Inside Formula 1: Business. Lifestyle. Power.
Brian Sims
Brian Sims is one of international sports most experienced and successful sponsorship acquisition exponents, originally for his own professional racing career, before acquiring the ground-breaking multi-million-pound deals that brought FedEx, Marconi and Gillette into F1 for the first time. He then became the Commercial Director of the Benetton F1 Team, until its sale in 2001 to Renault.
Brian was s the Founder in 1994 of the prestigious Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) and is now one of just 4 Honorary Life Members of the Association. In 2018 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Birmingham City University, recognising his outstanding contribution to the UK motorsport industry.
On behalf of the World Academy of Sport, Brian has run many training courses on sponsorship acquisition for World Rugby, the International Cricket Council, Bahrain Olympic Committee and other global sports associations, as well as for the BRDC, Porsche and Ford.
In recent years, Brian has been in high demand as a Guest Speaker, talking about his fascinating 47-year career in motorsport, whilst his current on-line mentoring services on the topic of sponsorship acquisition are proving extremely popular.
His highly acclaimed autobiography entitled “You Don’t Have To be a Champion to be a Winner!” was recently published in paperback.
His website is: www.brian-sims.com
Money, Egos & Speed: A significant deal
I was recently asked by one of the delegates on a sponsorship-acquisition course that I was running, what I considered to be my most significant ever sponsorship deal. I told her that weirdly it was the one I’d secured over…
Money, Egos & Speed: We need more motorsport competitors!
Motorsport competitors! As I’m writing this article, it’s snowing hard and there is a wind chill of around -5 degrees Centigrade. I recall racing in Formula Ford on a snow-lined track at Brands Hatch in the middle of May, so…
The strategy behind… securing a renewal
In my role as a Guest Lecturer for the World Academy of Sport, I deliver sponsorship acquisition training to delegates across a wide range of sports. Their needs are often different, but the one thing that everyone agrees upon is…
Getting your prospect to sell your sponsorship property for you
By Brian Sims | We’ve all met them; sales-people who have the gift of the gab, believing that the more they talk to a potential customer, the more likely they are to do a deal. You see it in their…
The Strategy Behind… being different.
The feedback that I receive from sponsorship-seekers across so many sports tells me that for most people, the toughest part of the acquisition process is getting a meeting with a targeted company at an effective level. Click here to subscribe to…
Using a sniper rifle in sponsorship acquisition
With approximately 5 million businesses in the UK, 1.5 million of which are registered as Limited Companies, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a few interested in becoming a sponsor! Then why am I always being asked by sponsorship-seekers…
The Strategy Behind… saving a company
It’s likely that many motorsport sponsorship-seekers will be targeting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), businesses with an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euros and employing less than 250 personnel. So what’s the right recipe for doing that? Click…
Acquiring sponsorship: selling anti-freeze fluid in Bahrain
Imagine trying to sell vehicle anti-freeze fluid in Bahrain. You’d need a highly imaginative business plan, that’s for sure. Maybe selling children’s books in Japanese from a shop in Slough might be more profitable. But what does this have to…
Time for a level playing field
For me, the saddest comment of 2016 came from a newcomer Lance Stroll, telling us that Williams F1 had offered him a drive based on his talent. I have no doubt the lad sincerely believes this, but the reality is…
Changing to race mode
I’m always a little suspicious when I find it impossible to speak to or communicate with the person at the helm of a business that I have dealings with. I recall being told on one occasion that the Head of…
