How to Get Sponsored by Vision Wheel

Vision Wheel has been making wheels for decades, but for most of that time almost nobody knew its name. Todd Robinson, Vision's director of sales and marketing, came from the sales side and talked the owner into putting the brand on race cars. Today its wheels race in desert, short course, UTV and dirt track racing. Robinson has told my Summits and Meet the Sponsors audiences exactly how the company decides who gets on that list.

A family company that needed a name

"A lot of people know that we're almost 50 years old, but a lot of people have never heard of us because we made wheels for other logos," Robinson said. When Vision decided to market its own brand, it started with sponsorship. Its first sponsored driver was Rob MacCachren, signed at the Frozen Rush in Maine. ▶ Watch Todd Robinson tell the story

From the start, the deals had to work both ways. "We decided to look at teams that we could help that would help us too, because obviously it's a two-way street," he said. "You have to make decisions based on the ROI for the company." ▶ Watch the clip

The owner keeps him honest. On a Meet the Sponsors webinar, Robinson said, "I got to prove to him every day that every dime we spend on this side comes back to $10 bills on the other side." ▶ Watch the full webinar

Being family-owned also shapes who fits. "We know there's some guys out there that are a little bit risky," he said. "Probably can't put those in our family portfolio." ▶ Watch the clip

What Vision looks for

For race support, Robinson described the target simply: "We look for teams that fit in good with us, you know, good family, good team, want to grow their own... brand." For influencers, he wants "people that are just good people, great to be with, will promote the brand very well." ▶ Watch Robinson on what Vision looks for

Your other sponsors matter too. "A lot of it also has to do with their partner companies too, because if you take a look at your marketing budget, you only get X amount to spend," he said. Vision distributes BFGoodrich tires, so teams on both brands let the companies share branding and stretch the money. Vision is pushing to be more of a lifestyle brand, but "our foundation is with race teams. We are a performance company." ▶ Watch the clip

Big wins count for more than steady points. "It's almost more value winning the bigger races than coming in third and trying to win a series sometimes," Robinson said. He also values a team's image, such as a wrapped semi instead of a pop-up tent, because he has to sell the program to owners who aren't at the track: "Having those visuals... showing a wrapped truck trailer in different circumstances goes a long way." ▶ Watch the clip

He also wants racers who behave well away from the track. "You have to perform on the track, you have to perform in the desert, but you also have to be a good ambassador for the sport too." ▶ Watch the clip

How Vision builds its budget and scores teams

Vision's budget process is unusually informal. "We go to Roger, who owns it, and we ask what's the budget, and he's never given us a number. He said, what do you guys want to do?" Robinson said. The team builds the plan and then measures results: "We do have a scorecard. We look at wins, we look at the type of team." ▶ Watch Robinson on the budget

Loyalty is policy. "Make sure we take care of the guys that are taking care of us," he said. "I don't want to be that company that has, we're on this truck next year, then this truck, then a different truck." Instead, "I want to be faithful to the guys and help their brand grow as we grow too." ▶ Watch the clip

As for money, Robinson said that in desert or short course, "a good sponsorship would be $25 to $50,000," with some above that. Vision also runs a racer program that gives unsponsored racers a good price on wheels. ▶ Watch Robinson on deal size ▶ Watch the clip on the racer program

And the roster is never closed. "We're definitely not full, because just racing, just like everything else, it's fluid," he said. With only two owners to pitch, a good idea that fits "in the budget, let's do it, why not." ▶ Watch the clip

Almost every deal starts with networking

Vision gets dozens of sponsorship emails a week and looks at some of them. "Send emails, it can't hurt," Robinson said. But thinking through his paid athletes, he couldn't find one that came cold: "I don't know that any of them didn't come into play through networking." ▶ Watch Robinson on emails and networking

Cam Reimers is a good example. Robinson knew him from off-road, where a race weekend is mostly time in the pits: "You have three days worth of racing with everyone, and there's about two and a half to three hours total where you're actually racing." Reimers raced Pro Lite, a class Vision didn't make wheels for, so "we told him for a couple of years, we can't sponsor you, sorry, we don't have wheels." What kept Reimers on the radar was his program: "He's probably one of the best professional looking teams in off-road." When he moved to dirt track racing, the deal came together because "we're already past the stage of getting the deck." ▶ Watch the full webinar

Reimers described it from his side: "I knew just from meeting Mike and Todd, I'm like, man, I like these guys, but what I've got doesn't really align with where they're at right now. But later down the road, there's maybe going to be a time that that comes up." In dirt track racing, he could offer something real: "You've got Vision Wheel on all the tow rigs there." ▶ Watch the full webinar

Your checklist for Vision Wheel

• Show how your program pays Vision back in wheel sales and brand growth, not just logo space.
• Meet Vision's people at the races and keep the relationship going even when your class doesn't fit their wheels yet.
• Run a professional-looking operation, from your rig to your pit, so Robinson can sell you to the owners.
• List your partner brands, especially BFGoodrich and other tire companies Vision works with.
• Target the big races, where a win carries the most weight.
• Be a team Vision wants to stay with for years, because it would rather renew than switch.