It's All in the Presentation

The reality here is that the Gretch drums are significantly higher-end and much better than the ones we bought. It's just that the "presentation" was so unfavorable I didn't want to do business with the guy. We would have paid more if the presentation was right.

On one of my Sunday morning motorcycle rides before church, I passed by our local swap meet. It was very early. There was a significant line of trucks and vans loaded with "stuff" waiting to get in to set up shop. I'm not a big swap meet guy but I know the vibe. I do confess to being a swap meet vendor in my youth, selling apparel including the ever-popular Mork vest. I'm dating myself, but these were the striped vests stripes Mork wore on the Mork & Mindy TV show. We made good money selling those things!

These recent experiences got me thinking about how companies in our industry present themselves to clients. Are we the cheesy-stuff seller that sends out e-blasts with some special low price on an item? Or do we position ourselves to offer beneficial marketing solutions that will benefit the client? An effective presentation enables us to earn a higher margin. This same is true for both distributors and suppliers. How we present ourselves is critical to how we are perceived.

I've been in this industry a long time as a garment decorator, distributor and a service provider through my industry resource program FreePromoTips. These years of experience have enabled me to see much. From my vantage point, I see that many distributors and many suppliers don't understand that it's all in the presentation. That's a big plus for those who "get it."

Are we effectively presenting the truth that we provide real answers to real marketing challenges? It's something to consider.