Off the Cuff: Convince People to Buy From You — Part One

April 13, 2009

By Mark L. Venit, MBA, Contributing Writer

Why should a customer buy from you instead of your competitor? What’s so special about your company that it would inspire a customer to choose your services over your competitor’s? What are you doing to create — and then reinforce — the perception that buying from your company is a wiser choice?

For most companies in the apparel graphics industry, these questions are not on the marketing radar screen. Instead, it’s more common to hear whining about how tough it is out there and carping about low-ball competitors. This only clouds opportunities to break out of the pack and build a loyal, growing account base.

Thirty years ago, one of my business mentors taught me a lesson on complaining about tough competition when I was starting out in securities sales. He would chide me and my fellow rookie agents about wallowing. “Wallow, wallow, wallow. Where’s it gonna get you, fellas?” he would ask. “OK guys, you keep wallowing and whining and when you’re done all your moaning and groaning, come see me and then we can all learn how to go out and make some real money. Big money…You wanna wallow? Go wallow! You wanna sell? First, stop your wallowing.”

When I finally got it, my income skyrocketed.

Marketing 101
The marketing process begins with deciding what to sell or create, determining who might want to buy your products, analyzing the needs of your targeted audiences and researching the sales potential. Then you move on to producing (or sourcing) the products and/or services, selling your wares (advertising to generate leads, calling on accounts, etc.), and finally, delivering your products and services to your customers. All that done, you review your success, your pricing, your quality and your continued potential.

The selling phase includes focusing on keeping the customers you’ve created while generating new ones. A big part of this process entails keeping prospects in your camp — attending to them, educating them and at some point convincing them that your enterprise would be a worthy source for what they want to buy.

It’s in this phase that most companies in our business perform most poorly. So, let’s ask ourselves some serious questions:

• Does my company make a good first impression?
• What kind of impression does our company make on an inquiring caller?
• Is the person who answers your phone engaging and knowledgeable?
• Is the person who answers your phone fast with answers and prompt with prices?
• Is the person who answers your phone well-trained in effective call-handling techniques?
• Is the customer likely to be impressed with how his call is serviced?

The answer to all questions is no if the person who represents your company on the phone is an unemotional jargon-talking robot who deals in numbers — not personality and professionalism — and who keeps callers waiting on the line for a price.

The person who handles your calls should be trained and skilled in telephone communications and effective customer service techniques.

The average call handler in our business performs perfunctorily well. They answer questions, give prices (most of time) and end the encounter with a polite farewell.

What they don’t do is firmly establish who’s on the line. Nor do they harvest the critical data that enables the company to do follow-up marketing — names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.

In the course of speaking with callers, most screen printers, owners and staff rarely ask anything of the caller beyond quantities and styles, the number of imprint colors and the number of decorated locations.

Embroiderers ask similar questions, though most won’t quote prices over the phone, and insist on seeing a copy of what’s to be digitized in order to get a better handle on stitch count.

If you want to convince callers that your shop is different and better from others they’ll call, learn to excel at effective telephone reception. Change the company’s goal from simply asking and answering questions — and hoping to get a sale — to making a great first impression and harvesting caller data.

For Appearances Sake
What does your shop’s physical appearance say about your company to a first-time visitor?

When someone walks into your business, are they immediately impressed with what appears to be a neat, clean, organized, updated environment? Does it suggest you’d deliver beautiful results? Does it say you’re proud of what you do? Does it make the prospect’s experience a pleasurable, informative, inspiring occasion?

Or does it say the place needs a coat of paint, some cleaning up and reorganization, and might look better after a fire?

Ultimately, does your place scream out to a visitor: “You’re in the right place at the right time, and we want your business!”

If your prospect’s first impression is anything less than that, a competitor stands a good chance of winning this buyer. Price means little to buyers who are uncomfortable with the surroundings and underwhelmed by an impression of weak professionalism.

If your showroom needs a healthy dose of revitalization, an investment in bringing it up to speed will pay off. It isn’t rocket science, and do note that the top companies in our industry are quick to hire professional visual merchandisers to tell the company’s story in a convincingly positive atmosphere.

In Part II of this series, we’ll look at how to go about upgrading a company’s marketing identity, educating and informing prospective customers, and improving the follow-up with these prospects.

Mark L. Venit, MBA, president of Apparel Graphics Institute, Ltd., provides management and marketing consulting and proprietary research to apparel graphics companies throughout the Americas and Europe. Author of several books and nearly 400 articles on management and marketing, he also serves as chairman of the board of ShopWorks Software. You can reach him at markvenit@cs.com.

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