S&S Activewear business advice

Turn Your Product Images Into DOLLAR Signs

One of the best ways for distributors to reach their target audiences and increase sales is through the use of shoppable ads. In recent months, Google added shoppable ads to its capabilities and Instagram is also promoting ways to monetize consumer searches for advertisers.

Erich Campbell, program manager of Albuquerque, NM-based BriTon Leap’s Commercial Division, believes these shoppable ads do, in fact, reach customers.

“Decorators and apparel sellers often expect customers to know what they want before they contact us,” Campbell says. “In truth, they often need a creative target. Shoppable ads allow us to give customers a vision. You can create something remarkable to get people in the door and discussing the possibilities.”

Let’s look at the benefits of these ads and how you can implement them into your decorated-apparel business.

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Overcome These 4 Fears About Selling Apparel Right Now

When Howard Potter, CEO of Utica, NY-based A&P Master Images, first started his decorated-apparel business, he operated from a 15-foot-by-15-foot room in his house. “In the beginning, I sold apparel mostly from catalogs and ordered samples to show customers only when I needed them,” he says.

As his business grew, he increased his showroom space—from 8 feet on a wall, to an 8-by-10 area, and then to a large 20-by-20 showroom. “We created a better layout and experience for our customers to view products,” Potter says. “But when we didn’t have tons of space to show actual garments, we didn’t let that become a block to stop us from selling.”

Potter focused on a couple of things: showing clients the most popular and effective mid-level and up styles in a variety of colors, plus recommending apparel and decoration unique to each client’s needs. “We want them to know that we aren’t trying to make them look like everyone else,” Potter says.

Many distributors and decorators, who’d like to sell more apparel, need to overcome their fears about selling it (even more so than overcoming their customers’ objections).  Luckily, we’re here to help you get past the four most common challenges we’ve heard about.

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Behind The Thread: Embroidery Master Erich Campbell Shares His Wisdom

If your a decorator, you should talk to Erich Campbell. Why? Because he’s had a passion for embroidery and digitizing since the age of 13 and has tons of knowledge to share. Not only has he written extensively for places like Printwear Magazine, Mrxstitch.com, DecoNetwork, MakeZine.com, and Impressions Magazine, but he’s also done tons of interviews, worked lots of shows, and has even done embroidery work for film productions like “Better Call Saul.” An all around great guy, whose genuinely interested in helping people, Erich knows the business inside and out, and we we’re grateful to have had a chance at interviewing him. Watch the video above and find out what you can do to increase your business and improve your relationships with clients.

FOLLOW Erich on his adventures and learn all of his tricks on TWITTER, INSTAGRAM or on his WEBSITE.