🔊Audio version of this article, available at the bottom🔊
How much business have you walked past simply because you didn't know enough about the opportunity to recognize it?
Think about that question for a minute.
Not how much business have you lost. Not how many quotes didn't close. Not how many customers went somewhere else because your price was too high.
How much business have you never pursued because you weren't comfortable enough with the product, process, decoration method, manufacturing technique, or solution to start the conversation?
I believe it's happening every single day in our industry.
Salespeople naturally gravitate toward what they know. It makes sense. If you understand drinkware, you're comfortable talking about drinkware. If you've sold embroidered polos for twenty years, you know the questions to ask. You understand the process. You know where the potential problems are. You know which suppliers to call.
Then a customer throws something completely different at you. Perhaps it's a complicated apparel project using fabrics and decoration methods you're unfamiliar with. Maybe it's a completely custom product. Maybe it's packaging, fulfillment, kitting, overseas manufacturing, or some other solution you've never sold before.
Suddenly, you're outside your comfort zone. What happens next? Too often, we retreat to what we know.
We Sell What We Know
I don't believe most salespeople avoid new opportunities because they're lazy or don't care about growing their business. I think the explanation is much more practical.
They're uninformed.
They don't know enough about a particular category to feel comfortable discussing it with a customer. And most salespeople today are already incredibly time starved. They're prospecting, quoting, sourcing products, answering emails, following up on artwork, chasing orders, putting out fires, handling customer service issues, and somewhere in the middle of all of that, trying to actually sell something.
Now we're telling them they also need to become an expert in another product category?
I understand why that doesn't happen; but there's a significant problem with staying inside what you already know.
Your knowledge doesn't just influence what you sell. It influences what you're capable of seeing.
That's where opportunities disappear; if your knowledge is limited to the same categories and solutions you've sold for years, you become very good at recognizing opportunities that look exactly like the opportunities you've handled before.
Anything outside that world becomes harder to recognize, and sometimes the opportunity is sitting right in front of you.
You Don't Have to Know Everything
This is where I think many salespeople make the mistake. They believe that before they can sell something, they have to become an expert in it. You don't.
You need enough knowledge to recognize that an opportunity exists. You need to know enough to ask intelligent questions. You need to understand where your knowledge stops; and most importantly, you need to know who to call next.
Think about how this works in virtually every other profession. A general contractor doesn't personally perform every trade required to build a house. An architect doesn't pretend to possess every piece of engineering expertise required for a project. A physician doesn't personally handle every medical specialty; they bring in people with specialized knowledge.
Why should we approach our businesses any differently?
You don't need enough knowledge to have every answer. You need enough knowledge to recognize the opportunity and know who to call next. That's a completely different mindset.
Take Apparel
Apparel is a perfect example.
Someone outside our industry might think decorating a shirt is pretty simple. Put a logo on it; however, those of us who have been around this business know better.
What fabric is being used? What is its composition? Is it performance material? How much stretch does it have? What decoration process makes sense? Embroidery? Screen printing? Direct to garment? Direct to film? Heat transfer?
Where is the decoration going to be placed? Multiple placements? What happens when the garment is washed? Could there be issues with the fabric, ink, thread, artwork, or decoration location?
Suddenly, "put a logo on it" isn’t so simple. If you don't understand apparel and decoration, there are two choices. You can avoid selling it, or you can call somebody who understands it better than you do.
Call your decorator. Call your apparel supplier. Explain the opportunity. Ask questions. Bring them into the conversation with your customer when necessary.
You don't have to become the decorator or the manufacturer; your job is to recognize the opportunity and assemble the resources necessary to solve the customer's problem.
Packaging Is No Different
A customer tells you, "We're sending something to our top 100 customers, and we really want it to make an impression."
What did you hear? Did you hear, "They need a box"?; or did you hear an opportunity?
There could be custom packaging, unique substrates, inserts, printing, personalization, kitting, fulfillment, NFC technology, lighting, sound, and dozens of other possibilities; you may not know how to engineer any of it.
That's okay. You don't have to; but if you know enough to realize there is something much bigger hiding inside that request, you can pick up the phone and call a packaging supplier who lives and breathes this stuff every day.
Now the conversation changes; instead of simply selling the customer a box, you're helping create an experience, and potentially, a much larger sale.
Stop Being Afraid to Say, "I Don't Know"
I think there's another issue at work here.
Salespeople don't like being asked questions they can't answer. Nobody wants to sit across from a customer and feel unprepared; so rather than introduce something they don't completely understand, they simply don't bring it up.
