off-season work/marketing/sponsorships

[copperhead47]

hey guys! i was jsut wonderin how to make or develope a team that has a high capacity for GP, alot fo sponsorships, publishings, invovled in its society... etc. like- how do we get our message out and be more like a business rather than jsut a whole bunch of HS kids with power tools that builds a fairly good robot every year (i know i know i bragged a little bit) but yall know what im getting at. like what needs to be done in order to be contenders for business model awards and chairman's awards and the like... i know these sort of things happen over years, but next year is my senior year, and the representative from our HS (chuck DiVincenzo) is always focused on the robot and not the business or GP aspect of it. and im worried that our team can never measure up to CyberSonics or Royal Assault (philadelphia Regional Participants) i think that alot of teams can bebefit from them fi they look at their models and image. Im sure that everyone is after the same thing too, jsut lookin to have a freindly image while building the best robot. Granted its very tough. so kudos to the teams that can do that (such as 399 from california- they hav a good well known image, and they arde very involved- they flew out from CA to the Phil. Reg. and the people i talked to from that team were very freindly. you know they have so mcuh influence- they were one of the teams that visited with their Senator which was very cool) anyway- im off on a tangent. I could go on and on about the teams that i saw and how impressed i really am. any ideas or advice or help would be very cool. thanx

[Bharat Nain]

Well, if it is your senior year I'd suggest you choose one award to focus on and work hard at it. Each award is pretty self-explanatory. If teams you respect have won those awards, go check their website and even email them if you have questions. They might help you with it. Get the whole team involved and put them in the center of the effort. This way, they will have fun with it and maybe your school will start caring about the other aspects of FIRST also. Sometimes, people don't care because they don't know. Sometimes, they also don't have the time or don't want to put in the effort. An award like Chairmans does take atleast a couple years of concentrated effort and even then there is no guarantee. However, you have to keep working at it and putting yourself in the pool.

[copperhead47]

thanks for the help and ill definitely check out their sites and stuff. its jsut 1 thing u know- everybody on the team doesnt care about merchandising and getting the name out there. u know theres so mcuh to be had: frisbees, the buttons are the biggest thing but u know theres keychains and all. and im the only 1 that cares bout the team image- but im also an electrical engineer on the team so how do i work on both?

[StephLee]

Originally Posted by copperhead47

thanks for the help and ill definitely check out their sites and stuff. its jsut 1 thing u know- everybody on the team doesnt care about merchandising and getting the name out there. u know theres so mcuh to be had: frisbees, the buttons are the biggest thing but u know theres keychains and all. and im the only 1 that cares bout the team image- but im also an electrical engineer on the team so how do i work on both?

Bold is mine.

Have you thought about attempting to recruit one or two people specifically for imagery purposes? Look in the art classes at your school or (better yet) advertising classes if you have them; find someone who'd be interested in joining the team as a style or image "consultant". They could be in charge of developing and advertising your team's image or theme.

Good luck.

[JaneYoung]

It sounds like you have a good perspective of the direction you would like to see the team develop in. That's half the battle. Having a perspective, a vision, a dream. You have an understanding of Gracious Professionalism and how it impacts the team's interactions with community and other teams. Again, that is half the battle.

It's wonderful, really.

Marketing, branding, promotion can convey these aspects of the team, certainly. The key is for the team to understand and convey them as well. It all works together.

If your team has an introductory meeting for the upcoming season, that is an appropriate time for you to share your thoughts. You can also do some work ahead of time and share them with your mentors and with your team leaders. Tell them that this is important to you and present your ideas. Have your thoughts/suggestions well thought out and be able to 'sell' them. A small intro with some examples would be excellent. Not all of it needs to be comparing yourselves to other teams. That can be a small part of your 'sell' but think about why it is important that your team convey GP and why creating a team image is important to you and therefore to the direction you would like to see the team move in. When you can express that well to your mentors and team leaders, they can help you recruit others to help this area develop. You are the one with the vision, therefore you are the one who has to communicate it to others in a professional manner to get them on board.

And be patient. Developing new areas of the team takes care and takes time. Kudos to you for understanding this aspect of team development.
Jane

[Carol]

I am concerned about your statement on GP. Any team can have GP, no matter the size, no matter if they do nothing but build a robot. And any team can be spirited, helpful, and friendly at competitions no matter what the size.

