When you break down the anatomy of a sale, it basically consists of two parts. The first part is the most difficult. You need to go out and identify somebody that needs whatever it is that you are selling at that moment in time. The second part is much easier. You have to create a perceived value and get in front of your potential customers eyes to get them to give you an opportunity to show them what you’re capable of. It doesn’t matter that you are the best St. Louis screen printing company in town if they don’t happen to need any custom T-shirts at that point in time.
I can remember back before the Internet was invented and nobody had home computers. I used to go into an industrial park and make cold calls. I would simply walk in the front door and introduce myself. Then I would ask if the business owner was available. Sometimes it was difficult to get past the receptionist. I didn’t want to waste my effort talking to her anymore than I absolutely had to because no matter how good my presentation was or whatever it was that I had to say, it didn’t make any difference because she did not have the authority to make a decision or to write a check for a down payment. Sometimes the owner was available and sometimes he wasn’t. If I was lucky enough to catch him when he wasn’t too busy, I would simply ask them if the next time that he was in the market for some custom screen printing or embroidery, could II simply just have a chance to give him a quote. I would tell him that if I cannot give him a better deal than what he is accustomed to receiving, then there is no reason for him to make any changes. That being said, I would try to give him a reason in order to create a perceived value that would motivate him to give me a chance. I would do this by asking the right questions like the following. Are you currently using a St. Louis T-shirt printing company or are you dealing with someone who is out of town?When is the next time that you think you’re going to be looking for some digital T-shirt printing? More than not, they all use what I was selling, but they didn’t necessarily need it at that particular moment in time. They would ask me to leave a business card. I would say of course and then give them one. More than not that card would end up in the middle of the stack of 50 to 100 other cards and unless it just happened to be on the very top of that stack, they would forget it was ever there and I never received that call.
Then I started attaching magnets to the back of them. There’s something about a magnet that has some kind of perceived value where people don’t throw them away. They would normally end up attached to one’s refrigerator and six months later it would still be there.
If you happen to be looking for a St. Louis embroidery company that can also cater to all your custom screen printing and digital T-shirt printing requirements, then you will do yourself a favor and give us a call. We will make it well worth your effort and you’ll be very glad you did.