Start planning now for baseball season.

I know we are still in winter, but I am thinking spring right now…especially with the lack of snow we have received, here in Michigan.

Baseball and softball will be upon us before we know it and I wanted to touch on some items that I think can help generate extra sales for you.  When you fill your order you have the standard equipment and the standard decoration that you need to perform.  Now let’s throw on the add-on sales.

Don’t stop at just decorating jerseys and hats. With full color digital transfers you can decorate the player from head to toe. Nowadays most players have their own bat and, in some cases, their own helmet.  Offer custom stickers for this equipment.  A circular sticker with a centered player number can be placed on the bottom of the bat knob.  Helmet numbers can be applied to the back or front of the helmet bill.  This is usually dependent to the team preference.  You can also speak with the team manager about helmet logos.  Who wants to wear a plain helmet?  Push them to look more professional with a logo on the front of the helmet.

Let’s not forget about the parents.  Include some package stuffers with each uniform set you provide.  Some great fan items are window decals or bumper stickers.  How many times do you see a vehicle with a team name in the back corner of the window?  If you do not have the time to create the artwork, check out our quick decals – there are many template designs to choose from.

So as spring comes, bringing baseball and softball season with it, be sure to suggest these options to your customers. They’ll have great-looking uniforms and you’ll have higher sales.

Yes, time to clean house. For the purpose of this article I mean spring cleaning style…not the daily/weekly routine house cleaning. Most of us do this at home once or twice a year to get rid of things you haven’t used in forever and make room for new household items or clothing items you’ve been wanting. Maybe you don’t need to purchase anything new at all, but need to become more organized and eliminate clutter. The start of a new year often inspires us to focus on this sometimes daunting project.

Now apply this to your heat printing business. Whether you are set up in a storefront operation or working from home, you can probably do a lot to get rid of clutter and get organized. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Visit your back room or storage area. Are there boxes that you haven’t even looked in for a while? Take the eggplant colored XS T-shirts that have been sitting there for the past year and get rid of them. Donate them, sell them on the internet, or decorate them and give them to a children’s charity.

It’s kind of like cleaning out your closet and donating to Goodwill^®, right?

2. Change up the main area around your cash register. How long have those same products been on display? Remove everything, dust and clean your counters or shelving, and make it shine. Then, display a few small items like bumper stickers for the local school. These result in quick add-on sales. Just make sure you don’t overcrowd your display or you will overwhelm your customer with too many choices.

Hmm, sounds like cleaning out and reorganizing cabinets and bookshelves at home.

3. Time for an inventory check… Are your heat printing products and supplies in a bit of disarray? When we get busy, it happens, but we all need to find time to get organized! Use lettering storage boxes with sectional plastic inserts to keep things neat and orderly; they’re perfect for storing pre-cut letters and numbers. Use jewelry organizers to keep rhinestones sorted by size and color.

In addition to organizing your inventory, this will give you an opportunity to see what retail items, heat press accessories, heat transfer materials, and other supplies you may need. It never hurts to double-check your inventory numbers.

4. When in doubt, throw it out! Do you have transfers  or other heat transfer materials that are damaged by dust, debris, or humidity? Throw out any product that has been damaged. Don’t try to salvage anything that has been ruined, in the end it could result in a dissatisfied customer.

5. Keep your signage fresh and inviting; change it up often. Continue to give your customers new reasons to stop in. Window clings are inexpensive, removable, and repositionable – perfect for spreading news about sales, new products, or store events to passersby.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can organize your workspace and storage and retail areas. While it might seem like a chore, you’ll be glad you did it.

Sue Burgess and Nancy Graves of Stahls' ID Direct

When I started at GroupeSTAHL™, a couple of things stood out to me. One was how knowledgeable employees were about the company and its divisions. The other was how much the customer service representatives knew about the products and services available.

In the past, I’ve worked at companies where employees of one division knew nothing about other divisions. At one such organization, someone in the service department would have no idea what software products were available; software engineers had no idea what hardware was being sold, and so on. And this was a company with only a couple hundred employees. People on one end of the building often knew nothing of what was going on at the other end of the building. And customer service? Quite often they had no experience with the products they were supporting; more often they gave customers the wrong information about how to resolve their issues. As you might imagine, receiving any kind of help was a frustrating experience not only for customers, but for employees as well.

