John is married to Lesley, and a father of two (Tyler and Sean). He has been an avid sports person all his life, with a real passion for cricket. John has represented South Australia in Indoor Cricket, participating in 18 National tournaments as both a player and coach, and at both the Men's Open and Masters levels. John has also been heavily involved in the administrative side of Indoor Cricket touring sides, and has gone through the pain and anguish of trying to secure sponsors to help cover some of the costs associated with National Championships. It is from the many successes and failures that John has developed SponsorNeeds.com and this concept of switching the demand over to the businesses, and making the sporting groups adapt their offerings to what the market needs.

John also plays Outdoor Cricket at the Goodwood Cricket Club in Adelaide, and having played sport at various levels over the years and travelled around Australia participating at National Championships, has developed a very strong network of friends and colleagues in sporting organisations around Australia. This makes John the perfect person to help businesses find the right sporting group, team or individual to meet their marketing needs. John works in the IT industry in his day job, and has skills in business development, business consulting, software testing, project management, risk management, public speaking, presentations, contract negotiations and other areas that compliment the skills needed to match businesses with the right sporting groups.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Sporting Group get a Refund of the initial 10% payment if the Business does not provide the sponsorship for some reason?

No. SponsorNeeds.com is providing a matching service and makes every effort to understand the requirements of the Business, and convey these to the Sporting Group. The sporting group then takes responsibility for understanding the requirements and committing to being able to meet them. If during discussions between the Sporting Group and the Business the Business decides not to follow through with their commitment, SponsorNeeds.com cannot be held responsible. Also while the initial discussions may have faltered, this still provides an opportunity for the Sporting Group to continue discussions with the Business and it may eventually lead to a successful sponsorship arrangement. This is also why the 20% matching fee is split into two payments, to minimise the potential impact on the Sporting Group should the Business not provide sponsorship. However it is hoped that all parties will engage in good faith and will not commit to a match unless they are 100% confident of being able to meet their commitments.

What sort of businesses will be involved?

Due to the nature of this initiative, SponsorNeeds.com will initially approach small businesses who may want the opportunity to gain exposure for their products and services through a sporting group, but in the past have not seen the value or couldn't afford what the sporting groups were asking for. So it is likely most businesses will be small operations with a localised focus, however there will be some who are looking for opportunities to advertise on a large scale due to the nature of their services or expansion plans. Southnet will make every effort to verify the viability of each business and qualify their commitment to the sponsorship both financially and in working with the sporting group for the duration of the sponsorship.

How does the Sporting Group pay the Matching Fee?

Payment will be made via Paypal. This provides a level of security for both parties in using a trusted and well known brand for the transaction. Sporting Groups do no need to have a paypal account to make a payment. More information can be found at www.paypal.com.au. If for some reason this is not suitable, discussions on different forms of payment can be had on a case by case basis.

How will SponsorNeeds.com choose which Sporting Group receives the Sponsorship?

SponsorNeeds.com will make contact with multiple sporting organisations at the same time via email, however there will be every effort made to target specific sporting groups based on either their registration information provided on this web site, or by reviewing their club web sites. Discussions will be held on a "first come, first serve" basis, with the first sporting group to respond to my email having the first chance at accepting the offer. Should the sporting group not be able/willing to meet the sponsor's needs, or the business decides that particular sporting group is not suitable for some reason, SponsorNeeds.com will then move on to the next sporting group that replied to the initial request.