Contributed post from Rawlins Gilliland:
When I first got into the apparel business, selling women’s couture at Neiman Marcus, it didn’t take me long to realize that my greatest selling asset was that I was NOT a woman. And by that I mean I did not get in my own way when I was helping a customer find something they would love to wear. I could be very objective because my own ego and preferences about colors and styles, or even body image, didn’t come into play.
As I rose through the ranks to have salespeople reporting to me, I noticed that some of the other salespeople’s’ own biases were coming into play. The saleswomen with big hips never showed their customers short jackets even when the women they were dressing had a very different body contour; I’d see a best-selling olive green suit ignored by a salesperson who personally hated olive green.
My point is: it is NOT about you! It’s about the people who enter your shop or store. That alone is one of my top tips for how to approach writing orders at Dallas Market Center.
If I was on my death bed and was asked to name the two things that I believed hinder your store’s revenue and customer base growth, it would be:
- This “It’s not about you” message
- That you keep buying the same lines from the same merchants for the same customers (who are quietly getting tired of you always buying the same lines they’ve come to expect)
Join me at Dallas Market Center’s October Apparel & Accessories Market to find newer lines and items that will help you get out of your own way to create a fresh merchandise mix to both make your regular customer salivate like teenage boys at a hamburger buffet, and attract newer customers to your unexpected and unique items.
Make sure to register for October Market and don’t miss these anticipated events:
Discovery Tour with Rawlins: Fresh & Profitable Fashion Accessories
October 25 | 3PM | WTC 14 - Kim Dawson Runway Café
Discovery Tour with Rawlins: Apparel Items Guaranteed to Sell
October 26 | 10AM | WTC 14 - Kim Dawson Runway Café
Discovery Tour with Rawlins: Hottest Temp Picks
October 26 | 3PM | WTC 13 - SCENE