Discuss the fun task of marketing a t-shirt shop. Where to advertise, link building, word of mouth, press releases, search engine marketing, keyword advertising, magazines, etc.
I'm a DTG printer and times are tough. I haven't made a sale in a couple of weeks, rent is past due, blah, blah, blah. I need some sure fire ways to get some shirts sold.
I've sent out mailings to every one in the local Chamber of Commerce, mailed to promotional product companies, taken out ads in Craigslist, printed out samples, and every nibble that I've had indicates they might be ready to order in a couple of weeks. I've been stood up by two sales "meetings."
Yes, get out of your office, and make some cold calls in person. Letters get thrown away, emails deleted, meetings canceled. Grab some of your best samples of previous jobs, put together a price list, make up some well designed business cards, and target which customers in your town you want to sell to. Get out & knock on doors, print up some sample shirts with a great company design for your company to leave behind, and pull some doorknobs.
Also, check w/ other screen-printers & embroiders in your area; as they always have customers that want the type of orders that would work well on a DTG. Perhaps you can offer contract DTG printing. That's how we grew our 23 year old business, by cold calling.
Times are tough so it might be time to look outside your "normal" customers. (I'm assuming you have been in business for a little while here) Not sure where you are so some of this may/may not apply.
How about a T-Shirt clearance? Mothers Day is coming up maybe some "World's best Mum" with roses on it or similar folded and tied with a ribbon as a "cheap" gift The beauty is with DTG you are very flexible and don't even need to make up screens!
Is there a special event being advertised (circus visiting, school open day etc) You could contact the organisers and see about either supplying them or perhaps a stall (you may even be able to negotiate free stall in return for them getting a percentage off or quantity of tee's)
Perhaps approach a local kindy/school with a design to sell as a fundraiser? (Eg they do the advertising through newsletter etc compile the orders and place with you.. might be 2 weeks to get a result but on top of the others may get you through)
If you have a shop maybe it is time to advertise to come and see how it all works and get your "T-Shirt" design printed. Are you allowed to run a table out the front? If so maybe a clearance sale of some designs. (This is great because you will also likely find people are happy to talk to you "outside" the shop and you may find a niche people are looking for.
Do you have a local discount/clearance store? (Preferably a small store rather than a chain) You could try offering them a "one off" buy of x number of prints for a good price (preferably something you don't use anymore or something just for them so you don't hurt your "normal" customers, that can be very short sighted)
I agree with the contacting screen printers. I lost a job recently because I couldn't get a DTG printer locally who was willing to discuss contract pricing without minimum orders (This was for a customer with over 20 childcare centre's) An interstate company got the job
I agree with both justin and brian i think it's time to get out of the office and use the word of mouth method since the advertising is not working. my neighbor has his own buisness and been doing it for over 20 years and he told me that he has never advertised everything has come from word of mouth granted it's not a t-shirt company but word of mouth can be just as effective as advertising.
I sell shirts through blast email for my screening printing company and if you send 500-600 emails you're practically guarantee to make at least one good sale, and it only takes a few hours to send out that many.
Having a DTG machine is such a HUGE advantage over others. You are able to print small runs for BIG profit. Put together a punchlist of what your machine has over screen and heat press methods and use the pros and cons. Then go out and MEET coffee shops, bars, lawn cares, mechanics, sports teams, the thoughts are endless. Hookup with sign companies that do graphics, their customers are always looking for shirts to go with their new lettered car, truck etc. Check with car clubs too.
Follow up your talks with a phone call and give a recent special you are running. I have aDTG and use myspace, craigslist and meet people waiting in line at the store. Market mraket market what your machine CAN do over the others. Good luck.
LOL, if anyone can answer that question, then we would all be millionaires now.
I would tend to agree with other posts. The economy is a little more rigid right now so it's going to take a more aggressive approach from you to sell. I always carry business cards with me and will wear shirts that I have made to give myself free advertisement. I have been known to watch the community calender in our local paper for events coming up and will approach the organization running it and offer my services. A little cold calling never hurt either although it's maybe not anyones favorite thing to do but it can be helpful Good luck.
__________________
Creativity is your vehicle, profit the destination.
Thanks all for the advice. I am very uncomfortable making cold calls, I feel like I am always disturbing someone. On Friday, I saw a new copy store that had opened and noticed that the employres were just wearing their old clothes. I approached the manager with my flyer to to ask her if she'd like some shirts for her employees. I chickened out and paid $10 for 20 color copies of my own flyer! I hoped she'd at least notice it as she was copying, but she didn't!
I'm sending out flyers today to screen printers and sign companies with my contract rates on them. I always looked at DTG printing as just an easier way for me to "screen print," but I need to market myself and the things that make DTG unique. Thanks.
I chickened out and paid $10 for 20 color copies of my own flyer! I hoped she'd at least notice it as she was copying, but she didn't!
Don't chicken out! Just hand them your flyer and say that you have opened a business doing uniforms, apparel, and hats (or whatever you do) and suggest that they could take advantage of your "business startup special" tailored for getting shirts/uniforms for a new business owner at an affordable price. Then turn around and leave. Once you get good at that then you can start asking closing questions... "Let me show you some shirt samples..." "Would you prefer your employees to wear polo's or tees?" "What color shirts do you think look best with your logo?"
etc...
you have to believe in your product... you are not "HASSLING" them... you are educating them about what you can do that will benefit their business. you arr HELPING them!
