Question How to make a sale?

[Rosa La Rumorosa]

Very nice topic. I would suggest also email marketing. I don't know if people still use it in your country (wonder why nobody mentioned it), but when I used to sell printed stuff like business cards and design services, e-mail marketing worked just fine for me. I would collect the email of local businesses in those printed guides/business index, don't know how to call it, but it's similar to yellow pages but in a magazine format with lots of ads with pics and colors. I'd also find their email in their facebook or website. Then, with a list of 100, 200 emails I would send and email marketing presenting my services, phone number and maybe a special discount. Some people reply, some call. Of course, the message must have an unsubscribe option so it doesn't sound like spam... well, I call it a "cold mail" lol. I personally find it less annoying than cold calls, and at least in my country, it's not illegal. Very few people unsubscribe, so, I keep sending them new products/offers in monthly emails.

Just out of curiosity, what is a "comment off the bat"?

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Thanks for the replies, I have taken many of the different advices, and hey. got a sale.. what the heck.. it worked.. I added graphics to my truck, only fill my truck with half a tank, and park next to trucks/cars with existing graphics on it and just stand outside pumping gas (slower setting) and let them approach me.. and they actually want graphics/signs.. and the approach of simply introducing myself and not actively attempt to make a sale also is a good tip. I don't want to go into extreme detail, but for others that are seeking a way to get started.. this stuff works..

I will say the hardest things hands down, is the cold approach, or starting a discussion, even when they approach me, but I decided to just make a comment off the bat, to break my own tension, and once you get going its no so bad.

so again to the majority, thanks for valued input!

This is the strangest sales method that I have ever heard. Why don't you just walk up to people, hand them a card and talk to them? I'm not trying to be rude but that half tank fake pumping gas is just weird. Honestly if you aren't confident enough to cold call I dont see how you can survive in business.

 

[netsol]

Very nice topic. I would suggest also email marketing. I don't know if people still use it in your country (wonder why nobody mentioned it), but when I used to sell printed stuff like business cards and design services, e-mail marketing worked just fine for me. I would collect the email of local businesses in those printed guides/business index, don't know how to call it, but it's similar to yellow pages but in a magazine format with lots of ads with pics and colors. I'd also find their email in their facebook or website. Then, with a list of 100, 200 emails I would send and email marketing presenting my services, phone number and maybe a special discount. Some people reply, some call. Of course, the message must have an unsubscribe option so it doesn't sound like spam... well, I call it a "cold mail" lol. I personally find it less annoying than cold calls, and at least in my country, it's not illegal. Very few people unsubscribe, so, I keep sending them new products/offers in monthly emails.

Just out of curiosity, what is a "comment off the bat"?

Is it even possible to email market anymore?
At least in our country barracuda says 97% of emails sent are spam, phishing, false flag.
I am naturally suspicious of any email,approach.

In 1996 i closed my commercial video equipment business & decided to take my computer consulting business full time. Broadband was just becoming a thing. I used bulk faxing as my means of contact

Like yourself, i did a weekly newsletter. I was busy before the end of the first week.
I didnt try to sell, i provided information about this new technology that would change their industry.

What was interesting was, the brokers (owners) all had kept my weekly faxes IN A FOLDER long before they decided to contact me to do business. They saw i was sending real useful information. People like a direct contact, but these days have to be careful of scams. You have obviously found your niche, in much the same way i did. It kept me busy for 25 years, without ever spending a dollar on additional advertising

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Very nice topic. I would suggest also email marketing. I don't know if people still use it in your country (wonder why nobody mentioned it), but when I used to sell printed stuff like business cards and design services, e-mail marketing worked just fine for me. I would collect the email of local businesses in those printed guides/business index, don't know how to call it, but it's similar to yellow pages but in a magazine format with lots of ads with pics and colors. I'd also find their email in their facebook or website. Then, with a list of 100, 200 emails I would send and email marketing presenting my services, phone number and maybe a special discount. Some people reply, some call. Of course, the message must have an unsubscribe option so it doesn't sound like spam... well, I call it a "cold mail" lol. I personally find it less annoying than cold calls, and at least in my country, it's not illegal. Very few people unsubscribe, so, I keep sending them new products/offers in monthly emails.

