In the world of mixed martial arts, most fighters have a general idea of ​​what a company is looking for when they sponsor a fighter, or at least they think they do. Most athletes realize that a company is interested in getting their name out there, but they’re not exactly sure what they can do to increase their marketability. Simple as it may sound, if you really understand what a business is trying to do in marketing, you will have a competitive advantage in promoting yourself as a professional athlete.

Most fighters think that the recipe for success as a fighter is simply to be the best. This is anything but true. The best fighters in the world are probably people that you and I have never heard of because they have done a poor job exposing themselves. I bet there is a Tibetan monk who beats up who we consider the best of the best. So, in turn, others who are far from the best are some of the best-known fighters in the business. Any purist mma fan knows exactly where I’m going with this logic. The example that embodies this is Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson. Kimbo became an internet phenomenon by hitting anyone in strange backyards on the streets of Miami, FL and then posting videos of himself doing this on Youtube. Everybody knows now that he’s not the hyped leader of the heavyweight MMA world, he’s more like the best-marketed and recently exposed, most overrated MMA heavyweight fighter in the world. However, what no one can deny is that he made a lot of money marketing and finding his niche in MMA.

So what can a fighter do to increase marketability?

1) Expose yourself. If you have a video of yourself fighting, go online. How else is someone going to effectively match you in a fight? The media are your friends. As they say in business, all press is good press. People want to see the villain crushed just as much as the prevailing heroes do. If you don’t have video, please do so. Even if you are training in your garage with your friends. Make yourself known through the video and tell everyone you contact about the videos.

2) Make a website. I say this to fighters all the time. Link your videos to your site. You have to think of yourself as a small business if you want to be successful. If I told you about my company and I did not have a site, it is possible that I do not put as much credit in my operation, and with good reason.

3) Find your niche and brand your own brand. If you are a big boy, be Big Jon. If you have fast hands, everyone should know you as Fast Fingers Freddy. You understand drift. You don’t have to be a gimmick, but it’s not a terrible idea to have something that sets you apart from other fighters. Look at Kimbo and guys like Phil Baroni. Enough talk.

4) Look at the people you spend your money with; These are your sponsorship dollar goals. If you go to Phil’s subs every day, you’re essentially sponsoring Phil. Phil needs to return some love, but it can’t be seen as a handout.

5) Add value. You have to do everything you can to make your backers happy. Put them on your site. Put them on your shirts, shorts, and even on business cards. Make promotions with them involved. At the end of the day, everyone wants to make money. Make sure your relationship makes business sense to everyone involved.

6) Don’t be afraid to ask. You give people money all the time. Be a salesperson. Sell ​​yourself. Believe in yourself as your product. If you don’t, no one else will.

7) Ask for products instead of money if that makes sense to you too. Businesses may be more willing to trade products instead of cash for obvious reasons. Take it.

So there are many ways to generate exposure. It is also helpful to know how a business thinks about its marketing and what it is looking for when it spends money. A sub-store owner can take the following perspective. If 500 people are going to be in their next fight, they need to know that statistic. People love numbers. Businesses want to see a return on their investment. If they are Phil’s subscribers, Phil can think about how many subscribers he has to sell to get his money back from a sponsorship. That’s where it comes back to the amount of what it charges you for a sponsorship. So if you want a $ 200 endorsement, take that $ 200 divided by $ 7 per sub, which means Phil has to sell 28.5 subscribers to get his money back. If there are 500 people in his fight, he may think he can sell 10 subscribers to his exposure, so an investment that makes sense is closer to $ 70- $ 100. You get the idea. Therefore, because many are great. They have great profit margins in a single transaction. Now if those numbers don’t seem to make sense to your potential sponsor, let them know that general marketing without a direct correlation to sales is good for the product brand. Let your sponsor know that getting your name out to the masses takes time, lots of energy, and that you are a bargain. The sport is very popular and you will make people remember its logo.

These strategies should help you as a fighter in the ever challenging adventure of making money. Good luck and make sure you stand out. You’ve worked too hard now so everyone doesn’t know how good you are and how entertaining you can be as a fighter.