Advertising Companies

Corporate America is one of the largest buyers of embroidered products...

Just think about all the ways in which companies use these goods. There's the annual sales meeting where attendees are often given a shirt or cap embroidered with the company logo. For a company golf outing, embroidered golf towels might be presented to each golfer. Many companies either require or encourage their employees to wear apparel embroidered with the company's logo.

Most of these products will be purchased through advertising specialty representatives, who sell an array of promotional products. These include such items as pens, mugs, shirts, towels, caps, key chains and totes. All are usually personalized with the company's name, logo or some sort of slogan.

These people are basically brokers for different manufacturers and rely on many different sources for their goods. Since the majority of representatives don't have in-house embroidery capabilities, they normally place their embroidery business with a local embroiderer.

Therefore, your first step is to let these people know who you are. Of course, to do that, you need to know who they are. Look in the Yellow Pages under Advertising Specialties. Then start cultivating relationships. Begin with a letter or phone call. Consider sending a sample of work that's been personalized for the individual. Stay in contact and continue to let these folks know that you are interested in doing business with them.

Other markets you should target include :

You've zeroed in on your market, it's time to make a plan.