uksignboards.com | customers needed

John Stevenson

Member

13 January 2007 at 23:37

Hi Lee

just a suggestion.

Every empty commercial / retail / industrial building will eventually be inhabited and will require signage.

Get some leaflets done and stick them through the letterbox of every empty building.

John

there are many ways to gain business…. ill list more later/tomorrow etc
one that always sticks in my mind way back when i started out with my dad was walking towns and city’s ever Sunday morning doing leaflet drops… i hated it…
an easy 3 hours leaflet drop in every shop in every street in the city centre may only generate 12 sale/enquirer.

John Stevenson

Member

14 January 2007 at 00:01

Hey Rob

12 enquires for a 3 hour walkabout when you are starting out sounds good to me.

John

David Rogers

Member

14 January 2007 at 00:22

If I’m not too rushed on a fitting..and it’s nice & sunny – I’ll often drop a card into nearby shops whose signs look a bit ‘iffy’ with a friendly ‘Hi’ and a smile – virtually zero effort – some jobs out of it.

I learned ages ago that (round here) ‘mail-shots’ are next to useless – you’re lucky to get 1 or 2% interest.

Best adverts I’ve had is the van parked on a job and word of mouth.

It difficult to get the word of mouth unless you target / get tradesmen.
One gets a van done – then another, tells his mates…sister’s shop…and so on.

Be prepared to do some discounted stuff too. Not to the extent of ‘busy fool’ – but ‘incentives’. Leave it to you to decide what you can make fast cheap & easy!!

Dave

Dave Harrison

Member

14 January 2007 at 02:09

Here’s a few of my thoughts. . .
Like David said, I would go for the more targeted approach.

The first thing you need to do is spend some money and get good quality business cards and flyers printed up. As the main product you are trying to sell is a better image for others, its no use turning up with photo-copies and homemade business cards.

Once you’ve got your nice new flyers don’t go wasting them, remember they’ve cost you money ! Rather than carpet bombing an area, target places like builders yards, B&Q car park etc etc. Cafes are also good, most will let you stick a card up on their notice board. The trick is to talk to everyone, If you can personally hand someone a card they are more likely to remember and take notice.
Always make sure you’ve got some to hand so if you happen to pass a new shop without a sign you can stop and give your details.

Finally phone your old customers up every so often, use the old excuse of "just a courtesy call. . blah blah " It might remind them they need some signage !

Anyway I hope that gets the ball rolling I’m sure others will have even more creative ways to drum up business.

All the best !

Dave

Shane Drew

Member

14 January 2007 at 03:12

Hey Lee.

Some really good advice here.

I’ve done Mail box drops when I have been desperate a few years back. 2% is general the accepted return rate, maybe higher if its a new estate. I have got some of my biggest and most regular clients by letter box drop, so I would not dismiss it totally, but it is a long slog, and you will not get calls immediately. Best thing is make sure your vehicle is signed before you start, because people will read the blurb, and if they see your van in the street later, it will reinforce who you are.

Cold calling is also a good thing to try, but remember once you have called, arrange to contact them again 3 days later, to follow through on your previous call. Statistically, the 3rd day is usually when they are ready to talk about it, any later though and they’ll probably go cold on the idea, any sooner and they would not have had time to digest what you had discussed. Remember too, you are probably not the only sign shop looking for business, so it pays to be persistant.

It is all about branding too. Carry the theme from your van to your leaflets, to your cards etc. Your brand is ultimately the thing that people will remember.

The other excellent advice here is that first impressions count. Home made cards and photocopied leaflets reflect a ‘cheap’ approach. Don’t confuse a cheap ‘look’ with the clients wanting a ‘cheap’ job. People are happier entrusting their sign jobs to companies that look solid and well established. Home made cards etc don’t convey that thought.

Spend a bit of money having your stuff professionally produced, even paying for a graphic designer to do a decent logo if you don’t have the confidence yourself, then carry that theme through your advertising, and you’ll be amazed at the different attitudes that people display.

Once I have done a few jobs for a client, I’ll offer to donate signs to their local sporting club or what not, to help them out for internal or club promotions. 99% of the time they’ll jump at the offer, and then you have a whole new audience with other members of the club, and you’ve only had to put your hand in your pocket for a few off cuts in sign material. As referrals are the cheapest way to get a new client, its good to maintain contact with all your clients on a regular basis.

