Fundamentals of Sign Sales Part I

My background happens to be in the electric sign industry and I will be introducing a series of posts on this site that relate directly to that market. However, the principles discussed will be applicable to any business!

Signs as Advertising

You simply must have certain tools and knowledge in place if you are going to maximize your selling potential. I can’t stress this enough. The new sales model is something that I have always done … educate your customer! This is also going to make you remarkable. unique, and memorable and you will be establishing your expertise and building your brand!

Speaking of branding, a quality sign builds a business’s brand while at the same time it says a lot about a firm’s image. A sign on the outside is often perceived by the customer to be a reflection of what they will be seeing on the inside.

You are selling advertising. Not signs! If they spend money on advertising, they have a budget that could be redirected. Where, what, and how do they advertise? Might there be a need for an EMC? Signs are an investment with an expected return. They are not an expense. This idea also opens up opportunities with people who are not looking for signs (new construction etc.).

Compare signs to traditional advertising. Why do they run the same ad 4 times in a row? Why do they tell you to run your ad 50 times over the next two weeks? Same answer. Repetition builds brand and top of mind awareness. How often do people act on this immediately? Not often. We want you to think of us when you have a need.

A sign works 24/7/365 and it is location specific. It is not interruption advertising that gets skipped on a DVR or changed to another channel. It targets people who live, play, and work in your area. Take a look at their traffic counts.

A large percentage of that count are people who will see your sign twice a day (to and from work) and who want services that are local to that area. How can you beat that? You can’t.

Product Knowledge

Product knowledge applies to budget, design, cost-justification, and competitive quotes! You have to know your product options and pricing inside and out. This may include ballpark pricing (discuss this with your manager) for the purpose of qualifying.

You also need to know about everything that affects the price of any given type of signage … flat cut, cabinets, sculptured cabinets, vinyls (opaque, trans, black white), letters (channel, reverse channel, open channel, plex back, push thru), free standing, neon, and message boards. Installation for wall and freestanding signs. Construction, materials, and painting or powder coating. Details including how neon is made and the spacing on l.e.d. lighting.

I always told my customers that there are dozens of ways to build a sign and these various ways would always generate an equal variety of price points. From a distance, will a nice opaque vinyl job on a plex face look that much different than a plex back on an aluminum face? You get my meaning.

Spend some time with your teammates! Have your manager schedule time for you to meet with the head of your production departments and well as those who oversee installation and service. Sit down with the design head and ask him or her what you can do to make their lives easier. I always, always, got close to these folks and would thank them profusely, in private and in public, for a job well done!

If you are new, and even if you are not, see if you can ride along with a seasoned vet. Ideally, you would like to go on calls that encompass all aspects of the sales process. There is much to be learned by others!

EMCs are a HUGE opportunity for customer education that will set you apart! Talk about EMC basics, practices and limitations (code), and why your company is their best choice.

Sell advertising. Not EMCs!
What do you need to know in order to recommend the right EMC? What are they wanting to display? What is the viewing distance? How about the viewing angle? How do they plan to program it? Are there monthly costs associated with programming? What is their budget? What will code allow? Traffic counts and vehicle speed?
The customer will buy from you and from your company. Sell those things. The EMC is just another part of the sign that is backed by your company and it will likely have a great vendor parts warranty.
Keep it simple and avoid jargon. People don’t care about millimeters and matrixes. They care about how it will look and work. They care about results! To that end, take your customer to several of your existing sign locations that will show a variety of resolutions and from street level. You can’t do this effectively in a demo room.
Stats are for lazy people. Instead of saying that “studies have shown, you will increase your sales by 20%” instead use common sense analogies that they will recognize.
Tell and show how they will use it. Tell them how you are going to train them.
You demo the software. What are best practices? Without these things, ANY EMC is just rows of pretty lights regardless of how great it is supposed to be! Sell the application, not the hardware!

Questions? Book a free 30-minute Zoom meeting with me! Email – craig@adaptive-business.com

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!