There are times when your promotional products sales seem to be in a slump. Rather than sitting around waiting for your customers to call, take a proactive approach that will stimulate purchase interest by creating and filling a need for your client.

Every month of the year represents a specific cause or event. Use these themes or do an online search for others to use as a selling tool. Some of these events are global, some specific to Canada and or the U.S.

Approach Your Customers and Start Rejuvenating Slumping Promotional Products Sales

January - Polar Bear Swim for Charities, time of some bridal shows, Snowfest, Travel to warm climes

February - Heart Month, Black History Month, Family Day, Heritage Day

March - St. Patrick's Day, sometimes Easter, Nutrition Month, Fraud Prevention Month

April - Daffodil Month - Canadian Cancer Society, Earth Month, Poetry Month, month when people are thinking about golf needs

May - Museum Month (Ont.), Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, Hearing Awareness Month, Multiple Sclerosis Month, Queen Victoria's Birthday

June - Recreation & Parks Month, Brain Injury Awareness Month, Stroke Month, golf tournaments

July - Canada Day, Ontario Sausage Festival, various summer festivals and activities are going on in each city, golf tournaments

August - the month before students return to school, local events such as Theatre Festivals, Dragon Boat Festivals, golf tournaments

September - beginning of school year, tail end of golfing supplies, some College registration, many Harvest festivals and fairs

October - Homecomings, Wedding Shows, Hallowe'en celebrations, Christmas preparations for your corporate clients (start working on this in Sept. or Oct.)

November - CPR Month, Osteoporosis Month, Diabetes Awareness Month, Hemophilia Awareness Month, Crohn's & Colitis Awareness Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Christmas products

December - CHRISTMAS - especially those clients that seem surprised that the holiday is 3 days away. This is also the time to start setting up the next year.

Look ahead, and contact applicable clients two or three months before the event date. Have product and application suggestions ready if possible. You might consider having a ‘special' for the occasion, i.e. golf season. Email the special (with pic) to customers who might be interested, but take care not to overuse this method lest you be accused of spamming. There are some sectors of the market that will not be able to receive your emails, such as government and school addresses. Their systems usually do not allow for those types of mail.

• Pull previous order from the same time of year. Call your customer to remind them of what and how many they ordered, and ask for a repeat.
• Have a Customer Appreciation Day (week, month, whatever). This may include a free something with a certain dollar value order, an education day where they are invited into your office showroom to view samples and learn the latest product and industry news with their receiving a giveaway on the way out.
• When your promotional customer base gets large enough, you may consider having a trade show for your clients. Invite supplier reps to bring their wares. Don't forget to serve food and drink to the clients (wine is usually one of the offered choices of beverages). Don't forget to feed and water the reps.
• Send out a monthly newsletter. Be sure to feature an employee, at least on occasion, and a customer (with their permission).
• When you see a new product, or a product on special from one of your suppliers, make your customer aware of it. Usually, a particular customer comes to mind when you see a product. Naturally, not all products will bring to mind an association, but you'll know when it happens.
• Simply call. If you haven't spoken with a client for some time, call and ask if they need anything.
• Agree to exhibit in client's trade shows. This most commonly comes up in community health organizations, or schools, and tends to be on a small scale. If you don't get immediate sales, you do get exposure via an actual physical meeting with someone, or by an attendee telling someone who wasn't there about you. You will know after a doing a couple whether or not it is financially viable to repeat.
• Agree to play in golf tournaments for charities. Whether you decide to attend and play or not, always have golf prize table items at the ready to donate to the cause. Make sure that your card is in the packaging, and if possible have your name imprinted/embroidered/screened onto the promotional product being donated.

Stimulating sales is limited only by your imagination and level of interest. Remember when dealing with your clients, that while fake enthusiasm is a turn-off, genuine (grounded) interest and excitement is contagious.

Rejuvenating slumping promotional products sales is completely possible by using some of these tips.  Good luck.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section or pop me an email.