March 2007

Commentary: Seal The Deal

Six easy, but essential, steps to close the sale.

By Allen Davidov

In the promotional apparel industry, whether you’re a supplier or distributor, it’s important to distinguish yourself from your competition. Distributors can do this in lots of ways, but what’s really important is to know the customer well and make the right products available to him during the buying process. By being comparable to everyone else in the marketplace, you’re hindering your own potential revenue, but more importantly you’re doing more harm to your customers and theirs. Your clients use promo wear to distinguish themselves in their markets, so if you act as an order taker rather than a consultant, you’re not providing service that’ll encourage them to become repeat buyers. If you help your clients stand out, and provide them with excellent customer service, they may even refer other new clients to you as well. So, think of yourself as a consultant. If you perform diligent research and provide your customers with excellent product, fashion and fabric advice, they’ll rely on you for much more than writing orders. Advising on fabrics, in particular, is an important area in the consulting and buying process, one that distributors often overlook. Here are six simple ways distributors can help their customers through the sometimes complex buying process. 1. Events. If your client is buying apparel for a specific event, ask a lot of questions about it. Find out if the event will be held indoors or outdoors; what the activity level will be; and whether the garments will be worn at the event or used as giveaway items.

Allen Davidov is business development manager at Mitex Apparel Group. He previously served as product manager at The Official Community Corp. and an account manager at Initiative Media in Toronto. Contact: allendavidov@mitex.com.

"If you provide customers with product, fashion and fabric advice, they’ll rely on you for much more than writing orders."

As performance fabric technology continues to expand, what garments offer end-users in terms of moisture management, UV protection, odor control and more push the boundaries of what the wearables industry has seen in recent years. Realize that the incorrect fabric can ruin a client’s event for wearers, so it’s important to go over the garment requirements. Further, you may lose future business with that customer if you’re not able to discuss performance capabilities in detail.

2. People. Know who’ll be using the garments and if they have any special needs. People come in all shapes and sizes, so size requirements differ. Also, if you know how the garments will be used or stressed, you can pick the most suitable fabric – say, quick-dry polyester, a poly/cotton blend or 100% cotton.

3. Color schemes. Different corporations and organizations have different color-scheme preferences and needs. Knowing the constraints of which fabrics can be altered or dyed to a specific color is very important – and what fabrics are available to be altered within the time frames allotted.

4. Washing. This process often is what gets distributors and suppliers in a lot of trouble. If you don’t properly gauge clients’ needs, the apparel – and more importantly, the fabrics – you sell may not be geared to how frequently these garments will be laundered. Some fabrics are more delicate than others, and in many cases are coated with certain chemicals for performance qualities. When you’re helping a client choose fabrics, talk about the wash durability of the fabrics she’s considering.

5. Wearability. Good apparel products flatter the body and feel comfortable. Help your client find apparel that looks fashionable, fits well and feels good on the body.

6. Swatches. Be knowledgeable about the fabrics and colors that specific suppliers offer. It’s a good idea to request swatches to review with the client. You want your client to feel the fabrics and see how the colors actually look.

By themselves, these are all small ways you more easily can close the sale. Realize that not all distributors help their clients this way during the buying process. If you use these six tips as a starting point to acting as a wearables consultant, you’ll have happier clients, smaller headaches and most importantly, higher profits.