Sponsor poaching... (1 Viewer)

[Ramjet]

I know it's not exactly the same, but this is a subject that comes up in my business a lot. Kind of like the reddit AITA forum.

I have always believed that if Fred is the announcer at Dragway 1 and makes $10, that if I go to the track manager and say I'll work for $9 that's pretty sleazy.

But if the track manager calls me and says: I want you to work for me. And I give him a price to work the event and then hires me, I haven't done anything wrong. He is obviously not happy with Fred and looking to make a change.

I don't know the situation here, but if I need a clutch guy and put the word out that I'm looking, and paying $10, and a clutch guy making $9 for another team wants to work for me, I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.

And I certainly understand that sometimes guy gets a shot at a smaller team to prove his ability and is good. Then a bigger team makes him an offer, is it that wrong for him to take it?

I love what I do, but if NASCAR called tomorrow and said: "We will pay you double to work for us," I would certainly entertain the offer. Who wouldn't?

Alan

And one more thing. If someone has asperations of working his/her way of to eventually be a Crew Chief and changing teams seems to help that more than where they are now it may be a good career move.

 

[T.Smith]

I bet none of the crew members leave over the money. They leave because there is something about the team they don't like.

I wouldn't make that bet. Money is always a factor, just in different ways.

 

[drag racer]

Alan,

PLEASE DON'T go work for NASCAR

 

[Timmer]

Back when Southpoint Circle was lined with fuel teams, guys would go down the street for $50 a week.

 

[Jim]

I wouldn't make that bet. Money is always a factor, just in different ways.

Money is always a factor but crew members are no different than any other employee. If they have a job they like, they will not switch to another team for 10% more. Show enough money and just about anyone will change jobs. But I just don't see that happening.

 

[vern]

We had a small local ARCA team land Pedigree dog food as sponsor for a NASCAR Cup car. They owned a dog food and pet supplies business. Roush swooped in and took it and crushed their dreams. Total bummer.

 

[mick]

had a smaller TF team mention to me quite a few years ago, that they had a rather large tech company ready to help them, but other parties were calling on them
before they could even hammer out their own deal. it never happened.

 

[BlueStangGT]

I was sitting in Gilby's office one day when he got a phone call from a guy wanting to speak to the owner of Trick Tank. Gilby picked up the phone and the voice on the other end told Gilby that he had a funny car team and could do a better job representing Trick Tank at the drag races than the current team he was sponsoring. Gilby chuckled and told the caller who he was and he'll continue to sponsor himself. Then Gilby pipes up and says if you want the Trick Tank sponsorship why don't you by the company? I couldn't hear the reaction on the other end of the phone but it made Gilby belly laugh. The caller? Don Schumacher...

As soon as I read the article, I knew this story was going to be re-told... classic.

 

[GumbyWVU]

What was the deal with FireAde dumping their sponsorship of Larry Morgan (in 2015 I believe) and going to DSR? That always seemed a bit off - and a bit crappy - to me.

 

[Butch]

I was going to stay out of this however just so everyone knows it's just not other racers. Permit me to explain a few things that happened to our team from 1981-1993. We landed Stack-On products as a major sponsor, the marketing sales/manager gave me a contact for his old college roommate who was high placed at Fel Pro. As a result we also got a Fel Pro sponsorship. At Indy 1986 the owner of the Stack On and his marketing/sales manager flew down in the sales managers private plane. People saw them hanging with us in the pits and going to the starting line. That night our team was taken out to dinner at a nice down town steak house by them. I was somewhat surprised at the number of top ten teams that were also there. After dinner everyone went to the bar for a few drinks several racers were there. The week after Indy I went to Stack-On corporate headquarters for our monthly meeting. To my surprise the owner handed me four full blown proposals from other races all said they could do more for them with less money. I questioned how they would know how much our marketing partnership was worth and his response was "each one of these people came up to me in the bar after you left, each asked how much we were paying you and asked for my business card, of course I made up a number". A few days later I received a call from my Fel Pro contact stating "we still have a deal and I will continue next year but please down size our logo next year, I never realized how many back stabbing crazies are out there they are driving our motorsports people nuts". It's not just the racers permit me to explain at the same time I was working on the Stack On sponsorship I was also working on a few other companies. One of our chassis shop customers mother was the personal assistant to a well known CEO/founder of a well known fortune fifty company. She landed me a chance to make a proposal presentation. I left the meeting with a hank sponsorship. Like an idiot and being naive I sent the announcement into NHRA and asked them to hold it until all the paperwork was signed. Three days later I received a phone call from my CEO/founder informing me that NHRA had reached out to them and suggested they go with someone else who had "deeper pockets" and was "running a proven engine combination not trying to reinvent the wheel by running something not the norm". They stayed in the sport for a few years before leaving. I learned the hard way so to all those currently racing give your sponsors more than you promise, don't tell anyone what a sponsorship is worth and abpve all don't trust NHRA.

 

[DanTheFan]

I know it's not exactly the same, but this is a subject that comes up in my business a lot. Kind of like the reddit AITA forum.

I have always believed that if Fred is the announcer at Dragway 1 and makes $10, that if I go to the track manager and say I'll work for $9 that's pretty sleazy.

But if the track manager calls me and says: I want you to work for me. And I give him a price to work the event and then hires me, I haven't done anything wrong. He is obviously not happy with Fred and looking to make a change.

I don't know the situation here, but if I need a clutch guy and put the word out that I'm looking, and paying $10, and a clutch guy making $9 for another team wants to work for me, I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.

And I certainly understand that sometimes guy gets a shot at a smaller team to prove his ability and is good. Then a bigger team makes him an offer, is it that wrong for him to take it?

I love what I do, but if NASCAR called tomorrow and said: "We will pay you double to work for us," I would certainly entertain the offer. Who wouldn't?

Alan

Well said. When I was in a corporate environment for a large company, we never directly went after another company’s help. And we expected many companies to do the same ( not always). But anyone with aspirations to move up in pay or job who comes to you is fair game. That’s how you get ahead, not by waiting for your next 3% raise.
Alan, don’t go to NASCAR, they just go in circles..…..

 

[Randy]

Back when I was racing TA/FC I had a friend who managed a car dealership in So Cal then eventually owned a very successful Chevrolet dealership in the north bay area. He would help me out financially from time to time, and I always had the name of the dealership somewhere on my car. More than once he would call me to tell me that one of my fellow racers had submitted a proposal telling him their team could do more than I was doing for him only for less. Sometimes he even sent me their proposals so I could get a look. The kicker one year was when a multi purpose track that hosted an NHRA national event and divisional race located not far from his dealership in the bay area contacted him and said something to the effect of "Why sponsor a car when you can have your name displayed at the track for the same money?" not knowing whether he ever gave me anything. Pigs they are.

 

[Jim]

There was a big board meeting at Coca-Cola a few years ago. During the meeting, the CEO of Coke said:

"You know, I would really like to see Kevin Strazinski drinking Coca-Cola, but he's been drinking Pepsi for years so we are not going to try to sell him Coke. That wouldn't be fair to Pepsi."

Of course, the board of directors agreed.

 

[mikebcurve]

There was a big board meeting at Coca-Cola a few years ago. During the meeting, the CEO of Coke said:

"You know, I would really like to see Kevin Strazinski drinking Coca-Cola, but he's been drinking Pepsi for years so we are not going to try to sell him Coke. That wouldn't be fair to Pepsi."

Of course, the board of directors agreed.

Wow, that’s not like Coke management I experienced at the regional level.