A basic approach to selling signs

Training new owners, sales staff and employees led me to evaluate the process of selling a sign. To help them know what to expect, I put together a list of common questions and a few answers. Even though I may not have asked every question on every sale, these might prepare the sign maker for the typical sales process.

Keep in mind that our main product line was either flat-painted or dimensional wooden signs. Your questions would be a little different if your primary products were illuminated plastic or neon signs.

The customer arrives

The customer walks in, appears to be in a jovial mood, and asks, “How much does a sign cost?”

Considering the customer’s mood, I might respond, “Usually a million dollars, but we are running a half-price special on them today. After we get a 50% deposit, we will start on your project immediately.”

Or another response might be, “How much does it weigh? We’ve started pricing them by the pound…”

Otherwise, the customer might say something like this:

1. “We want you to make a sign for us…”
2. “We need a sign…”
3. “We need a price…”
4. “We need a bid…”
5. “Just looking…”

I hate to hear request Number 4. Sometimes they don’t really know how to ask the question, but when they ask for a bid it really throws up a barrier for me. It sounds like they are just shopping for a low price.

Next, I ask a series of questions that usually run in fairly linear patterns as listed below.

Do you need a commercial or residential sign?

1. If commercial:
2. Where does the sign go? In the town, county, or another state?
3. Have you checked on permits or requirements?
4. What kind of sign do you need—painted, vinyl, vehicle, carved, sandblasted, cut-out dimensional?
5. If residential:
6. Interior or exterior?
7. By a gate?
8. On posts?
9. Hanging from a beam?
10. Vehicle, boat, or trailer?

Let’s get some details. Once that’s out of the way, I follow up with these common questions for either commercial or residential signs:

How big?

How many?

One-sided or two?

Can you name a few signs we have done which you particularly like? If so, what did you like about the sign? Shape? Size? Color? Letterstyle? Installation? Graphic? A certain technique?

Do you have a budget?

Show examples and photos of similar signs.

Give the customer a three-tier price for their type of sign.

Who is paying for the project?

Do you have any artwork or logos to use?

Do you have any color preferences?

Do you want gold leaf?

Do you want a pictorial or other graphic?

Do we need to install it?

Do we need to light it?

Will we have to crate, ship, and insure it?

Let me explain our terms.

We get a 50% deposit to begin a project.

We get a design deposit to do a preliminary drawing of your sign.

How much time do we have?

If it is a rush project, are you willing to pay overtime costs to get it done by your deadline?

Who is getting the permits?

Finally, I get the person’s name, company name, address, shipping address, phone and email address.

Know when to pass

Every customer is different. Occasionally a customer and I connect and communicate immediately. It is as though we were reading each other’s thoughts. Everything I say is precise, informative and easily understood by the prospect.

For other customers, though, I can’t seem to say anything right. Nothing makes sense to them, and I become frustrated and often defensive. It seems like every conversation with this type of customer is the same. It is difficult for me to send a person down the road, but I have had to do it a couple of times, and I usually sleep better afterwards.

You don’t have to do every job that comes through the door. If the customer’s expectations of you or your shop are unreasonable, you don’t owe them anything. You—as the boss, owner, or manager—should be in control.

Many times they will settle down and accept your terms once they realize that you are not going to roll over for them. Pricing a sign too low just to get the job because you are worried about them going down the street to a competitor is a recipe for failure.

When it is all said and done, you make your money on the signs you produce, not the ones you talk about. Keep your selling time short, precise, and accurate. Stay in control of the sale and learn from your mistakes.

Now semi-retired, Mike and Darla Jackson have spent over 40 years in the sign business.