Questions on sponsoring anglers. Field and Pro Staff

I own a small bait company and sponsor a bass club currently. I was wondering about what field and pro staff anglers are receiving as compensation. Are there discounts, freebies, what do your sponsors do for you, etc...? Just curious at the moment so I can start setting up my sponsorship program since most posts are about individuals seeking sponsorship and its hard to find things about what the company actually does for you. Thanks for the help and feel free to respond here or pm me!

From the guys that I know that are on some prostaff deals, they receive a certain amount of credit each year towards purchase of lures/baits. I've even heard of companies limiting them to "x" amount per month of that amount. For example, they get $1,000 in product for 2018, but they can only order up to $100 per month. I guess this keeps a guy from getting all the product up front and then not fulfilling his obligations throughout the year. It also prevents a small company from having to deal out a lot of free product all at one time.

If you're serious about setting up a prostaff, I would suggest some guidelines for someone to qualify such as:
- Have a Facebook page with a minimum of 1,000 followers
- Make a specified number of posts on the FB page per week or month mentioning your company
- Wear a company provided patch on their jersey in "x" number of tournaments (must weigh in fish)
- Company sticker on truck, boat, etc
- Put together "x" number of videos to be used on social media promoting the company
- Require the prostaffer to visit retailers where the lures/baits are sold and visit with key people
- Require the prostaffer to attend trade shows, grand openings, etc where your product is sold to increase the presence of your brand

Good luck with your company.

That's a start!

Thanks for the great info! That’s what I was thinking for the most part and wanted to double check. Didn’t want to offer something up and feel like I’m getting stiffed or I’m stiffing someone else. From what I understand about field staff it’s just discounted items and what not.

Only "issue" is about weighing fish, or perhaps where you finish.
I've fished against a guy for several years that is sponsored by "X" company(s). He has weighed more than my partner and I only a couple of times and rarely gets a check. However, he is extremely personable and is well liked by everyone. Always smiling, talks to anyone and promotes the products he is backed by. Don't know of anyone who considers him a "stick", including himself. Yet, imo, he is the perfect representative of the companies who he represents.
So, it's not always about weighing fish..

And not to make light of the OP's question..but if you have a cool logo/artwork there are a ton of guys who will add it to their jerseys just to look cool.

+1

a lot of the good promotional guys aren't that good in tournaments

and a lot of your good tournament anglers do not want to divulge their baits or techniques

You need to look for good salesmen not good fishermen

Throw me a Lamborghini my way and I'll pimp just about any fishing product.

Lol

When I review ProStaff requests I am looking at the marketing aspect of the Angler. It is nice if they are successful, BUT some of those guys couldn't promote a "glass of water in a desert"! We look for professional people who take pride in their abilities. Correct spelling on resumes and articles/blogs, appearance, good character, etc. Having said that- Most prospective anglers asking for sponsorship are just looking for FREE STUFF! Most of them think that JUST wearing a Logo on their shirt is sufficient. But there are also other options to help promote the Sponsor Company. With all the free Social Media availability there is no reason that staff should not make some posts. Some companies are at different levels in the fishing market. They might be trying to establish themselves so their requirements can be more of a "salesman" approach. They might require their Staff to contact and make sales calls. Other companies might be established and are looking to expand their visibility and recognition. So they don't require the "Salesman" approach. Each company has to decide where their budget/products can be utilized best with their Staff personnel. Some companies are just looking to have their Staff as purchasers of their products and thereby guaranteeing the company sales through the ProStaff approach. You also need to consider the "sponsorship" of events/agencies/organizations and how much you can contribute. Those can be "indirect" marketing and visibility approaches. They might help your sales later on as your products get recognized. Sometimes they will let you set up a booth at their events for direct sales.
Dustin, you will have to look at your products and how much/many you can afford to "give away". The prospects always want stuff for free. And you will have to consider what they can contribute vs how much product/discount you can give them.

It is important to find the right fit. Most fisherman want to be on a pro staff so they can call themselves sponsored and get free stuff without doing the work. Find someone who truly believes in the product and has that “what can I do for you” mindset.

Plenty of people that will do whatever they can for a couple of free jigs a year

I've been sponsored by Rockford Fosgate, Focal, and Alpine, as well as many others in years past. Trust me, the companies expect a TON in return in exchange for anything of significance. The only one that kinda doesn't expect a HUGE amount of your time is Optima (Johnson Controls). The average "sponsorship" deal isn't beneficial to either party involved on an enthusiasts level. It just doesn't make sense or cents.

My wife was sponsoring me until she became my ex, but I really haven't noticed a drop in tackle, lures or gas for the boat.

I can’t catch fish, I don’t do book face, I don’t want a patch on my jersey, truck or boat, I don’t own a go pro for videos, no idea what a trade show is, and even if I did, I damn sure wouldn’t do any of that for $100 worth of free junk a month. So, I guess I’m out......

Well that was a positive post.

Everyone, thanks for the feedback! It's great to hear a few different perspectives on this topic, especially since there is not a whole lot of discussion on this side of the sponsorship.

