Marketing Decals, Sorting Invoices and More Sign Business Advice

ABOVE PHOTO: GABE GRIFFIN, CLEAR SIGN & DESIGN

“Fear makes you always, always hold something back.” — Philip K. Dick

MARKETING Sticky Signature

1 “After 17 years, the single most impactful marketing tool is the decal with our company name and phone that we place on every sign, especially electric wall, pole and monument signs,” says Jeff Thomas of Crossroad Sign (Lynnwood, WA). “And we just print the decals ourselves.” Traveling east, Rick Ferraro of Spectrum Sign Systems (Blaine, MN) has an even simpler marketing go-to: “The phone is the most important sales tool. Good news, there are a lot of people to call in your market!”

SALES Priority Portions

2 Sort invoices and orders based on the total amount, and determine a metric such as the percentage of orders under $200, advises Thomas Nance of Signarama Louisville Downtown (Louisville, KY). “Businesses are different, but spending too much time and resources on small jobs takes those resources away from the larger jobs,” he explains. Out west, Mary Gasca of Redrum Graphics (Simi Valley, CA) cautions against rushing estimates. Instead, check inventory before purchasing materials and repurpose whenever possible.

EQUIPMENT Creative Tools

3 Oven cleaner can remove old handpainted lettering, says Jeffrey Chudoff, Fastsigns of Maple Shade (Maple Shade, NJ), though he advises wearing gloves lest your cuticles turn yellow. For Dennis Schaub of FastTrack Signs (Bellefontaine, OH), a small tool belt can save a lot of time and energy during installation. Louise DiGiacomo, Signs of Art Graphic Design (Philadelphia), recommends using scrap vinyl strips as tape for packages or boxes, and for Rita Siprak-Weill, Minuteman Press Annapolis (Annapolis, MD), the Duplo DC-618 Slitter/Cutter/Creaser is a godsend.

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

MANAGEMENT Straightforward Ask

4 Joseph Grenny, the author at Crucial Learning, advises holding hour-long sessions with four team members where you can ask these questions about your business: “What matters here?” and “What do you feel gets rewarded?” The answers from small groups can tell the real story of what drives behavior, what’s valued and broken in a company culture. Managers fear blank stares, but staff usually deliver straight talk when asked, Grenny says.

PRODUCTION Attention to Detail

5 Derek Atchley, Derek Atchley Creative (Columbus, OH), suggests creating a “micro-proof” step before production: an internal huddle lasting 5-10 minutes where the designer, production lead and installer look at the final art together and locate anything that might become a headache downstream. Catching a low-res logo, hidden layer or measurement that “looks off” before it hits the printer has saved hours of rework and more than a few awkward client calls, Atchley says.

Switch Tasks Like a Pro

6 One of the difficult things about settling down to get work done is that it requires a mental transition from what is usually a state of distraction, relaxation or reactivity to a state of focused, intentional work. And the effort is compounded by “attention residue” — which describes the way your attention doesn’t fully follow when you switch tasks. What to do? Try a warm-up ritual, says Cal Newport on his Deep Questions podcast. Work on getting your environment just right: Clear your desk, close unnecessary browser tabs and put your phone in airplane mode. The main thing, Newport says, is that the ritual involves concrete, repeatable actions (not just vague intentions). And it doesn’t take so long that it becomes a procrastination tactic. Aim for something that takes five minutes.

Tip Briefs

• If you haven’t already, get a SCORE mentor. They have taught me to stop thinking like a signmaker and more as a business owner. — Rocco Gaskins, Abco Signs, Pennsauken, NJ
• Revenue is a vanity metric. It doesn’t matter how much you make. What matters is what you keep. Focus more on chasing profit rather than revenue. — Dominic Tancredi, Woodshed Stage Art, Cleveland, OH
• Practice transparency with your clients. They will appreciate you more as you develop the relationship. — Matt Robinson, Eastern Sign Tech, Burlington, NJ
• Our designer has started including 3D night renderings on sign mock-ups. Blows our customers away every time! — Trevor Lavy, Vantage Signs, Troy, OH