You
may not be actually thinking about getting rich in this business but we
will assume that you at least don't want to lose money.
This section covers some valuable tips to point you in
the right direction and help eliminate some common mistakes.
The
bottom line in business is: The Bottom Line. Our basic
business information is designed to help you hit the ground running…and
on the right foot.
Before
we got into the supply side of the imprinting business we ran our own successful
imprinting business for 20 plus years. We've talked the
talk, walked the walk and we like to share information.
As one
of our Canadian customers once laughingly told us, "Guys, I don't mind
learning from my mistakes and successes, but I like learning from yours
even better because that's free". Yes, it is.
The
beauty of starting a custom imprinting business is that it can be as simple
or involved as your business dreams take you. No matter if you are a part-time,
at home business or a thriving existing business, the three basic blocks
of building success are the same.
The
three basic building blocks are: Planning, Patience and Persistence.
Planning
Here
are some easy ideas to help you plan successfully.
- Who
are you going to sell to? How are you going to contact
them?
- What
are you going to sell? Does your target market want that
product?
- What tools
do you need to get started? What else might you need?
There
are many other things that can be added to the list but answering the above
six questions is essential.
Patience
Even
to experienced business pros, patience may seem more like
just a personal virtue, rather than a business need.
It's not.
Good
things just simply take time to grow and to grow well. In the garden
of life, the only things that grow fast are weeds.
Patience
helps encourage you to take the time to learn what you need to know. It
also helps you to keep learning over the long haul. Patience helps you to
realize that no matter how big the task seems, it can be broken down into
smaller jobs that you can handle.
Patience
also helps overcome the frustrations of dealing with a seemingly
instant gratification, "go-go" world.
Persistence
Developing
an even better, persistent, "never give up"
attitude, is probably the best gift you can give yourself. No matter
if your business takes off like a rocket or moves slow as a snail, persistence
will make the journey easier.
It is
impossible for anyone to stay "up" all the time. Everyone has
"down" times of days or sometimes even weeks. In the "not
fun times", persistence will help you keep moving forward.
When
you have made six unsuccessful sales calls, good persistence
encourages you to make six more. Great persistence encourages
you to call the first six back at a later time, with a different idea or
product.
If you
fail at doing something (and we all do), because of a lack of knowledge
or skill, persistence help's you learn more and try again.
There
are very few business problems or opportunities that cannot be dealt with,
if you have persistence.
We end
this particular section by thanking you for "hanging in there".
We don't want to just provide great equipment and supplies. We also want
to provide great information that helps you to succeed.
Now
let's look at the presentation of heat transferred products to your potential
customers.
Getting The Customer
To Buy
If you
want to really be successful, burn these four immutable truths
into your mind.
-
"People buy
from people" - Folks tend to think in terms of selling to a business,
a league, a church, an organization, etc. That's wrong. When you are presenting,
it is to a person, not a faceless organization. Look at what you are presenting,
through their eyes. Ask questions. Listen closely. Make a friend and build
trust. People (including you and we) don’t buy things from people
they don’t trust!
-
"People love
to buy, but hate to be sold" - There is a big difference between
the two thoughts. People buy perceived benefits more than
they do products. If you spend all of their time talking about
yourself and your products, you are selling to them. Spend most
of your time encouraging them to talk about themselves and what
they want and need. When you understand
their needs, you will be able to better present your products as beneficial
to their needs. You are now on your way to creating feelings that makes
them want to buy.
-
"People like
choices" - That's not surprising. You and we do also. When only
one choice is presented, there is only yes or no
to discuss. You certainly don't have to give a person 50 different choices
(that will often just confuse them) but always present at least
two. With even two choices, you now have at least three options
to discuss (the two main choices, plus any combination of the two choices).
Presenting choices obviously works. Otherwise,
there would only be a need for one type of car and it would be…black.
-
“Keep
good records about people that you talk to” – This
simple advice is easy to do and very important
for your future success. Not everyone you talk to is going to be ready to
buy, now. However, they may be a terrific future
prospect. Most will probably be nothing, however, if you only depend
upon your memory for details. Really cheap ($10-$30) contact/e-mail
programs can be bought for this task (of course you need to be very persistent
in keeping it updated). Keeping prospect/customer information organized
and available pays off!
Staying
flexible, while staying focused
One
of the keys to eventual long-term business success is finding a comfortable
(for you) position between too much flexibility and
too much focus. The extreme of either is not good.
Here are two examples.
You
are tempted to produce orders that are just not profitable.
You accept orders that you don’t really have the
skill or equipment to produce. You waste time and resources
trying to do the impossible, rather than telling a customer that it can’t
be done. You constantly try to please customers that just
can’t be pleased (unfortunately, they are out there). Every business
needs a profitable “core” but you are spread so thin
in time and money that you are strong in nothing.
A
lesson from the past: In the late 80’s
we were invited to bid on a very large job for a major corporation. We really
wanted to win that bid and, unfortunately, we did. The “dollar signs”
in our eyes blinded us the reality of the “fine print”.
Strike
one. The job was so big that it left us practically no time to take
care of regular customers. Strike two. While the total order was
big, the profit per item was small. Strike three. The corporation
took 75 days to pay us. Ouch!
There
are two morals to this story: Don’t bite off more than you can chew
and always consider the effect of what a job does to the rest
of your time and business.
Too
much focus (especially on only one thing), can cause you to: Assume
that your customer will only like what you like. Reject
an opportunity because you personally don’t like the look, or the
feel, or the way that a product should be produced. Miss a profitable opportunity
because you have made your biases so strong in a customers mind, that they
go somewhere else if they want that product. Ignore a greater
opportunity for a lesser one that “you like” better.
A
lesson from the past: The overhangs and the window and door
trim on our brick home needed painting. We asked a reputable painter to
give us a quote. The quote was reasonable (but not low, and I really didn’t
want to be climbing ladders) and we accepted.
As he
was setting up several days later, I remarked “I’m really surprised
that you took the job since I know how slow and tedious this type of painting
can be”.
His
answer became a guide for our business: “Well, I’m a professional
painter and I decided a long time ago that if I only picked what I like
to do, I might eventually decide that I didn’t like nothin’.
What I do is price what my time and skill is worth to me and if they pay
that, I’m happy to get ‘er done”.
Those
were simple words, from a simple man but they have a good lesson for everyone:
If you are going to be a professional decorator, be willing to do all types
of jobs, but have a price that is worth your time and skills and then you
can happily “get ‘er done”.
To
sum it up: While we cautioned you about two extremes in this section
(because it is so easy for a novice to do), don’t think that there
is just a narrow line between the two. It’s not narrow at all!
There
is actually a wide space between the two, which provides you a vast territory
in finding your own profitable niche.
Just
think. The good ‘ol USA is over 3,000,000+ square miles, with over
300,000,000 people. That’s a lot of opportunity!
This
concludes our formal tour about the basics of starting your own successful
T-shirt business.
The
next two pages contain
Designing Made Easy and then a page with
Professional Tips and Tricks
from a few of our customers.
If you
need more answers to your questions, give us a call (8:30-5:00 CST) at 800-908-9916
(If the phone happens to be busy, just leave a message. We always return
calls promptly). If you are ever in the neighborhood (we are in Nashville,
Tennessee), drop by. We don’t really have a fancy place but you’ll
get a smiling welcome and the coffee pot is always on.
Cordially,
Roy Hinkle &
Jack Franklin
Owners
Updated: Friday September 10, 2010  
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