Detailed Notes, Freelance Installers and More Sign Business Advice

“I read, I study, I examine, I listen, I reflect.” — Marquis de Lafayette

RESEARCH Diligence Saves

1 “Take notes!” stresses Willis Wood, RiNo Sign Works (Denver). Highly specific notes on every proof regarding materials, color specifications and lighting products have proven invaluable to him. “‘…to include LED lighting’ isn’t good enough. The callout should list the exact product used, including color temperature, module count and power-supply count,” he adds. In addition to pre-installation notes, Derek Atchley of Atchley Graphics (Columbus, OH) recommends taking “before” pictures in case issues arise after installation.

FABRICATION Smart Replacement

2 “Stop using 1-plus in. white acrylic for push-through illuminated applications,” advises Matt Robinson, Eastern Sign Tech (Burlington, NJ). “You are better served using a clear acrylic with a first-surface UV or vinyl color and a second-surface white vinyl diffuser for best edge and face lighting.”

INSTALLATION Communication Lines

3 It’s A Good Sign (Dallas) has added several contract installers who work as freelancers rather than part of installation companies. “It’s improved our ability to be nimble and, in most cases, cost effective for our clients,” says owner Gayle Goodman Lynch. Meanwhile, Rick Ream of Media 1 Wrap This (Sanford, FL) recommends getting fabricators and installers to communicate before and after the install. “The fab crew can explain the build before the installers go out. The installers can debrief the fabricators after the job to see if changes need to be made on the next similar project,” he explains.

SALES Be Specific

4 To boost the impact of your sales presentations and make sure your customers always understand the benefits of every detail being mentioned, always add “which means…” after each feature you share, advises Wizards of Ads author Roy H Williams. “You can add these words verbally, or you can add them silently, but this habit will bridge you into language the customer can see in their mind,” he writes in his weekly Monday Morning Memo. For example: “This blade is made of Maxamet steel, which means you’ll never have to sharpen it.”

CUSTOMERS Good Reputation

5 According to Lynn Rogers, the first customer at Rogers Sign Co. (Milton, DE) wanted a hand-lettered license plate. The shop painted him a second license plate 40 years later and gave it to him for free. “Image is everything,” Rogers says. “The best advertising there is, him telling the world we didn’t forget our roots.”

UNCERTAINTY You’ll Get Through It, You Always Do

6First, it was hygge, the Danish word for coziness, then came lagom, the Swedish word for “just the right amount.” Every year or so, it seems a Nordic word surfaces in the Anglophone world with the promise of delivering the secret to sensible happiness. Given that times have turned rather uncertain, we now have sisu, a Finnish word that refers to something more profound than resilience. “It is the part of us that comes alive when we feel we have nothing left,” notes The Guardian columnist Moya Sarner. “Like a thought, it is a capacity that grows in the moment of being needed.” If you start feeling overwhelmed and the future suddenly seems a little bleak, think of those long Finnish winters that come and go, and have confidence that you too will have the strength to endure when called upon. Sisu!

Tip Briefs

• Work extra hours before leaving for vacation to make sure all job/invoice paperwork is in order so employees don’t have to bother you! That way you can enjoy yourself! — Cody McElroy, Commercial Signs, Houma, LA
• I am currently participating in a sales mastermind group. It is not industry-specific and it helps me see things from different perspectives. — Mike McClure, Ad Art, San Francisco
• Whenever possible, design your signage with the fabrication/installation team in mind. Trust me; they would much rather see a 48 x 96 in. rather than 47.0625 x 49.4375 in.! — Dave Hostios, Trav-Ad Signs, Huntsville, AL
• With the end of the cycle for Windows 10, we are updating our computer systems. — Earl Walker, Image360 Tucker, Tucker, GA