1. “What’s your need?”
Find out what clients are looking to do and how. This will let you know if it’s worth taking the time to think about and pitch custom solutions. If they’re new, perhaps start more conservatively to see how the project works out and then build upon successes.

2. “What’s your budget?”
Before having your team brainstorm ideas for custom products and getting suppliers and overseas manufacturers involved, have an idea of how much clients can spend. This way, you avoid spinning your wheels on ideas that won’t work for them.

3. “What’s worked for you before?”
If something customers invested in previously was a dismal failure, stay away from similar products and uses; utilize past achievements as jumping-off points for your pitch. And don’t ask what types of products they’re looking for because it may exclude things they hadn’t initially thought of but might just love.

4. “Who’s your target audience?”
Product preferences will differ widely based on the intended audience. This is where knowledge of current trends comes into play. Impress your clients by knowing what’s hot and the types of items you’d be able to source and customize for them.

Only 13% of buyers say sales reps can show they understand their pain points and have ways to solve them. (Forrester)

5. “What do you want to accomplish?”
For every sale of promotional products, there’s an objective clients are trying to achieve, and distributors have to think about the best method to do that. If you ask why they attend a certain trade show and they answer with, “Well, we attend every year,” that’s not an objective. Why do they attend every year? With digging questions like that, you’ll get to the core of their needs and be able to serve them with better ideas.

6. “What’s your timing?”
Custom products, especially if they’re coming from overseas, will require a longer-than-usual lead time. Start the process early and communicate clearly that custom products require extra time for shipping and assembly, so getting the project started well in advance of the deadline is imperative.