I think we have that backward. There's nothing wrong with telling a customer: "That's a great question. I don't want to guess at the answer. Let me bring one of my supplier partners into the conversation who specializes in this."
How does that diminish your credibility? I believe it does exactly the opposite. Pretending to know something when you don't, can destroy credibility. Knowing where to find the right answer builds it. Your customer doesn't need you to know everything, they need to trust that when they bring you a problem, you can find the people and resources necessary to solve it.
That's value.
Your Suppliers May Be Your Most Underutilized Salespeople
We have an incredible supplier network in this industry, yet I believe far too many distributors use their suppliers primarily to answer three questions.
What's my price?
Do you have inventory?
Can I get it by Friday?
If that's the extent of the relationship, we're leaving an enormous resource sitting on the table. Think about the knowledge inside a great supplier organization. They've seen hundreds, perhaps thousands, of projects. They know what works. They know what doesn't. They know the questions that need to be asked. They know where projects typically go sideways. And they probably know possibilities you don't even know exist. More importantly, many great suppliers are willing to help you sell.
One of my supplier friends has a very simple philosophy. If you have a customer who wants to talk about an opportunity, bring us into the conversation.
That's how it should work.
The supplier brings technical expertise; you bring the customer relationship, understanding of the client's objectives, and ability to identify the opportunity.
Together, you bring a stronger solution.
Become Conversant, Not Expert
Here's my challenge.
Pick one category you don't sell today because you don't understand it well enough.
Then find a supplier partner who does.
Give them an hour; ask them what distributors misunderstand about their category. Ask what mistakes salespeople commonly make. Ask what questions you should be asking customers. Ask what opportunities you're probably overlooking. Ask what terminology you should understand. Ask when you should immediately pick up the phone and call them.
You're not trying to become an expert in sixty-minutes; you're trying to become conversant. You want enough knowledge so that the next time a customer says something that points toward an opportunity, your antenna goes up.
Instead of saying, "We don't really do that," you can say:
"Tell me more about what you're trying to accomplish."
Those seven words could completely change the direction of the conversation.
And perhaps the size of the sale.
Raise Your Ceiling
There will always be products you don't understand. There will always be manufacturing processes you haven't encountered, decoration techniques you've never sold, and solutions you've never considered.
That's not the problem. The problem begins when what you don't know determines what you're willing to sell.
Your personal knowledge base will always have limits. Your capabilities don't have to; become curious. Ask better questions. Educate yourself enough to recognize opportunities. Build relationships with supplier partners who possess expertise you don't have, and don't be reluctant to bring those people into the room. Most importantly, stop believing you must know everything before you're qualified to start the conversation.
Your knowledge ceiling doesn't have to become your sales ceiling.
So, here's the question I'd challenge you to answer:
What aren't you selling today simply because you don't understand it well enough?
Identify one thing. Find the right supplier partner. Learn enough to recognize the opportunity. Then go have the conversation.
You might be astounded by the amount of business that's been sitting right in front of you.
Until next month, continued good selling - CQ
Cliff Quicksell, CSP, MAS+, MASI, has been a driving force in the promotional products
industry for over four decades. As President of Cliff Quicksell Associates &
QuicksellSpeaks, he is internationally recognized for his dynamic work as a speaker,
coach, trainer, and consultant—empowering businesses and associations to market
smarter, engage deeper, and grow stronger.
Cliff's long list of accolades includes his 2021 induction into the PPAI Hall of Fame and
the prestigious CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation in 2023—an honor
held by fewer than 7% of speakers worldwide and the only active professional in the
promotional products industry to achieve it.
A true creative innovator, Cliff has earned more than 40 PPAI Pyramid Awards,5 PSDA
Peak Awards, and 13 CPPA PEAKE Awards. He’s a six-time winner of PPAI’s
Ambassador Speaker of the Year and was the first-ever recipient of the PPAI
Distinguished Service Award. Recognized in PPAI at 100 and named one of Counselor
Magazine’s Top 50 Most Influential People in the industry, Cliff is celebrated for his
passionate contributions to industry education and thought leadership.
His award-winning blog, 30 Seconds to Greatness, was honored with the 8LMedia
Award for Most Passed Around Content. Stay connected with Cliff on LinkedIn or email
him at cliff@QuicksellSpeaks.com. Visit www.QuicksellSpeaks.com for upcoming
events and podcast updates. Cliff is also preparing to launch a new venture dedicated
to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive utilizing a custom AI designed
specifically for Promo World, called MerchPilot™.