You Can't Wear The Race Shirt Until You Finish The Race
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Sales 140.6
You Can't Wear The Race Shirt Until You Finish The Race
You never see a serious competitor wearing the t-shirt of the race they are participating in until after they complete the race. Think about it. How many times have you seen the winner of the Boston Marathon fly across the finish line in a Boston Marathon t-shirt? Never! It is not only a major fashion faux pas but it is also a complete violation of an unwritten code that says that you must earn it before you can flaunt it.
Race shirts say a lot about an individual. For example, when I see someone wearing a shirt from the local YMCA triathlon I think to myself, beginner. Someone sporting an out of state regional race, now I am impressed. If you are cool enough to wear an Ironman finisher shirt then I am all out frightened of you.
Shirts tell us where you have been and what you are capable of accomplishing. Since it is not yet fashionably acceptable to strut around town with a finisher’s medal around your neck, we must rely on our t-shirts to advertise what we have done.
T-shirts also hide the details. They don’t communicate whether you had a good day or a bad day, the best race of your life or the worst experience ever. Whether you came in first, second or just behind the obese woman walking a 22 minute mile.
Our shirts are our resumes. They proclaim our victories without making mention of any of our defeats. They allow us to broadcast to the world:
Been there.
Done that.
Got the t-shirt.
SALES LESSONS TO BE DISCUSSED:
What is in your wardrobe?
Did you earn it?
When do you wear it?
What does it say about you?
You Can't Wear The Race Shirt Until You Finish The Race
You never see a serious competitor wearing the t-shirt of the race they are participating in until after they complete the race. Think about it. How many times have you seen the winner of the Boston Marathon fly across the finish line in a Boston Marathon t-shirt? Never! It is not only a major fashion faux pas but it is also a complete violation of an unwritten code that says that you must earn it before you can flaunt it.
Race shirts say a lot about an individual. For example, when I see someone wearing a shirt from the local YMCA triathlon I think to myself, beginner. Someone sporting an out of state regional race, now I am impressed. If you are cool enough to wear an Ironman finisher shirt then I am all out frightened of you.
Shirts tell us where you have been and what you are capable of accomplishing. Since it is not yet fashionably acceptable to strut around town with a finisher’s medal around your neck, we must rely on our t-shirts to advertise what we have done.
T-shirts also hide the details. They don’t communicate whether you had a good day or a bad day, the best race of your life or the worst experience ever. Whether you came in first, second or just behind the obese woman walking a 22 minute mile.
Our shirts are our resumes. They proclaim our victories without making mention of any of our defeats. They allow us to broadcast to the world:
Been there.
Done that.
Got the t-shirt.
SALES LESSONS TO BE DISCUSSED:
What is in your wardrobe?
Did you earn it?
When do you wear it?
What does it say about you?
