How to Get Sponsored by Mechanix Wear

Mechanix Wear is one of the few brands in racing that was actually invented in a race shop. The glove started as a fix for a Supercross mechanic, moved into NASCAR pit crews, and grew from there into industrial, tactical and home-improvement markets. Racing is still where the brand lives, and the people who run it are open about what they want from racers. I hosted one of my Sponsorship Summits at the company's headquarters in Valencia, California, and its sponsorship and marketing directors joined me for Meet the Sponsors. Here is what they told racers.

Understand that the glove was born in racing

"Racing is inherent to the brand and its DNA, because it was born out of racing," said Jesse Spungin, president of Mechanix Wear. "The product was actually invented out of a need for race mechanics to have a better experience and better hand protection." ▶ Watch Jesse Spungin explain why Mechanix sponsors

That origin shapes who they back. Compared with a performance-parts brand, Spungin said, "we also really care a lot about the mechanics and the people working on the car." The crew, the fabricator and the racer who wrenches on his own car are all core customers. ▶ See the full answer

Expect product, not a check

Jordan Dole, Mechanix's director of global sponsorships and a former partnership marketing director at NASCAR, was blunt about the inbox. "It's not uncommon for us to get 50 emails or calls to customer service a day about partnering with the company. And we try to respond to almost all of them with at least some level of discount on product, if not free product." Even at the top of the sport, the deal is gloves: "I would say 95, 98% of our sponsorships are all product sponsorships," whether that's NASCAR Cup, NHRA, IndyCar, V8 Supercars or MXGP. "Nine times out of 10, if not more, it's strictly a product relationship." ▶ Watch Jordan Dole on product deals

When I asked how many big checks they had written to someone they'd never met who sent 50 emails, the answer was "zero." ▶ Watch the clip

Send a short introduction, not a price list

Dole said the thing that moves a racer forward "is really a document that helps introduce who they are." Too often, he said, "we'll get an email that says, 'Hey, here's my sponsorship tiers, it's ten thousand, fifteen thousand, fifty thousand dollars,' whatever it may be, and that's it." The better ones send "a short PowerPoint of who the racer is, what they're doing, and who their social following is," along with how they have worked with other brands. ▶ Watch Dole on what gets attention

His list of turn-offs reads like advice for a job application. "Very similar to when you put a resume together, right? You'll make sure things are spelled correctly." He added: "I can't tell you how many times we received emails with poor grammar, misspelled words, and then just asking for a check to be written without a whole lot of background to go with it." The fix: "It's about introducing yourself first versus making a pitch." ▶ Watch Dole on pet peeves

Tag them in content worth sharing

The second way in is social media. Mechanix's social agency watches for people who have worn the gloves for years and tag the brand, and it forwards the best ones to the marketing team. "Whether it's standing out through email with a short PowerPoint or one-sheeter, or creating content on your own on social media and pushing that user-generated content, tagging Mechanix Racing or Mechanix Wear, are great ways to kind of stand out." ▶ See the full answer

The company's director of marketing explained why that content matters so much to them: "User-generated content, at least our perspective, is better than even our own generated content, because it shows authentic, credible use." The glove doesn't have to be the star of the shot. As the marketing team put it, "our philosophy is that we're championing those who work with their hands." ▶ Watch the Mechanix team on content

Audience size isn't the test. "The authentic integration of our product, regardless of if your following's 500 or 500,000, is a benefit to us, certainly, and also a great way to kind of jumpstart a conversation," Dole said. He also told racers to look past the track: "Think about your hobbies outside of motorsports," such as shooting or DIY work on a car, an off-road vehicle or a house, because the brand now makes gloves for nearly every task. ▶ Watch Dole on ambassadors

Plan around their budget calendar, but don't wait for it

"Typically, our budgets are finalized sometime in Q4. We start that process sometime in early Q3," Dole said. That's when partnerships are slotted into the next year's plan. The marketing director added the other half: "It's never a bad time to reach out and see if there's a good relationship there... no reason to procrastinate thinking that Q3 is the right time." ▶ Watch the Mechanix team on timing

Help them sell gloves, then prove it

Mechanix moved away from paying for decals because, as Dole said, "a lot of times it's not the easiest thing to measure." The brand measures sponsorship in two ways. "Content generation and B2B sales are the two big drivers for us from a sponsorship perspective," the team explained. The B2B question is simple: "How can we connect our sponsorship to sales activities?" If one of your sponsors is a retailer or a large contractor whose vendors buy gloves through Mechanix's distributors, that connection is worth pointing out. ▶ Watch the Mechanix team on ROI

Report back every six months or so. Dole said a good report "will have a highlight of kind of the best content, the content that's delivered the highest engagement. It'll have a list of events that that team or that partner has participated in," proving value "beyond just pictures of, here's the car, here's the hauler." Partners who deliver move up. "After a year of working together, I think it becomes very obvious if the partner has what it takes to take the partnership to the next level or not," the team said, and those who don't "can count on product or product discount, regardless." ▶ Watch the Mechanix team on reporting

Their closing advice was simple: "Patience, a little bit of patience. It's a relationship building process. It doesn't happen overnight." ▶ See their final advice

Your checklist for Mechanix Wear

• Ask for product or a product discount first. That is how nearly every Mechanix partnership starts.
• Introduce yourself with a short PowerPoint or one-sheet: who you are, what you do, your social following and the brands you've worked with.
• Proofread. Spelling and grammar mistakes, or a bare price list, get you skipped.
• Post real content of gloves in use, in the shop, on the trailer or at home, and tag Mechanix Racing and Mechanix Wear.
• Get on their radar before Q3, when next year's sponsorship plans take shape.
• Bring a sales angle: a retailer, contractor or distributor connection that can move more gloves.
• Send a report about every six months with your best content, its engagement and the events you attended.