Want to get your product to pro athletes? I'll give you my simple plan action + real life examples.

?? Attention: Brands ??

Training camp is coming up!

NFL is a few weeks away. Get on this now!?

First, identify who (if any) is already using your product and what team they are on. If none, create a target list of people you think would love your product. Match those players to their respective teams.?

Second, simply google i.e "Arizona Cardinals training camp." Sometimes this will come up with the address right away or you might have to do some digging, but nonetheless, you'll get the address.?

Third, send your product ATTN: "Player Name" to the training camp address. Example from 2017 here...Now, a couple of important points:?

Send it about a week after training camp starts, many players will already receive "training camp ready" packages from their agent or agencies at the beginning. You won't want your package getting lost in the shuffle with these.

Next and most importantly - don't just send that particular player their size or style. Send more for them to pass out to other guys on the team with a note "Here's some for you and the team/your teammate!" This is how you invade a locker room. If you're a high COG product, try to at least send one additional item.

You have to think, how do I take most advantage of this moment? I can never get into an NFL locker room nor can I influence those teammates. So the goal is to eventually have the 'influencer influencing the influencers', with a positive brand filter. This is why you ATTN one particular player.?

At QALO, I literally did this every single season. By the end of my time there, we had a player on all 32 teams, passing out rings to everyone. You wanna know how I know this? We had 100's of images every single season, full of players wearing the ring.?

What do you do with images like this? Use them as credibility to get retail partnerships, i.e Dick's Sporting Goods.?Or use them as proof to their agent that the player(s) loved the product, so now you have leverage to work with them in an official capacity.?

Like I say, seeding is the foundation to any and all future deals. But it's gotta start the right way - as a no strings attached gift - before there's ever any talk of a contract.?Make sure to follow up with each player that receives product and ask how they are liking it over DM (hopefully avoiding their agent).?

Here's additional ideas I utilized: Think about other "influencers" that have direct access to the players? For the NFL, it's the training room staff. For MLB, it's the clubhouse managers. Build a relationship with them and this can unlock major doors for you.

How? They never get attention, seed them your product. Players such as Mike Trout or Carson Wentz had QALO because of relationships like these that I had built.?

I already mentioned the 'training camp ready' packages agencies like CAA put together. More than likely, you'll be one of 6-7 products. You better be the coolest thing in that package or you're getting thrown in the trash. Let this be a bonus strategy if you do it.

To review:

- Identify players & teams

- Get training camp addresses

- Attn: Player Name + handwritten note

- Send product(s) + additional for teammates

- Follow up DM to each player