Just out of curiosity, what is a "comment off the bat"?

So you spam people with junk email? When I get those from people that sound like they got my email from my website, I make it a point to leave a negative review on their Google page and let them know I don't appreciate spam... or sometimes I'll just start signing up for porn sites and junk using their email address.

 

[brdesign]

Very nice topic. I would suggest also email marketing. I don't know if people still use it in your country (wonder why nobody mentioned it), but when I used to sell printed stuff like business cards and design services, e-mail marketing worked just fine for me. I would collect the email of local businesses in those printed guides/business index, don't know how to call it, but it's similar to yellow pages but in a magazine format with lots of ads with pics and colors. I'd also find their email in their facebook or website. Then, with a list of 100, 200 emails I would send and email marketing presenting my services, phone number and maybe a special discount. Some people reply, some call. Of course, the message must have an unsubscribe option so it doesn't sound like spam... well, I call it a "cold mail" lol. I personally find it less annoying than cold calls, and at least in my country, it's not illegal. Very few people unsubscribe, so, I keep sending them new products/offers in monthly emails.

Just out of curiosity, what is a "comment off the bat"?

I just deleted 666 junk emails from my inbox. Spam mail is evil!

 

[Rosa La Rumorosa]

So you spam people with junk email? When I get those from people that sound like they got my email from my website, I make it a point to leave a negative review on their Google page and let them know I don't appreciate spam... or sometimes I'll just start signing up for porn sites and junk using their email address.

Yeah, I see your point. But I think that people didn't consider my messages junk email (although tecnically they'd be), because 1 I didn't buy a list of emails, but carefully picked up business to whose my content would be interesting and 2 very few people clicked the unsubscribe buttom and none marked the message as spam and 3, people really got back to me, which means some acceptance. Maybe the fact that I was in the same neighborhood increased the acceptance.

I guess the cultural difference is huge and so the results of such approaches. Yes netsol we still use email marketing in Brazil. But the proper way to do it is having a subscribe form in your website / social media to capture these e-mails, in a way that prospects would sign up to receive your messages.

Personally I think e-mail marketing, even that way I used to do (picking up emails without a subscribe form) is less intrusive than a cold call. Emails don't interrupt you like a cold call does. If you don't like the content, you just unsubscribe or block the sender / mark it as spam and never receive it again. But of course, spam mail is not nice, neither spam calls. The thing is cold (spam) calls seem to be less tolerated than spam mails here. So, I chose to get their e-mail instead of calling them.

 

[Gino]

Just sounds like another excuse to not go out and physically work. And don't give me this nonsense, that you are busy doing other things, so you are using your time more exponentially. You're looking for work, so pound the pavements and show people you are willing to work.

The most basic cold call is drop in, leave your card/brochure and ask for a meeting sometime... to come back. Be polite, quick and not waste anyone's time. Hit 5 places a day for a week and you'll be surprised with your responses.

 

[Pski89]

i think it better i leave this, i didnt mean to get so many people riled up, I think I miss spoke eariler. im sorry

 

[edcooleyar]

Saturn,
When you say google business is the modern equivilent of the yellow pages, you mean over priced advertising that almost never brings in enough business to cover it's cost?

Sorry, we were just discussing how the yellow pages was great,if you were selling it. Not so much if you were paying for it

In those years, we were in the New Brunswick, nj area (Rutgers, Johnson & Johnson) but only really made out because we also advertised in the north jersey business to business and the Princeton, nj books

I think your confusing Google Business with Google Advertising. We have not spent a cent advertising yet we get contacted once or twice a week from folks who found us through google.