Not many people would actually "like" cold calling but it is something that has to be done if you want to be successfull. You have posted things are getting desperate well it is time to change what you are doing because it either a) doesn't work or b) no longer works. Sorry not trying to be harsh here but you have asked for help and unfortunately your best bet is to move out of your comfort zone and do something different.
The main thing with cold calling is to find what works for you. You obviously aren't the "hard" sell kind of person, neither am I but working in the car industry and attending plenty of training sessions with different trainers I was taught how to do this. The thing is to find "your" way of doing it.
First break it down to the basics.
Meet & Greet - You need to make the initial contact, This is where you can really stand out or just be "another" sales rep.
Qualify - Do they need/have they considered uniforms? (This is where your ears need to do lots more work than your mouth, remember the golden rule 1 Mouth, 2 Ears use them that way. (listen twice as much as you talk) Are you talking to the person who could make or influence a decision? During this part it is a good chance, especially if your waiting for "the manager/owner" to find out how many staff they have, do they have multiple sites, etc. This gives you the background information.
Presentation - This is where you speak with whoever is responsible (Ask if now is a good time, if not when would be a good time for you to call back). Don't assume I'm busy at the moment is a no, They may very well be busy and the last thing you want is for them to not give you their full attention. This is where you can use the information you haver already gathered to discuss needs and wants with them. (Hopefully you will already know how many staff (probably allow about 3 tops per staff member, unless there are a lot of casuals) This means you can avoid "assuming" things... very dangerous thing to do that! (ASSUME is to make an *** out of U and ME) You should also now have an idea of why they don't have uniforms. (could be lack of funds/perceived cost of uniforms, Not sure if there is really any benefit of uniforms, time constraints, especially in a new business, not sure where to go or who to speak to to get them?
Use your presentation to answer there questions - remember this is presentation of how you can benefit them. This means you need to have a think about there "objections" and find them solutions. (Eg cost, you have a DTG machine so it makes no real difference if the order is staggered over a couple of weeks so they can pay for it in smaller amounts. (You don't have to discount but 2 payments of $300 sounds a lot better than $600)
Trial Closing - This is where you start asking questions and phrasing statements towards getting the order, it is also an informal way to find out any other objections you may have missed. You want to lead in to a commitment from them. Phrase your questions so that you know by the response if they are ready to order. WOuld you like the Polo's or Shirts? This is where styles and colours can be used to your advantage. Get them "ordering" what they want. Will it be all the staff? How many would you like per staff member? All these leed to little "ticks" that they want to order. If they have any objections handle them and move on to another closing question. If it is something you need to get back to them on don't let that be the deal breaker. If you keep getting "crooses" against your closing questions you have either not covered something, they aren't happy about something or the answer is no. Don't be afraid to ask if they have questions or concerns. YOU WANT to know the problems, otherwise how can you deal with them?
My advise is if after your trial closes all you got was no's and they aren't ready to order DO not ask them too. This is the point where you can leave the door open or next time you call past the door is shut. THANK them for their time, leave order forms with them. Let them know how to contact you if they have any questions, Let them know you will be in touch and make sure you call them in a couple of days and thank them again for their time. This is a good chance to ask if they werent going ahead if they would mind sharing with you why for your own benefit with dealing with customers in the future (this can lead in to a situation where you may be able to solve the issue for them and get the order, If not you at least will get some feedback for next time)
Closing - THERE SHOULD BE NO SURPRISES for either of you at this stage. Something a lot of salespeople skip too quickly too. If you have set it up well then you have already been given the "green light" to pull out your order book (or sheets) and write out an order. (Don't use "I'll write up the order and send it through when I get back to the office" DO IT NOW while they are ready, you don't know who they will talk to or who will walk in the door after you leave. They probably wont have sizes on hand that doesn't matter just ask them to let you know by such and such a date. (Are you able to supply blanks sizes for the staff to try on, this can save you hassles with wrong sizes ordered) You can still do up a fancy one when you get back and email/fax/post or ideally drop it off to them (A good chance to take a sample back or ideally a size range for staff to try on for sizing)
Follow up - One of the best salesman I ever worked with still calls me every year on my birthday, as he does EVERY customer he has ever sold a car too (and he is now at retirement but still working part time)
and says Happy birthday, how's the wife, kids etc. Takes about 2 minutes at most. (In his case he spends about 2 hours every day doing this!) And you would be amazed how many people come and find which yard he is working at to buy from him. A small thing, there is no selling at the time just a courtesy call.
If you have sold uniforms to a retail store I would be calling every couple of months, staff turnover could lead to more orders or clothes that are getting worn, have been wrecked in the wash or just want some more to save washing all the time. STAY IN TOUCH!
Hope this helps, I'm sure others will have stuff to add
word of mouth is the best advertising. I started a paintball business 2 years ago and didnt pay a dime for advertising .. i just spent the weekends at local rec parks telling people about it and playing with them with shirts with my store url on them.. two years later it was big enough and worth enough for me to decide to sell it..
make up some sample jerseys ..
there is a huge demand for dtg paintball jerseys .. Animal Paintball | Welcome is the most well known and they charge $80 for a jersey.. go to PbNation - Paintball's Home Page (biggest paintball forum) and sign up and post that you can make jerseys or custome tees you'll get flooded with business.
its a huge forum i used it to get my paintball biz up and running .. didnt cost me a dime and i got endless advertising
Sure-fire shirt selling methods? 