Love this!^^^

That's exactly how I feel about pro staff. I see people on here all the time with pro staff for XXX in their signatures. Really doesn't mean a thing to me when I think about choosing a lure to buy. I have no idea what these people may or may not know about fishing, just that they probably add that so they can get some free stuff. When I see someone in a video or whatever talking about a lure and once they tell me that they are pro staff for the company, their recommendations mean zero to me because I feel their opinions are bought. When I see Joe Blow with no affiliations to any company making recommendations, I listen quite a bit more.

Unless it's someone who has a proven background of knowing what he is talking about and a huge following ( I know then they would be too expensive) why waste your money on nobodies representing you?

Somebody please post the link to the video. I can’t find it

From a business prospective, it's all about getting your brand out there. If you can find a few guys that are decent and that can place in a few tournaments here and there and fish often with your logo out there, it helps with the brand recognition. Not all anglers will look to someone and think "wow I need what they have" however, if you can convert a few others and they tell their friends then it will help grow. Honestly, baits are extremely cheap to manufacture and once you get your cost down its not a big deal to give some away to get followers. I just want to see how the other side of sponsorship looks like since I have no intentions of becoming sponsored myself and may open the door to others down the road for my company. I come from a sales background and I'm sure yall are aware of how many requests come through saying that they can do this or that to increase my sales with no intentions of doing anything they say besides getting free stuff... People love my hats and straight up ask for a hat sponsor for free hats all the time.

Found it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzwF72B2F2w

^^^^ that was Good!! and the other one that showed up as related when she was wanting to go shopping the dad was faking sick to go fishing was even better!!

LMAO still cracks me up every time I watch this

that video! sums up a lot of people I have met!

Just checked your website. Nice looking baits

He also has some nice apparel!

Dustin, I'll play the devil's advocate. You mentioned that you come from a "sales background" but do you have any experience in advertising and marketing? What is your particular niche or the compelling value of your offer? Do you have a marketing strategy and plan - it's all about impressions and influence. If you'd like more probing questions and candid discussion, contact me. Good luck sir in your endeavor...

Ronnie, you are too funny!

I fished for a living for several years and also worked for a couple large regional bait companies as their sales rep. So I've been on both side of this equation.

Bait companies have all different levels of sponsorship:

1. They allow an angler to purchase product at a 40-60% discount on their stuff in exchange for the angler to promote them at tournaments and shows. Boat & tackle shows used to be popular but they have all but gone away.

2. They give the angler Free product in exchange for the angler promoting their product. The amount of Free product varies greatly based upon the recent successes of the angler and how marketable he may be. This is the most popular form of sponsoring and the majority of guys that are "sponsored" are done so in this fashion.

3. They give the angler XX dollars worth of Free product every year to endorse their products. The amount varies widely depending on the activities of the angler. If he is fishing local events, then the amount might be $1,200 a year in Free product based upon "dealer cost pricing." If the angler is a full time guide and/or fishes some larger events like Champs, the amount may be $2-$4K annually in product.

4. They give the angler XX dollars worth of Free product every year and a check to endorse their products. Most regional bait companies are too small to do this level of sponsorship. These are the guys that have made the Bass Master Classic at least once in their careers and have proven to be marketable.

I found this article from Bass Master Magazine. This article is almost 12 years old!!

Consider the total sponsorship dollars that these top-echelon anglers earned in 2006:

• Skeet Reese $600,000

• Gerald Swindle $515,000

• Kevin VanDam $500,000

• Jason Quinn $400,000

• Michael Iaconelli $370,000

• Marty Stone $320,000

Keep in mind that this is just income from sponsors. It does not include tournament winnings or residual income from doing seminars (which can bring as much as $5,000 a day) and other public appearances.

https://www.bassmaster.com/news/show-me-money

With the way Facebook and YouTube is these days, I wouldn't waste my time with tournament anglers or worrying about your sticker being on a boat that is covered in everyone else's [censored]. I would find a kid on YouTube that is cranking out videos that people are actually watching and I would give him lures out the wazoo, that is your next bill dance or Jimmy Houston gold mine.

[b][/b]

Good Luck Dustin May I add that another creature bait to your arsenal would help. Not sure what your plans are on hard baits either. but would love to chat. BTW I'm not looking for sponsorship just looking to help

Thanks!

I have a creature bait mold headed in similar to the rage bug sometime this week. I have a long way to go product wise but for only being open for 4 months I have liked the progress so far. Hard baits I am still cautious about. Pricing is the key on the hard baits. Most custom cranks I have seen are very detailed and in return expensive compared to what you can get at the store, most people will not want to buy a bait that they can get cheaper somewhere else regardless of quality. No disrespect to the guys that make them, they are some of the sweetest cranks I have seen, it just doesn't fit right now due to pricing and time required to make them concerns. My key was starting out with softs then adding lures that made sense business-wise until I get a full line-up that rotates in and out. Most baits are just bought via mold sites but I will be adding my own custom creations once the business gets going and hopefully switch to a full custom line, as the case with natural forage baits.

Ain’t it the truth .