 

[JG0203]

Nothing draws more attention to your company or organization's name like seeing it in large, bright letters. Customers will quickly recognise who you are, what you are doing, as well as the quality you provide. Increased visibility is the most obvious advantage of an LED Sign that promotes your company to potential clients. Both during the day and at night, a bright LED sign is clearly visible. There's no need to purchase an additional light fixture for your sign, and there's no reason to be concerned that potential consumers, including those who are far away from it, would be unable to see what you do have to offer.

 

[ProSignTN]

Work your ass off, like you were an apprentice, for your customers for 25 or so years and read, study, consume every bit of knowledge you can during that time. Then quit bidding. Take a freaking number, I'm busy. Name your price, learn to say NO and do what you want to do. With a good combination of hard work and luck, you my get there in fewer years. Or, maybe, you are a brilliant business person and make boo-koo bucks.

I'm, on a rant. Moral: Quality Lives

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I'd like to see this thread re-visited whenever the economy takes a down turn

 

[Scotchbrite]

I'd like to see this thread re-visited whenever the economy takes a down turn

That's what I keep saying about all the new regulations and permitting hurdles local cities are throwing up.

 

[McDonald Signs]

When I started 27yrs ago, I had some business cards printed and just went out for a week or two to as many businesses in my county as I could telling them I started a sign shop IN PERSON.
Thought it was a waste of time at the time, but it paid off fairly quickly with more and more jobs coming in a little at a time to get started. Still doing work for some of those first customers now.
First year or two in business was pretty rough starting out but after that it got alot better.
When you do get a customer do the best job you can for them. Customers talk to each other and refer you to other potential customers if you do good work.
Word of Mouth is you're best advertising....

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

That's what I keep saying about all the new regulations and permitting hurdles local cities are throwing up.

Our city is making it a competition! Who can have the most regulation.

 

[Scotchbrite]

I just remember around here in about 2010 the cities were doing all sorts of outreach to businesses wanting to know how they could make themselves "open for business" to get more commercial development going. Now their riding fat and lazy on a housing boom that I'm sure will peter out in the near future. Then they'll be scrambling to figure out how to encourage development again.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Personally, I got zero value out of Instagram and finally took down my page. It takes way too much time to keep it updated. Others here really push for the Google page/business profile, seems to be the best tool currently and I want to improve mine. Once you get busy you just won't have time to be dinking around on social media, and an outdated social page just looks unprofessional.

We do make it a habit to post photos on our google page. Their analytics are pretty cool. We take photos of all of our finished products. (This actually serves 2 purposes). We try to upload something each day or every couple of days. The interesting thing is that we are able to see how many people view our content. We are always baffled at what gets the most views. Our main focus is autowraps. And so, we post a lot of photos of the vehicles that we wrap. Jeeps are popular in our part of the country and you know that a lotus, lamborghini, ferrari get respect. But when we have had some of those cars in our shop and taken photos, we have found that they dont get a lot of views on our google page. What does get a lot of views are the photos of the inside of our shop, mainstream cars that most people have, our business signage..(it's kind of weird on some of the photos where we have a huge number of views).
The other purpose of taking photos is to verify when a product is not to the specs of what was ordered.

 

[Scotchbrite]

The other purpose of taking photos is to verify when a product is not to the specs of what was ordered.

I hate when our guys don't get a completion picture. Inevitably the customer calls with some concern about their graphics, and I have nothing to look at for a clue what might be going on.

 

[Applied Graphics WY]

Whatever you do, Stay FAR FAR AWAY from Yelp! They will lure you in with "free ads" & then suck your pocketbook dry before you even realize what is going on. Personally, I do a lot of social networking,
both in person & on Facebook. I created a business page, invited everyone I knew to it, then shared posts from it onto local classifieds pages. I do not use the Ad boosts. I don't think I get much extra coverage that way. Sharing onto our local classifieds pages & word of mouth have been my best avenues so far. Local trade shows (the smaller ones) are also a great avenue. And if you have the extra money a local radio or newspaper ad may help.
Good luck & stay positive. You can do this!