Decorated apparel comprises the largest segment of the promotional products industry. If you are not selling much apparel with logos, you are missing out on a lot of business. I am surprised at how often we hear distributors say that they don’t sell apparel because they are unsure of how to do it successfully, or they are unsure how to handle getting the products decorated. Here are the top nine tips to know about selling decorated apparel:
1) Your clientele is not buying “apparel!” Customers are buying an end result that can be achieved through the use of decorated apparel. They have clothes at home. Find out what they are trying to accomplish with the decorated apparel. Presenting the right style(s) to help them make that happen becomes much more streamlined when you have identified their desired outcome.
2) People care about the clothes they are going to wear, yet care a bit less about the clothes they are going to give away. If you are selling to a customer who is going to be wearing the apparel, showing samples of the products is likely to help you close the sale. People like to see and feel the garments that they are considering. They have higher confidence in getting the sizes right. They see the quality of the fabric and the garment construction. If you are selling to a customer who is buying apparel for an event, or a situation where the apparel will be given away, they are a bit less personally invested in getting the apparel they want as they may be working with budget limits that move them to a lower quality garment. Remember – find out their “why” and keep that goal in mind as you make product suggestions.
3) You can hit nearly any price point they define. There are so many options now for creating decorated apparel. Small full-color custom art jobs to huge runs of single-color designs, and everything in between. Embroidery, screen printing, transfers, digital garment printing, sublimation, rhinestones, applique, laser on fabric – and even mixing these different applications – the options are endless. The conversation comes down to how many, how soon and how much. They may ask for the moon, most customers do. The secret is getting down to knowing the essentials, and then finding the right products and the right decoration processes to fulfill their needs within their budget and timeframe.
4) Use size scale to estimate group orders. Scale refers to the ratio of quantities/per size – per DOZEN like items. Today, the scale for sportswear is 2-4-4-2. This means out of 12 people, approximately two will fit medium, four will take a large, four will take extra large and two will take 2XL. Scale does not yet reflect S or 3XL sizes. We generally have found them to be equal to .5-1 out of 14, so we use a modified scale that is 1-2-4-4-2-1, same as above plus one will need small, and one will need 3XL. It is always best to review this scale with your customer, especially for the small and 3XL sizes. He or she can usually easily identify the individuals who will require these sizes at the far ends of the spectrum, allowing you to project the correct amounts.
5) There are differences in the scope of available colors, depending on the method of decoration. Inks can be mixed to create an endless array of colors. If you are doing embroidery and applique, you are limited to the available thread and fabric color selections. There are hundreds of thread colors available, but the selection is not infinite like ink. Your embroidery professional will find the closest possible options for your customers.
6) Logos and designs can be placed just about anywhere. If we can get it on the embroidery machine, printer or heat press, we will do it. It is okay to get creative with placement ideas, as long as you do not make promises that your apparel decorator cannot keep. Let you customer know that you will see if the design can go there instead making a promise that can’t be fulfilled. And when you bring the job to your apparel decoration professional, be specific about where the design should be added. A “chest” logo is not nearly as specific as a “left chest” logo.
7) Design sizes matter. The cost of a screen printed design is not impacted by the size of the design. However, the size of an embroidered, appliqued or rhinestone design does impact the cost. Work with your apparel decoration professional to learn how to estimate pricing so that you can quote accurate price.
8) Find a selection of good apparel decoration professionals. There are talented contract apparel decoration professionals all over. But not all apparel decoration professional do contract work, meaning wholesale work. You need a good screen print professional and a good embroidery professional at least. If you need help finding a good contract embroidery professional, please feel free to contact me directly, as we have resources for you in nearly all 50 states.
9) Not all contract decoration professionals are created equal. Some printers have manual operations; others have automatic presses. Some embroidery shops have huge banks of multi-head embroidery machines. Some embroidery shops excel at decorating caps, others with jackets. When you align your apparel orders with the apparel decorator’s highest skill sets, you and your apparel decoration professionals will make the most of your partnership – and wind up with a very happy client.
Becoming proficient and profitable selling decorated apparel orders is possible. Building your product awareness and your level of knowledge about the different apparel decoration methods, pricing and limits will help you sell orders that look great, meet the customers’ needs and keep them coming back for more, year after year. Partnering with the most appropriate apparel decoration professionals by following these nine tips create a win-win situation that will benefit you for years to come.
Jennifer Cox is president of the National Network of Embroidery Professionals. NNEP members receive personalized marketing consulting designed specifically for their business. To join NNEP today, visit NNEP.net, email Jennifer at hooper@nnep.net, or call 800-866-7396.