But teams that you list, and many other similar ones, all had continuity through the years that built strong programs. That is, a group of adults - even one or two - who are willing and able to commit several years to the program. HS and college students (in general, there are exceptions) are too transient and are likely to move on within a few years.

The teams are more likely to meet all year long. Not as much as during build season but they don't take a break from April to January. Can you keep your team together during the summer and fall in order to be involved in community events and fundraising? Or after Atlanta does your team focus on school (AP tests and so forth), all go off to summer jobs and vacations, then doesn’t start thinking about FIRST again until later in the fall?

You also need a large enough team so that there are some people with time enough for other activities. If everyone is focused on the robot who is left for community events? My team is fortunate to have a subteam of non-engineers whose main focus is to organize fundraising, publicity, team logistics and community service. There is also a subteam of several students and one adult who spend most of their time developing the web site. Do you have someone who would focus on these matters and recruit others to participate? Someone who can disassociate from the build process and look at opportunities in these other areas?

You can have a good team without all this but it helps if you want to move up to the next level. If you want to work toward an award, a technical award is based only on the robot and you can certainly concentrate on that. Without an infrastructure in place for the larger non-technical awards you can always select one and aim for that one. Does your team have a business plan in place and sound financial goals? Or have you overcome financial obstacles by creative methods? Then you should aim for the Entrepreneurship Award (the full name starts with Kleiner but I can never remember the rest). Does your team have a distinctive image or theme that permeates throughout your whole program? (Shirts, robot, cart, mascot, etc.) Aim for the Imagery.

Scholarships you can all do individually. They are posted prominently on the FIRST website. Other scholarships you can find by yourself with a little digging – there are plenty of tools online for that. Being involved in FIRST is a big asset in getting these scholarships, particularly if you can get a mentor write a recommendation – and an asset in getting accepted by colleges. We’ve had a lot of students who said that FIRST was mentioned quite favorably by the admissions people at many of their college interviews

But again, none of this is necessary to get value from FIRST. If you want to learn skills, get inspired, be part of a great program, learn valuable life skills, you can do all this with a small team that just has good GP and builds the best robot they can.

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

I would like to use Carol's excellent post as a jump-off point - particularly in the subject of continuity.

As she mentioned, many of the teams with strong long-term models meet year-around. You seem to be searching for a business model for your team, a system that lasts from year to year that helps your team grow.

As a student, work with other students and maybe a mentor or two that will be around (teacher? etc?) on developing a business plan for your team. There are many things to consider, and among those are factors entirely unique to your school, your situation.

Here are some things to consider including in your business plan - each has a short description of things you can consider including (by no means exclusive) as well as a reason it may be useful for future team members.

* Mission statement - I know this sounds like "extra work", but a well-written mission statement can provide a great deal of basic direction to your team, and help you prioritize when difficult situations arise.

* Team Organization - Info on sub-teams, sub-sub-teams, etc, how members are chosen, criteria for discipline, criteria to be allowed to travel as core crew, travel interests and goals, mentors & students info, etc. Varies by team - will likely evolve

* Financial Plan - This should include as much information as you can gather on sponsors, former sponsors, potential sponsors / donors you want, methods for fundraising, allocation of funds, budget, etc. This is a very, very valuable resource for fundraising from year to year, especially if you start off with low funds

* Team History / Event Log of sorts - Try to compile this in a separate binder maybe, and include a summary in your primary manual if you use such a system. It can even be an electronic document. This provides a basis for improvement, and helps educate new members about the team.

* Update capability - Future team members should have the capacity to update the business plan as the team develops and as the environment in your school or region develops

You sound very motivated to help your team grow - I wish you the best of luck both in the competition arena and in your community.

[copperhead47]

wow... jsut wow- no whtat i see all that needs to be taken into consideration it is indeed a daunting task but i feel im up for it. all you guys give sound advice and i thank you very much. my goal this year is at least leave a blueprint for the person behind me cuz i wont b there as a member after this coming year- of course ill try and be there as a mentor and from the sounds of it thats not the only way to be involved in first after HS anyone else have threads on the topic of "after HS FIRST opportunities" or just post what u gotta say, later!