Ramping up sales doesn’t have to be hard. Yet, a lot of shops struggle with bringing in new business.

For some, they sit like a spider in a web waiting for new customers to walk through the door or call them on the phone. Their webpage is essentially a fancy business card. Their mindset is what I call “The Field of Dreams” theory.

“If you build it, they will come.”

But sadly, that’s not reality. To win at sales it has to be an on-purpose, thoughtful process. In this article, I’ll break down some easy to understand notions that can push your shop into that famed “next level” that everyone is constantly striving to achieve.

Start Here

First, you absolutely need to understand who your best customer should be. For a lot of shops, anyone that can fog a mirror is ok. “Ooh, you want some shirts? We can do that.”

So, their schedule fills up with plenty of low-volume, unprofitable work. At the end of the week or month, that shop has been plenty busy but really hasn’t made the money that they should be making.

Sound familiar?

Think About This Instead

Your best customer is one that absolutely craves what you bring to the table. It’s your value. Your market differentiator.

I have some bad news for you. Practically anyone can decorate a shirt. It’s not that hard to get into this industry.

What is going to separate you from all of the other yahoos down the block that are competing for the same market dollar? They are willing to drop their pants on price to get the order.

But, if you do a good job of creating value and marketing to your best customers that won’t matter as much.

Creating Value

What is value anyway?

A good example is to look at another industry. Right down the street from you is a McDonald’s. Billions and Billions Served. It says so right on the sign. In that McDonald’s they sell a hamburger for 99 cents.

Probably within a mile or two there is a sports bar or neighborhood grill that sells hamburgers for $12. You’ve been there.

Does anyone ever go into that place and say, “You know, I can get this hamburger at McDonald’s for 99 cents?”

Nope.

In fact, people pack that place all the time and don’t even think twice about paying TWELVE TIMES MORE for the same thing.

Why is that?

Value.

The sports bar or grill isn’t selling hamburgers. They are selling the experience. It’s a friendly place. With great staff. Lots of tv’s to watch the game. It’s a local landmark.

You might even print their shirts.

People just like you go into that place and order hamburgers all the time and don’t think twice about what they are paying because they are there for the value that the joint brings. The experience and atmosphere. Fun.

How Are YOU Creating Value In Your Shop?

So what value are you bringing every day?

People value your expertise. Your creativity. The craftsmanship and incredible ideas that you can dream up instantly in a conversation that will make their idea shine.

It’s also your professionalism. When you use products like InkSoft Proposals, you instantly stand apart from anyone else because it looks and feels different. It’s branded. It sings “We know what we are doing.”

Maybe it’s with an online store. Or really, a bunch of stores. Why should you look at that? Online stores create value. They make you sticky to your customer because it makes ordering merch easy. Easy sells more.

“Whoever makes it easy for the customer wins”.

It’s Math

Let’s say that an online store generates $2,000 per year in revenue. That’s a conservative, average.

Having one or two stores might not be a big deal. Having 100? 200? 400?

The math then scales dramatically.

Want to hit your sales goals? Using a platform that makes it easier for your customer, where you get the cash up front on the order, and that uses something that makes you sticky to the customer is a no-brainer.

I’ll bet that you have a good number of customers already where a professional sales process would help you solidify your relationship with that customer.

Increase Opportunities

For example, let’s take one customer and look at increasing sales opportunities with them. Let’s say the customer is ABC Plumbing.

Normally they order twice a year. They get employee shirts for their crew of fifty employees. Since they are in the service business that’s five shirts each. That’s two-hundred and fifty shirts twice a year.

At no charge, you build them an online store. This immediately has a fantastic benefit as when ABC Plumbing orders, their information is already in your system so there isn’t any order entry.

Boom, there it is.

But instead of simply keeping to the shirts they always order, you throw in some hoodies, a jacket, a metal coffee tumbler, a sticker pack, and some long sleeve Dri-Fit shirts.

You keep the store open.

Now, when they add new employees they can get five shirts for that employee from your online store. Plus when the weather turns, the hoodies and the long-sleeves get popular. The coffee tumblers pick up steam too.

Employees start ordering so they have more than five shirts because they don’t like don’t laundry that much.

Instead of ordering 500 shirts a year, they are now averaging about 1,450. Plus, there’s a bump in the increased revenue as other garments are being ordered as well.

Why This Is Important

When your current customer orders more frequently your sales goals are more easily met without having to attract new customers. You make more money with less effort.

Easy.

How many more customers like ABC Plumbing can you create a better ordering experience for this year?

Do yourself a favor. Take that $2,000 average and multiply by that number.

What are you waiting for?