CRM for Sign Companies

Finally, a CRM system designed around how sign companies actually sell, quote, and follow up

Sign companies don’t sell like other companies. They are required to: conduct site visits, understand sign ordinances, produce original designs, deal with revisions, create estimates, and secure permitting. Both before and after the sale, they are managing projects and are often dealing with long sales cycles. I know this because I spent 15+ years in the custom electric sign industry as a sales rep, a manager, and an owner.

Most CRMs don’t fit this reality. They are either not designed for sign salespeople and managers and/or they are an afterthought add-on to a system designed to handle your estimating, job costing, inventory control, and bookkeeping. That’s the problem.

Why Most Sign Companies Struggle With CRM

Estimating software is a not a CRM. A CRM is best designed to help salespeople close more projects. Right now, salespeople will likely …

Use spreadsheets.
Create physical folders full of notes on gum wrappers.
Try to manage everything via their inbox.
Rely on memory to stay on top of everything.

They may even do these things if you currently have a CRM in place that is not being used! It get’s worse. Owners and managers have no visibility of what is going on. Without this, planning is next to impossible and you have no way of knowing what you can do to help your salespeople improve their production. Not following up in a timely manner = lost jobs.

In order for sign companies to succeed with CRM, the CRM must look like, and act like, how you sell. It must help you to close more deals. It must be simple to use and not place burdens on your sales staff and particularly when they provide zero returns.

What It’s Really Costing You

Not properly managing opportunities will invariably result in …

Missed opportunities.
Delayed responses to customer inquiries.
Inconsistent follow-up.
Pipelines that have been sprinkled with fairy dust.
Lost revenue.

And, that’s a shame. Valid opportunities can be tough enough to find and then not being able to close them because you skipped out on the basics … that’s a travesty!

What a CRM for Sign Companies Must Include

Centralized contact management including a complete record of all interactions with these contacts.
Task reminders and follow-up – Failure to do so will always result in squandered opportunities.
Lead qualification – This is huge. From experience, a very large percentage of lost deals were never properly qualified.
Pipeline forecasting – This is important for both salespeople and managers for too many reasons to list here.
Mobile access for salespeople – Sign salespeople are always out in the field. Their contact records should travel with them!
Visibility for sales managers and owners – I don’t need to tell you how important this is for many reasons!

Without these basic fundamentals, there is absolutely no way for your team to maximize their chances for success!

Why Generic CRMs Don’t Fit Sign Shops

Generic CRMs are generally built for …

Subscription sales or ..
High volume inside sales.
They are too complicated.
They are too generic.
They are not customized for the unique needs of the sign industry including industry fields of information, lead qualification workflows, and signage deal records and pipelines.

This why I have built a sign-specific template for the unique needs of signage companies!

A Better Approach

After working in the sign industry for 15+ years as an owner, manager, and sales rep, I searched for a CRM that actually fits how sign companies sell. In 2011, I was introduced to Nimble CRM. Nimble is the brainchild of Jon Ferrara who originally developed Goldmine CRM in the late 80’s. I actually started using CRM, then called Contact Managers, at about that same time. I have used many CRMs throughout the years.

Nimble CRM allows us to:

Create custom fields of information that are specific to the sign industry.
Customize workflows that represent how need to be selling signs.
Do the same thing with deal records and pipelines.
Create a system for structured follow-up.
Provide visibility for owners and managers.
Keep it simple enough so that reps will actually use it.
Customize deal stages.
Generate a variety of sales and forecast reports.

While I have already configured my Nimble account for the signage industry, based on my experience, rest assured that we will make Nimble look like, and work for, your unique needs. The template provides us with a good starting point.

Why Sign Companies Work With Me

As stated earlier, I spent 15+ years in the sign industry as a sales rep, manager, and owner. I have 50 years of B2B sales and management experience. I have been a Solution Partner for Nimble CRM since before it was actually introduced to the public and I have configured Nimble specifically for sign shops. I specialize in helping companies to implement Nimble CRM and then train their users on how to get the most out of it. Here is what people say about my services.

For the signage industry, I have modified my Nimble training to optionally incorporate my proven sales training based on my 90+ page eBook “Selling Signs – Lessons From The Trenches”. This will supply a powerful one-two punch!

Let’s Fix Your CRM Problem!

The key to successfully selling signage at it’s highest level lies in consistency. Develop a proven system for success and then follow it. If it works, you want and should replicate it! If you’re running a sign company and your sales tracking feels scattered or your sales are not where they should be, let’s talk.

Book a free 30-minute consultation and we’ll look at your current process together.

Learn more about …

Our services for sign companies

“Selling Signs – Lessons From the Trenches”

More resources for sign companies: See all articles and guides here.