Understanding Promotional 
Apparel
Apparel makes up an enormous part of the promotional products industry, rivaling pens and drinkware as one of the largest and most commonly sold product categories. Much more complicated than selling a bundle of pens or travel mugs, however, selling apparel can be a little daunting for the uninitiated.
How do you know what sizes to buy? What the heck is appliqué and why does everyone want it on their jackets? Where would you even start when filling an order for 500 girls travel soccer jerseys?
All important questions, and by no means the only ones you'll have to answer when selling promotional apparel. But with any complex topic, mastering promotional apparel is just a matter of breaking a big subject into a lot of smaller pieces, then learning each as you go. Here is a simple guide to help you fill your first few orders and send you on your way to adding promotional apparel as a reliable and easy part of your sales arsenal.
RESEARCH SIZING
Sizing is probably the biggest challenge unique to promotional apparel. At first, it might seem complicated, but there really isn't much to it besides learning to estimate the size range of your user group and figuring out how that relates to the specific apparel you're using in the sale. So, how do you go about doing that?
"Look at style and fit guides and size charts available from most top suppliers," said Lee Strom, senior marketing manager for apparel supplier SanMar, Preston, Wash. "Those generally speak to how each brand is sized, the different measurements for men and women, and offer guidelines for target audiences. It's important to note that fits for the teen/young men market are very different than adult sizing and that all smalls, mediums and larges are not created equally," he explained. "Also, order a sample to get a real-world look and feel for specific styles."
For more fitted or expensive garments, something called a "fit line" also is possible. "What that means is to have garments of various sizes available for the associates to try on," said Taraynn Lloyd, director of marketing for Edwards Garment, Kalamazoo, Mich. "That way they can determine for themselves what size works best."
LEARN THE DETAILS OF COLOR
Those familiar with promotional products will know that some clients are extremely particular about the colors used on their items and logos. Promotional apparel is no different.
"Know your colors!" said Florence Wong, public relations and marketing associate for sports apparel supplier Tonix, Fremont, Calif. "In the athletic world, if a team or coach says they want a certain color, that is what they want—no exceptions. Texas orange may not, and will not, be substituted with athletic orange, same goes for kelly and forest green, and don't you dare compare athletic gold and Vegas gold." Wong rightly noted that not every apparel supplier is able to provide specific custom colors, so it's important to seek such suppliers or decorators out first-thing if that's a requirement of your order.
STUDY THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LADIES AND MEN'S APPAREL
True ladies apparel has been cut, sewn and seamed specifically for women's bodies, and there is even more detail in such work than you might expect. "A ladies fit means a piece that has been specifically engineered to enhance or flatter a woman's body," said Wong. "Even though Tonix has many matching men's and women's pieces, you will notice that the women's piece is tweaked slightly. The designs on the shoulder may be cut a little more curved and less angular, the incline on a side color blocking is nipped in at the waist to create a more becoming silhouette," she explained. "Even the piping on pants is designed to give a fuller, perkier derriere. Tonix does not believe a woman has to wear men's clothing to perform at [her] peak. You can be athletically awesome while still looking like a lady!"
There can be a lot of design involved in quality women's apparel. When looking for women's pieces, be sure to ask your supplier what design features they have on their apparel to make them female-friendly.
WATCH FOR APPAREL-SPECIFIC DECORATION LIMITATIONS
Like print or hard promotional products, apparel has limits on how it can be decorated. Some limits are specific to the genre, such as ink and fabric interactions or the wash durability of a screenprint. Gina Barreca, director of marketing for Vantage Apparel, Avenel, N.J., suggested knowing your client's logo expectation up-front and checking with your decorator to make sure the desired logo is possible or even a good idea.
CHECK AVAILABLE INVENTORY
As with other promotional products, apparel items are not always kept in a high stateside warehouse stock. Trendier items may exist with low stocks to begin with, but even common, classic styles can be wiped out of a warehouse in a day with enough large orders (say, for example, the week of high school graduations, where thousands of "happy graduation" shirts will be ordered around the same time). Strom stressed the value of working with a supplier with deep inventory to avoid the risk of missing an order deadline due to lack of available product.
FIND OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THE BASICS
Promotional apparel has so much more to offer than simple decorated T-shirts. From athletic apparel to work uniforms to custom leather jackets, there are plenty of apparel sub-genres where you can carve out a niche. Kevin Xiao, vice president for construction and safety supplier for Atteff International, Ontario, Calif., suggested the safety garment industry, which provides such items as decorated work gloves and reflective safety vests.
"The global sales of the protective garment industry was estimated to [be] about $8 billion two years ago," he said. "As the economy is on the track of recovering, this market has the potential to grow even [more]. Safety apparel is widely used and repeatedly consumed in many industries, such as construction, transportation, manufacturing, petroleum, law enforcement, schools, hospitals and landscaping, just to name a few."
PROVIDE A SERVICE
"Focus on the service you can provide, not just the product itself," said Xiao. "While choosing a product with good quality and functionality for the client is the starting point, providing a good service is a step ahead that may make a difference. For example, providing knowledge of apparel materials/construction, suggestion on artwork layout/placement for different material apparel, quick response to customers' requests, ... etc.," he said. "A satisfied customer is very likely a repeat customer."
LEARN TO MANIPULATE PRICE
Apparel is a diverse product category that offers a lot of different elements that can be adjusted to fit a client's budget. Shirt quality, type and decoration style can all impact an item's price, and being able to manipulate each element will give you greater ability to serve your clients. "You can either dial it up or dial it down as far as budgets go," said Steve Kanney, general manager and owner of apparel decorator Target Decorated Apparel, Naperville, Ill. "If someone wants a $10 item, you can dial it up and do that; if they want a $4 item, you can dial it down and do that. It just gives a lot more tools in your bag to be an advisor, as opposed to a salesperson."
TALK TO THE EXPERTS
The depth and nuance to apparel sales is near-endless, so knowing how and where to seek information and keep learning about apparel will be critical to your future success. Barreca named several places where apparel information is easily accessible. "Trade publications and educational seminars at trade shows are an excellent starting place for learning about apparel decorating options," she said. "Factory tours are also a great way for someone to gain first-hand knowledge on different [decoration and sewing] techniques. If distance is an issue, some suppliers and decorators offer virtual tours."
In addition, she urged distributors to look to industry decorating companies that have been acknowledged for their decorating techniques or apparel decorating in general.
"Most of the companies that excel in these areas have a lot of educational material that can be shared with distributors," Barreca explained. "Sales reps are also an excellent source of information. [And] suppliers can offer swatch and decoration kits, glossaries and promotional collateral that helps sell the process for the distributor."