Selling Promotional Products

Complete Story

07/07/2026

Selling Promotional Products

Source: Bill Farquharson, July 6, 2026

Good morning!

It's widely known the easiest sale you make is to your existing customer. They know you. They trust you. Blah, blah, blah.

That's what makes selling promotional products and branded apparel a no-brainer. It's probably something they already buy from someone else. Or, if you're lucky, it's something they need but just don't know it yet.

I currently coach hundreds of people who sell promo. The Sales Vault is full of them. Most primarily sell print or signage, so these comments come from experience. Plus, I have sold it myself.

What I find is, there are two types of promo/branded apparel salespeople.

The first hands out a catalog full of various products. The second takes the time to learn the need and come up with some ideas.

You see, that's the biggest difference when it comes to selling promotional products and branded apparel versus print and signage: You have to create the application.

For example, you don't have to convince someone to put a sign outside their business. But selling promo almost always consists of planting a lot of seeds. That is, selling people on the idea of using promo to generate leads or retain and recognize employees and build morale.

So let me set your expectations both today and throughout this month of LinkedIn posts:

Initially, selling promotional products and branded apparel is going to be a lot of one-way conversations. Don't expect instant results. Follow a process of communicating your sales pitch to the right target market and then circle back later on.

If you're just starting out, this is going to be your experience for a while. But like any good farmer will tell you, you've got to plant the seeds in order to reap the harvest.

Get planting.

Watch Bill present this week's sales tip

The Sales Vault, created by Bill Farquharson, is a subscription-based resource and sales community featuring a calendar packed with live workshops, on-demand sales courses, peer-to-peer discussion groups, and 35+ years of sales training content all searchable by sales challenge. Think of it as a sales conference where the seminars and workshops, full of instantly applicable ideas, are ongoing and more programs are added constantly.

The Sales Vault is available on a monthly subscription basis, normally at a no-brainer monthly price of $45/participant, but… GMA members can take advantage of an exclusive offer: FREE membership for 30 days followed by a discounted monthly subscription price of just $40/participant.

Bill has been a friend of GMA for many years and is, no doubt, known to our members as a top sales trainer and content creator for the graphic arts.

Other Vault resources:

Check out the Sales Vault!

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