It’s all about super heroes today. Remakes of Superman, the Avengers, Iron Man, Wolverine, Wonder Woman, Batman, Thor and the Green Lantern abound. Moviegoers love them. Video gamers crave them. Little kids (and big ones) wanna be them, and not just on Halloween.
So, as I was packing for my honeymoon next week, I started thinking that one of the best thing we can do as garment counselors is to make our clients look like a hero to THEIR end-users. And that means recommending apparel pieces that PERFORM, PROTECT, GUARD and ADAPT faster than a speeding bullet. The perfect category? The one I consider the super hero category of apparel: lightweight jackets. “Can’t travel without” garments.
Picture this: You’re overlooking an amazing vista of breathtaking waterfalls, when suddenly a cloud appears and the water falls on YOU! Or, you’re at a soccer tournament far away from home. The game just started, and goes on no matter what (except lightning) and here comes a wall of water, whipping you sideways, with winds careening across the open plain of soccer fields. Or you’re in business meetings, handcuffed to your emails and conference calls all day, so you even skipped lunch. As you leave your building at 6:25 PM that night, tired and hungry – WHAM! The temperature has DROPPED 25 degrees, and you have a ways to walk. What do you do?
Grab a light jacket! A packaway jacket. A bonded performance favorite. A weather tamer. An instant turtle shell. A wearable umbrella. The not-too-heavy, but always just right piece of weather armor.
So how do you prepare to be the caped crusader/lightweight jacket expert for your clients? Pick out a few of your very favorites. Ones that tuck away into themselves or the ones that you pack in the trunk or purse for those special surprises. Or styles you’d love wearing as your new favorite jackets this spring, to everywhere from work, to the mall or to baseball practices. Look for the performance features that will defend your clients’ end-users best: water resistance, wind resistance, portability, zippered pockets to shield every device you can imagine. Get to know them, and how to show them (decorated with your logo, of course!) And even when presenting other types of garments, always end your presentation with, “Before I go, have you seen this new jacket?” You never know when that one single mention may turn into an add-on sale that is even more profitable than the original.
It’s time to get your new cape on, sales pros. And capture more of those sales that will repeat season after season with lightweight jacket heroes.
And now, to find that favorite packaway jacket of mine for my Hawaiian cruise!
Happy selling!
Mary Ellen Nichols, MAS (Soon to be “Sokalski”)
