that will really hook the business. Think about your value and how your work will impact the business.

Keep your bio brief

Busy decision-makers don't have the time to read lengthy walls of text. Keep your bio brief and use bullet points to make the most important points (such as achievements).

Use images to show (not tell) important points

Showing happy sponsors enjoying hospitality is more powerful as an image. Need to show that you're a winner even if someone isn't going to read your bio? Include an image of you on the podium. Want to show off your niche without being explicit about it, use a picture. You get my point.

Use graphs to showcase data

While raw data can be impressive, it can be hard to take in when skim reading. If you can put your data into a graph, it'll make it easier to digest at a glance. You can always provide the raw figures alongside if someone wants to dive a bit deeper into what you're showing.

Include pull-quotes

While a lot of your info might need to be contained in graphs or paragraphs of text, highlight some of the most important points as pull-quotes. These are stand-out points that are separate from the main body of the text.

Testimonials!

It's all good and well you saying how great you are but it holds more weight when a potential sponsor can read it from someone else. Even if you don't have existing sponsors, reach out to journalists, commentators, coaches, etc. who you've worked with before.

Show your value

The main body of your pitch should go into the email you send. The purpose of a deck like this is to give additional info to back up the points you make. But it should be more than just a pretty biography. Every page should show your value in some way. If that value isn't clear, try to make your point more directly. If there's no value in a page, bin it.
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Using Canva

Canva is a design programme with free and pro levels. Even though I know how to use Photoshop and InDesign, I default to Canva every time for decks, proposals, social media graphics, etc. Bascially everything because it’s so easy.

You can start from scratch with Canva but I'd recommend using the built-in templates. I like the look of this one.

All the elements on every page are customisable and you don't have to follow the layout strictly. You can pick and choose which pages suit your needs.

As you scroll through the template above, you can see just how easy it is to read and digest. There are no lengthy paragraphs and it's all backed up by clear imagery.

If you have Canva Pro (which I'd recommend) you can create your own brand kits (colours, logos, fonts), which makes it so easy to change templates like this into your own branding. Even if you just use free Canva, you can easily go through and customise these things.

You can also export Canva presentations as a PDF, present straight from the website (as I do for the live courses I teach), or export to Powerpoint or Google Slides.

I'm a HUGE fan of Canva, so much so that I brought them on board as a partner for the Sponsorship Success Academy. Any Canva links I share here are tracked so if you want to check out the app, feel free to click one of the links in this post - it helps them know who I'm sending their way. (Or click this link to go to the Canva homepage.)

All that being said, I want you to use the platform that works best for you. You can take inspiration from the advice above and use it as you wish. I love Canva but if you're comfortable with Google Slides or another platform, stick with that.

If you want more guidance and a ready-to-go template, check out the Racing Mentor shop.