Mary McKay, Pioneer Sports Marketer: Know Who You Are

Sports Marketing pioneer Mary McKay, President, Access Brand Management, shares with Pro Mindset host Craig Domann her entry into sports marketing with Walter Payton, her full immersion in representing Emmitt Smith, Tony Romo, Chad Hennings and several other Dallas Cowboys. Mary transitioned from working for Sears and looking for a spokesperson (Walter Payton) to working with famous motivational speaker Zig Zigler to working full-time with athletes helping them find the best fit for their passions off-the-field.

Mary shares her perspective on what the most successful athletes have in common – they make family a priority and they know who they are. On the other side of the spectrum, the players whose careers are headed to an end usually are the ones who believe their own PR and the hype.

Mary is very fond of her relationship with Sweetness Walter Payton and she says what make him special was he put others first and it’s no accident that the NFL Man of the Year Award is named after Walter.

She tells stories about Emmitt Smith and his zeal for learning about real estate and electronics and so she connected him with companies in those industries. She got Tony Romo his first marketing opportunity when he was still on the bench with the Cowboys. Lastly, she claims Sears paid Walter Payton more money one season than the Chicago Bears did as he exemplified the slogan “satisfaction guaranteed or your money back”.

Finally, Mary talks about Zig Zigler’s key to success was his ability to talk “to” his audiences rather than talk “at” them and this meant he spoke at a 7th grade level, as well as, he touched people’s souls.