How to Communicate with Apparel Vendors

What was taught and discussed this week at The Apparel Mentor Group Live Session taught by Mindy Martell?

• We discussed a lot of communication with fabric vendors and factories.

  • It is a very delicate situation with these vendors as they get potentially hundreds of inquires a week.

• We discussed how to write the emails in a way that encourages your email to stand out and be taken seriously by the vendor. * One tip is to note put too much information or too many questions in the initial email.

• You want to ask some basic questions first to see if they have the right category of fabric or if they are overarchingly a good factory for your product.

  • Then in subsequent emails, it is best to ask more detailed follow-up questions like price or minimums or other details.

• We also discussed how you want to engage with the factory before sending them any samples and make sure they agree to receive the samples before just sending them.

  • Then track the samples and follow up with them once you see they are received.

• It is good to remember these vendors are dealing with a ton of communication so it is okay to follow up and check in with them about once or twice a week if you are waiting for a response.

Apparel entrepreneurs, this is just a snippet of the knowledge that Mindy imparts to her students. Sign up for The Apparel Mentor program to join the conversation and download our FREE App.

I'm happy to answer any of your questions with a 15 min consultation call. I've been there before and love helping fellow entrepreneurs.

Keep creating,
xx
Alyssa - Fellow Apparel Entrepreneur and Designer