Make sure your partnerships are a two way street.

http://www.yakangler.com/blogs/on-the-line/item/3588-selling-out-for-20-and-a-t-shirt

You get $20? I was only askin $10.

Gotta raise your rates.

This sadly goes on a lot!

I don't know. I'll play a little devils advocate here just for fun. People pursue pro staff positions for different reasons. But let's not kid ourselves: a lot of it has to do a certain "status" or "credibility" that being on a pro staff affords. Many guys have been fishing, winning tourneys, blogging, you tubing for years and have already earned that promotional "cred" with a company, so it only makes sense that they're on a pro staff. Others are brand new to the sport, but would like to be "certified" as a serious kayak angler. Along comes a pro staff position, they apply, an offer like the one mentioned is made, and boom they've got instant "status". The 20% discount and tee shirt aren't really what they were after anyway, so that's just icing. It's actually not a bad deal if you look at what the staffer was going for in the first place. If they "hold out for more" when they really don't have any real qualifications other than they really really want to be on a pro staff, then the company will pass on them and sign the next guy on the list. So it makes sense to sign for 20 bucks and a tee.

Lots of great anglers on pro staffs who are there because they've fished hard and sometimes won tourneys or somehow proven themselves as skilled practitioners of the sport. Many others are on staffs because they've been blogging/facebooking or making videos for a while. Then there are the rest: guys who are pretty new to the sport but made it clear how much promotional work they'd be willing to do for the company when they applied. Pro staffs in the kayak world are really nothing like pro staffs in other sports. When someone tells me they're on a pro staff it could mean they have years of experience, or only a few months. It is what it is and once you realize that, you just move on. My point: if a guy wants to accept a deal like that, so what? I wouldn't, but why do I really care if they do?

Great points Tom! What I have learned over the course of time is that it's a relationship business. You may have to accept a deal to get your foot in the door and prove that you can represent, video and promote. Once you have established the relationship and have proven yourself most of the time there is room for advancement as the majority of ProStaff guys have no clue as to what it really takes to be bumped through the ranks. The issue I believe that Chris may be referring to is that if guys continue to accept less, companies realize they don't have to give more. I return to my point of the relationship business where you get in, do what your asked, cause zero drama and let your talents rise above. Once you have established that you can do what you say you can do then your market value goes up. It's like any job where you start at the bottom for noting and by hard work you are promoted through the chain.

This is what I was thinking was the issue. Because if everyone held out for more pro staff positions in general they would give more (theoretically) JMO...I'm not pro staff but some positions I am aware of wouldn't even pay minimum wage if the time put in was calculated into the return. Makes me wonder why bother? On the other hand some positions on pro staff teams do a very good job of growing the sport witch is evident in the continual growth. So there are two sides to the coin...

Another thing learned along the way is that there is really no money in bass fishing. You do the ProStaff gigs because you enjoy promoting the products. You never know, someone may see your work and dedication and say we need a guy like that and then you could end up living the dream!

I'm to the point of burn out right now. When I start to see people lie about how long they've been in the sport and "look at how great I am" attitude it makes me wonder if I was view like that at one point. I know at one time when I was doing really well (big fish and tournament wins) I may have been big headed. I've had time to step back and take a really good look at myself and everyone in the sport. I'll continue to take a break and try to just enjoy life and spend as much time with my son as possible on the water. Don't get me wrong, if I catch a big toad, I'll be posting on here or in the bass section.

People can sell their time for whatever they deem fair value. Zero dollars or $1M. Why it matters to me is because I get asked daily about discounts, pay, reimbursements etc. and how to handle a bad situation they are already in. Too many people think a small discount is the going rate and are willing to accept that AND a non-compete. For some it is ok but there is more. I really want people to be smart about it, not just get juiced up because an offer came in, especially when that offer eliminates the possibility of you being able to be on additional pro staffs. The game is getting more complex and I am trying to bring transparency. If someone wants that deal and that's all they want, perfect! If someone wants more and didn't know that they'd be prevented from doing X,Y and Z while having to promote non-stop, that is not so perfect. Just pulling back the curtain a little to help at least one person ask the right questions before signing their life away.