Impressions - October/November 2012 - (Page 55)

Upselling isn’t just about adding more merchandise, but also upgrading to a higher quality, more colors or personalization. If a customer comes in wanting a traditional T-shirt with a one-color design, suggest — if it’s for an athletic activity where people will sweat — that he upgrade to a performance shirt. it should be standard practice to have a follow-up email asking them how they liked their orders and suggestions for other merchandise. Establishing and maintaining an upsell mentality can be more difficult for shops that do contract and custom work. In the contract relationship, you never speak to the end user, and it’s easy to get into the habit of taking the order and simply getting it done. When contractors have customers with upsell potential, they tend to treat them the same way. While it’s important to offer additional ideas, never overwhelm, confuse or offend your customer. The secret to this is in how you present it. Avoid seeming like a used car salesman who’s going to cut a deal; be more like a professional who has the customer’s best interests at heart. Does the customer want the shirt to be a keeper that is frequently worn or something that is going to be stuck at the bottom of a drawer? Point out benefits like stroking volunteers’ egos with event staff shirts. Sometimes you may offend a customer who may think you only want to get more money out of him, but this doesn’t mean you need to stop upselling. You simply need to change your delivery method. I recommend presenting two to three options. Shirt quality is a great area to impressionsmag.com pursue when upselling. Does your customer perceive that a heavyweight shirt is higher quality? Show him a super soft lightweight fashion top. Good, better and best options are ideal for presenting the differences in quality. Help him understand why a 4.7-ounce lightweight T-shirt costs more than a standard 6.1-ounce weight. Upselling is one of those well-known principles that most shops know about, but not nearly enough actively practice. For any decorator who knows his product and market, coming up with good ideas is a no-brainer — in many cases. The trick is making it a habit. While I can be found guilty of not using opportunities as often as I should, I have found that when I try, I can upsell almost anyone — and you can, too. Greg Kitson is founder of Mind’s Eye Graphics, Decatur, Ind. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Greg at greg@mindseyeg.com or visit mindseyeg.com. Hear Greg speak on apparel decorating topics at the 2013 Imprinted Sportswear Shows (ISS). Reduced workshop and seminar rates are available if you pre-register: issshows.com. Use Info•Action #27 at impressionsmag.com/infoaction October/November 2012 | Impressions 55 http://www.robison-anton.com http://www.mindseyeg.com http://www.mindseyeg.com http://www.issshows.com http://www.impressionsmag.com/infoaction http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - October/November 2012

Impressions - October/November 2012
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conference
Embracing Digital Technologies
DTG vs. Dye Sublimation
Digital Products Preview
High-Performance Fashion Yields a Technical Edge
How To Sell More With Every Order
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Production
Online Directory
Screen Printing Technique
Digital Decorating
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - October/November 2012