Finally, network with other sign shops. UKSB’s is a great resource for that. By networking and knowing what other sign shops can do for you on a subcontract arrangement, you will rarely have to say that you can’t do a job. Instead you can subby it out, put a % on top, and everyone is happy.

Hope that helps

Pryam Carter

Member

14 January 2007 at 05:55

We stand every year at a local catering trade show, always pick up new customers from that. It is an expensive initial cost sorting your stand out with pop ups etc.. but once paid for it will last a few years.
Go to the plumbers/builders merchants, while they are inside having a coffee (they are always drinking at the trade counter round here) drop a leaflet on their window screen, if you see a plain van in town drop one on that.
Word of mouth is the most powerful tool in my opinion, i recommendation from a friend to another friend goes a long way.
Good Luck 😉

George Kern

Member

14 January 2007 at 07:10

quote Pryam Carter:

We stand every year at a local catering trade show, always pick up new customers from that. It is an expensive initial cost sorting your stand out with pop ups etc.. but once paid for it will last a few years.
Go to the plumbers/builders merchants, while they are inside having a coffee (they are always drinking at the trade counter round here) drop a leaflet on their window screen, if you see a plain van in town drop one on that.
Word of mouth is the most powerful tool in my opinion, i recommendation from a friend to another friend goes a long way.
Good Luck 😉

Im with Pryam on the word of mouth. For the first 1 year we did not do any advertising at all with the exception of our website which was only to show examples of our work when a client asked for visual references. Do yourself a favor and find a printer that prints to the trade, get some 4×6 flyers and tri-fold brochures, excellent for hand outs and most of them u can get 4CP 2-sided pretty cheap since its from a trade printer.

LeeMorris

Member

14 January 2007 at 10:26

Thanks guys for the help

I have been doing a lot of the ideas like posting in empty shop etc

I do have a couple of friends they say they want their vans doing and ive even done them designs but its getting them to go for it.

I just need to get the first couple of jobs done and then like you say one person tells their mate and so on.

Thanks again

Phill Fenton

Member

14 January 2007 at 14:36

When I first started I bought a list of contact details of all the companies in my area from my local business enterprise centre (Now called small business Gateway), alternatively you can get contact details from your local chamber of commerce business directory. I spent a couple of hours each day phoning up and speaking to owners and managers of all the small businesses on my list. I began by explaining I had just started a small sign making business in the area and asked if this was a service they were likely to consider using. This was by far the most effective way I found to generate work. You could guarantee that if you spoke to enough people you would get one or two that were interested in a quotation for signs of some type. The ones that didn’t have an immediate need were sent polite follow up letters with my contact details.

David Rogers

Member

14 January 2007 at 14:47

quote leemorris:

Thanks guys for the help

I have been doing a lot of the ideas like posting in empty shop etc

I do have a couple of friends they say they want their vans doing and ive even done them designs but its getting them to go for it.

I just need to get the first couple of jobs done and then like you say one person tells their mate and so on.

Thanks again

Sadly, ‘mates’ are no good at spreading the word…as you’ve probably already contacted those in common already.
And ‘mates’ are a royal pain in the ass when it comes to design & price. They want ‘mates rates’ and you to spend hours upon hours tweaking the perfect design. Done a fair few for people I know and it’s always the same…

But whatever you do – once you’ve got somebody you should never (theoretically) lose them – ever. If design, quality & service are good – they will ALWAYS come back…van after van, shop after shop.

Jill Marie Welsh

Member

14 January 2007 at 15:14

Get some good bizcards, as has been suggested.
Then letter your vehicle.
That way, even when you are at Tesco’s, you are advertising.
It’s always slow at first.
But do one good job, and they’ll refer you to their friends.
Love….Jill

carla ritchie

Member

14 January 2007 at 20:27

just a thought dont shoot me as it may be way out of ur price structure but have u thought about these banners on busses
or a sign on a works van that youve done
and offer a discount if they display your logo for the work u do

Shane Drew

Member

14 January 2007 at 23:16

quote David Rogers:

