Provided Photos, Outsourcing Details and More Tips for Efficient Signshops

“Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life.” — Charles Darwin

CUSTOMERS Preemptive Asks

1 Rick Ream, Media 1 Wrap This (Sanford, FL), has begun to make sure clients know about the company’s full range of offerings after realizing some customers don’t know about their wrap capabilities. Up north, Dennis Schaub of FastTrack Signs (Bellefontaine, OH), has started asking every customer for photos of their building or vehicle up front. “It saves design time, helps us mock up realistic proofs quickly, and closes sales faster because customers can instantly see the impact of their sign,” he explains.

SALES Time Waste Reduction

2 Signarama Brighton (Brighton, CO) is now “sales by appointment only,” according to owner Dawn Homa. The number of “walk-in time wasters” has decreased, so they no longer need a person in the front to staff the office, who could instead spend more quality time on larger accounts. They have also implemented AI for their automated phone attendant, which has reduced spam calls and dead air. Across the country, Rocco Gaskins, Abco Signs (Pennsauken, NJ), sends a reminder to follow up on quotes. “Sometimes it’s sitting in someone’s inbox,” he says.

FABRICATION Specificity Saves

3 Be specific about the details of the intended outcome if you are outsourcing any fabrication, such as “clean architectural finishes, countersunk hardware, no exposed welds/grind welds,” advises Myrna Orenstein, Imaginality Designs (Golden Valley, MN). “Request in-process or finished photos before shipping or delivery. Include photos of illuminated elements,” she adds.

INSTALLATION Check It Off

4 Prior to any job leaving the shop, Signature Dezigns (Apopka, FL) has added a QC checklist, which includes sign-offs on quantities, craftsmanship, photos to be taken and so on, plus a client signature upon pickup, delivery or installation. “It may seem commonplace to some, but after 18 years it’s apparently needed now more than ever as everyone thinks we can just replace things like Amazon, Walmart, etc., if there is an issue and that we should just eat the costs,” says owner Aaron Pedrick. You might also try pre-labeling and organizing installation kits by jobs so that installers can spend less time searching and more time on site.

PRODUCTIVITY Stable Schedule

5 The 4-Hour Workweek guru Tim Ferriss suggests having the first 90 minutes of your workday vary as little as possible, as how you start the day has an enormous positive effect on your productivity. “I think that a routine is necessary to feel in control and non-reactive, which reduces anxiety. It therefore also makes you more productive,” he explains.

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

BEWARE THE ‘CYNICAL GENIUS’

6 Blame our evolutionary-honed impulse to survive, but we humans have a bias to be negative, and in the workplace that manifests itself in a misplaced respect for naysayers — people who are negative or even cynical are perceived as being smarter. But such a setup kills a lot of great ideas, notes business writer Dan Pink, who authors the “Why Not?” column in The Washington Post. “The better predictor of intelligence is the trait, not so much of optimism, but of openness,” he says. “I don’t believe in endless, heedless, boundless optimism. I believe in being open and in trying stuff, but also being hard-headed enough to dispense what’s not working.” How to adopt this more positive mindset? Two things, says Pink. Be mindful of the “cynical genius illusion” and be willing to test ideas. “I have become a bigger believer in small experiments,” he says. “If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn’t work, don’t do it. The goal is to have the first word. To start the conversation.”

Tip Briefs

• Just be sincere in your communication. — Jasper Burton, Cuerden Sign Co., Conway, AR
• Always be kind to everyone. — Edward Lowman, Signman Signs, Portales, NM
• Always get a deposit from everyone. If they can’t pay the deposit, they can’t pay the balance. — Paul Boegemann, Paul Signs Inc., Brooklyn, NY
• Get organized! — Cody McElroy, Commercial Signs, Houma, LA
• I have been using ChatGPT to make training guides. I will type in my own words how a process works then ask Chat to make it into a training guide. — Deb Jerolymack, Houston Sign Co., Houston