Kathleen Campbell and Jim Tersigni of Transfer Express

Recent “mini trade shows” accentuated the differences between Stahls’ and companies like the one mentioned above. “What are mini trade shows?” you may ask. I asked the same when I signed up for one. Essentially a smaller version of a trade show (hence the “mini”), booths are set up for employees to visit, each representing different divisions of GroupeSTAHL.  At each division’s booth, employees are treated to a presentation of new products, services, and a general overview of what that division does.

This format allows employees from each division to learn about what the other divisions do, meet folks from that division, and see (and feel) their products. Someone who deals with heat transfer materials every day for Stahls’ ID™ might not fully understand what a screen printed transfer is, or why Transfer Express^® offers them. Seeing these transfers first-hand gives employees valuable knowledge of the company as a whole, and often helps them understand their role in the “big picture.”

Jennifer Stadler, Stahls' ID Direct

This knowledge not only benefits the employee, it helps the customer as well. An understanding of the company and its goods and services assists employees in providing exceptional customer service at all levels. From heat transfer letters and numbers to heat presses themselves, GroupeSTAHL employees are expected to know company offerings and what makes them the best products available.

“Knowledge is power” is a popular adage. By providing them with the knowledge needed to excel, GroupeSTAHL gives its employees the power to provide customer service that outshines the competition.

Dane Clement of Great Dane Graphics

If you visit the Stahls’ Blog or are a fan of our Facebook page, All Things Heat Printing, you’ve heard that renowned Graphic Artist, Dane Clement of Great Dane Graphics is part of the GroupeSTAHL™ Family. Dane will be presenting several seminars at ISS Long Beach, so be sure to catch at least one.

We know artwork can be a challenge. Enter Dane. Experienced in prepping artwork for a number of decorating methods, he will have tips, tricks and techniques to share. Here are some of the topics Dane will cover:

Dane’s first session takes place on Thursday in the Digital Decoration Track. It’s an all-day seminar for beginners on mastering PhotoShop^®. He’ll present techniques for achieving consistent, quality results whether you are using direct-to-garment, dye sublimation, or simulated screen printing processes.

Friday, from 8:30 to 10 am, Dane will discuss the basics of creating and preparing your artwork for screen printing.

Dane then rounds out the weekend with two seminars on Sunday morning, Creating Killer Artwork for Digital Printing and the Ins and Outs of the Artwork Process.

Visit Dane at ISS and learn how to maximize your artwork’s potential.

Catch Courtney Matlick’s seminar, Remixing Uniforms for Sport and Spirit, in the Digital Decorating track on Saturday, January 21^st.  She will show you how to jazz up uniforms with CAD-CUT^® heat transfer materials, as well as how to decorate performance wear and other heat printing tips.  Watch the video below for a sneak peek.

Stop by booths 1308 & 1309 to learn Josh Ellsworth’s tips on using a heat press and heat transfer materials. Josh will be giving in-booth presentations throughout the show. Even after the show, you can keep up with the latest heat printing techniques by following @joshellsworth on Twitter or catch one of Courtney or Josh’s webinars from Great Garment Graphics.

Also, the GroupeSTAHL Sales Alliance will be presenting our new products each day throughout the show. Highlights include HotFix Rhinestones, Distressed Flock, and Distressed Appliqué.

With so much to see and do, be sure to  preplan to make sure you get the most out of Long Beach ISS. We’ll see you there!

CAD-CUT Expressions

Make an impression with CAD-CUT^® Expressions. This new product makes decorating fashion apparel easy. Choose from trendy designs created with CAD-CUT Glitter Flake, Fashion-FILM™ Metallic II, Flock, and Hologram heat transfer materials. All designs are  sized for application on T-shirts, with select designs also available in cap size, and are easily applied with a heat press.

Visit us in booths 1308 and 1309  at ISS Long Beach to be the first to see this new CAD-CUT offering. You can feel the different textures of the materials used and take a look at the color options. And be sure to request sample swatches of these materials to take with you.

If you won’t be at ISS Long Beach, you’ll be able to see CAD-CUT Expressions on our website this weekend.

Rhinestone Heat Transfer Designs

If you’re in sunny California for ISS Long Beach, you’ll probably be wearing sunglasses. Don’t take them off when you enter the convention center – you’ll need them as you approach the Stahls’ ID Direct booth. It’s going to be shiny and bright! Why? Because we have rhinestones and rhinestuds!

If you own a vinyl cutter, you can create your own custom rhinestone designs. Use the cutter to create custom design templates which you then fill with heat transfer rhinestones. When you visit us in booths 1308 and 1309, ask a staff member to show you how it works. We’ll provide live demos so you can see how easy it is!