Sadly, ‘mates’ are no good at spreading the word….And ‘mates’ are a royal pain in the ass when it comes to design & price. They want ‘mates rates’ and you to spend hours upon hours tweaking the perfect design. Done a fair few for people I know and it’s always the same…

aint that the truth 😕

Karl Williams

Member

14 January 2007 at 23:51

Lee,
This aint an easy game to get started in and I wish you all the luck.
I employ one telesales girl here. I pay her the minimum wage + commission. She does well and has a great phone manner. I was worried at first in case she was crap, but she proved me wrong. I started by stopping people with vans in petrol stations and giving them a card, Parking the car up in B&Q and talking to people. At first you have to really push yourself even when you are knackered, but honestly it is worth it in the end. I’ve tried yellow pages but wasn’t impressed. Try this website: http://www.cardellmedia.com

JamieX

Member

29 January 2007 at 12:05

Well I want to get involved in this convo. We are getting a bit of work on our web design and vinyl cutting aspects of our business, but we want to get more work out of the digital printing aspect of our new machine. Some questions I had are:

-Seeing as we use VoIP for our phone network, local calls are 10c. But for people using cold calling for businesses within their area, how affective has this been for them? And what kind of techniques could I use on the phone to make my calls more effective? I am just wondering on average how many calls I will need to make to find a customer.

-A Yellow Pages lady is coming in the next few weeks to try and sell us the glory of listing online in the Yellow Pages. There are about 40 sign writing companies who advertise online so to get on the first page you have to be a gold member which from talking on the phone is $130 a month which I don’t know is effective. So any tips regarding YP would be handy.

-We are fine tuning our website and developing an online commerce system so we’ll keep you posted on that.

Cheers and thanks for the input

Karl Williams

Member

29 January 2007 at 12:31

For me, No to yellow pages. Regarding telesales staff. The amount of orders you will get from this is down ti how good the person on the phone is, and trust me finding a good one and keeping them is not easy.
Make sure you interview as many as you can, and don’t set the first one on that comes through the door. Secondly make sure you have screens between them. This will reduce "nattering time". less gossip means more calls. enforce strict targets. If they don’t meet them get rid.

Cheers,
Karl

Shane Drew

Member

29 January 2007 at 12:49

I gave YP away in ’92. Total waste of money in my opinion. Online may be different, but the book just gets people trolling for a cheap quote. If they say they got you from the yp, you can bet they’ve rung a few, and the cheapest quote is all they are after.

I would concentrate on getting a good reputation, and referrals will follow.

Big move against telemarketing here I’ve found. People are getting sick of being disturbed on the phone, especially with the influx of Indian call centers ringing here now.

I have a client that employs 50 tele marketers selling furniture, and another with about 20 girls selling insulation and air conditioning. I have another that has 10 girls selling security. They were telling me the other day the response rate is falling dramatically, and the abuse rate is rising considerably. A good telemarketing lady though will get about 25% closing rate, but the average is only about 15% until they get experience. (depending on the industry)

Hope that is of some help anyway, 😉

Harry Cleary

Member

29 January 2007 at 12:58

quote Shane Drew:

I gave YP away in ’92. Total waste of money in my opinion. Online may be different, but the book just gets people trolling for a cheap quote. If they say they got you from the yp, you can bet they’ve rung a few, and the cheapest quote is all they are after.

Very interesting Shane, never looked at it that way.

Deleted User

29 January 2007 at 14:22

Hi Everyone,

Im going two years now in April but can still remember just how tough it was at the start and sometimes even now. My advice is like the others, get good business cards printed and give them to everybody. That guy you talk to in the pub, give him a card, leave cards on the tables and counters in cafes after a meal, always have them with you and always have a good amount with you. You find that people hold onto cards rather than flyers. I know that I have all the cards from people who have passed me cards pinned to a cork board in my office. That way when people are looking signage and if you were memorable enough they will remember you and look for the card.

Also, turn nothing down. If you are asked to do work in which you have no experience, say you will do it anyway. Signmaking is a learning trade. It is always progressing and if you need advice these signboards are a good place to start as whatever your question or problem is there will always be someone on here who can answer you. You will always be learning as you progress in all aspects of signage from graphics to full fit outs. And remember, January is a quiet month anyway. As our customers are mostly other businesses very few have much money after spending it on xmas partys, bonuses etc. So now is the time to get yourself out there and get noticed. Also stick a small sticker incorporating your logo and phone number onto everything you do. I hope it goes well for you, but yes it is tough at the start. Getting yourself known is the hardest thing you will do in business. The second is getting yourself paid.