If you don’t have a vinyl cutter, you can still cash in on the bling. We’ve created ready-to-apply transfers for you. Inspired by popular fashion designs like hearts, crosses, and skulls,  Rhinestone Heat Transfer Designs are available in a variety of colors and stone options. These designs apply easily with a heat press. Any of the staff members will be happy to show you our portfolio of designs.

We look forward to seeing you at the show, and you’ll see us – just look for the sparkle!

Distressed Appliqué

Headed to Long Beach for the Imprinted Sportswear Show? Stahls’ ID Direct™ will be there and we’re kicking off the New Year with some great new products. Stop by booths 1308-1309 to See What’s New for You!

One of our featured products is Distressed Appliqué. This fashion trend is still growing in popularity and if you own embroidery equipment it’s SEW easy to decorate hoodies, thermal T-shirts, and other apparel. Try it out with our sample kit, then use the finished sample for a promotional display in your store. Ask our trade show staff for Chino Twill and Acrylic Felt color swatches.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

	Distressed Flock

Don’t have embroidery equipment or sewing capabilities? Our new Distressed Flock, making it’s debut at ISS Long Beach, is the perfect solution for achieving the same popular look of Distressed Appliqué without having to sew. Our flock can be applied in just seconds with your heat press.

So come see these new products and more at ISS Long Beach, January 20-22, 2012.

Jaime Flores of GroupeSTAHL Sales Alliance rises to the CAD-PRINTZ Challenge at PPAI 2012.

Last week, Stahls’ exhibited at the largest Promotional Products show of the year, the PPAI Expo.  What a great opportunity to show how full color digital logos are yet another way to decorate promotional items.

Traditionally, promotional products are screen printed or embroidered, but heat printing is a great way to decorate products. By adding a heat press to your business, you can expand your decorating capabilities into areas that extend beyond screen printing and embroidery. We challenged customers to do just that in our booth at the show.

The CAD-PRINTZ™ challenge allowed customers the opportunity to bring an item to our booth and have us apply full color logos using a heat press. It was a fun way for us to prove that this is a viable method that provides customers with solutions to decorate in full color with no per color fee, plus decorate virtually any fabric, apparel, or accessory.

What types of products did we print? Nylon table skirts, a 600 Denier suitcase, canvas e-reader cases, leather luggage tags, and yes, even a golf grip!

Want to try CAD-PRINTZ™ for a sample order? Send us your client’s logo and we will print a Full Color Digital Transfer Bid Kit for you. The Bid Kit contains 14 logos in various sizes. Use a heat press to apply these to the various items your client sells to show them exactly what they can expect.

Don’t own a heat press? Stahls’ also offers decorating services. Send us your blank items for sample, small, or large orders, and we’ll print your client’s logo, apply it to the items, and ship them back to you or directly to your client.

You can truly Logo Anything!

[Image from http://www.gitomer.com]

Several years ago I complained to my dad about not knowing how to build a cabinet (or bookcase, or some other feat of woodworking). He said something like, “You have to learn how to do these things. No one was born knowing how to build a house.” I was reminded of this exchange by a recent post on SalesBlog.

The writer of SalesBlog, Jeffrey Gitomer, is a business author and speaker, with nine New York Times best sellers to his credit. His latest post, “Every Great Salesperson Was Once a Beginner,” raises points that extend beyond sales.

Gitomer points out that everyone who is at the top of his or her respective profession, whether it’s Alex Rodriguez or Bill Gates, had to start somewhere. And while we often can’t imagine how these people became so successful, Gitomer gives insights into how he became successful, such as being a “constant student,” always providing value, and performing consistently. These traits are valuable not just in sales, but in every business, even garment decoration and sign making.

Even the most experienced heat printer started out with just a heat press and an idea. It’s what they did after that which determined their level of success. Passion, dedication, and performance are equally important whether you and your business are in the beginning stages or are already established. Quality service and a quality product not only help build fledgling businesses; they keep established ones growing.

Knowing about your industry, such as what options are available to your customers and how you can expand your client list, is also just as important for veterans as it is for beginners. The  Help and Education section of our website can offer some insight, as can industry magazines, online forums (such as T-Shirt Forums), and organizations. Studying the competition can be helpful, too, ensuring that you aren’t left behind as they capitalize on the latest trends and innovations.

So check out Gitomer’s blog. Even though you might not directly be involved in sales, it can help you gain valuable insight into how to improve yourself and your company.