SIGN BUSINESS - How to?

[Jack_00]

Hi all,
I am a signmaker and currently planning to start my own business. But i am not very sure with "advertisement".

What is the best solution do you guys think will be for a brand-new fresh company?

I am based in Walthamstow / London. Is google any good? B2B or B2C , and why?

What type of advertisement materials do you beleive will be best for a SIGN company?

How do you think i should be APPROACHING my customers?
I have done selling before, but i am not trained as a seller. I am 24 and looking forward with my sign-company.

Please post your ideas / or experiences.

 

[AboveParr]

1st thing - your van. Get your signwriting hat on and do yourself a cracking job - that'll help people see exactly how good you are...

 

[elite123]

Jack, ive PM you.

 

[ginantonic]

As you are a sign company, and a new one at that, you're going to find there's a lot of competition. (I know, my son started a signwriting business just over a year ago.)
Every bit of advertising you send out has to be spot on, your van/car signage has to be perfect, and you must research your prices so they are better than competitive. If you are working from home and cutting your vinyl yourself, your profits should be able to withstand undercutting other companies, but if you are having to farm it all out (including clothing printing, promotional items like keyrings, etc) you will struggle to be competitive and not make much profit at all.
Good luck, anyway!

 

[Hillyer]

I would suggest you put in more planning than you think you will need ;] And make sure you have more money saved than you need.

What is your target market?

 

[DRFC]

jst sent u a pm jack

 

[Jack_00]

wow..its unbeleiveable i have received LOTS OF PM's and messages here. I even received message from DRFC asking for some examples so he might have some jobs for me! EXCELLENT! THANK YOU EVERYONE.
Well, i have worked for a company called Sign-a-rama in Leyton and done lots of jobs. I am going to publish my site, very soon!! Thank very much.

Now, i have just purchased my van, and i will be designing a "mad" but "clean" design on my van, and apply all graphics and such..

What do you think its missing here? HOW should i start?
1 - Done all my leaflets (double sided)
2 - Done all my business cards
3 - Got my line, company name, accounts
4 - Got all my machines (erhh..got only a plotter (graphic cutter) for now
5 - Prepared all my installation tools and such.

How can i get leads? Advertisement on where? Please help.
I need your expertise & advise. Erh,, the bank refused to lend me £15K loan. So i have now got very tight budget.

 

[chalkie99]

I'll disagree (respectfully) with Ginantonic regarding pricing.

There is no way forward in trying to undercut the competition simply because it is a relatively low entry cost business and far too many people think they can do it. As with many trades, start up businesses do not research their costings properly and work on the basis that if they get business they must be doing well - the "busy fool" syndrome.

We used to try and compete with companies like this but however low you go there is always some idiot who will undercut you. It is also the case that if you do cheap work you will attract cheap customers.

We soon gave up trying to compete at the bottom end and increased our prices - since when we have never looked back.

Go for offering a good and efficient service and aim for larger customers - we have attracted the type of customers we would never have once dreamt of and can charge really profitable rates.

Do not rely on the one-man-band type business who typically is someone who would think nothing of spending £1000 on a plasma TV but wrings their hands in anguish at the thought of spending a £100 promoting their business. Large organisations employ buyers who are not spending their own money and just want the job done with the minimum of fuss.

 

[ginantonic]

Got all my machines (erhh..got only a plotter (graphic cutter) for now

My son started with a just a plotter at home. The one thing he hadn't accounted for was the time taken for "weeding" (you'll know what I mean) and that he would need physical help with the bigger jobs, like shop headers.
I agree with not being too cheap - what I meant earlier is that you'll have a lot of competition, and need to be in some way either cheaper, but still good quality.
Another thing my son found was the time taken designing - he spends hours in the evenings working away on CorelDraw.
Also he now has a big contract with one company that takes a lot of his time, which means he doesn't have time for much other work. Bit of an eggs in one basket scenario. It's a hard job if you are a sole trader.

 

[SOC-Jim]

Hi there,
Firstly I totally agree that your van will be your greatest add. I have a signwriter friend who drives a beat up wagon with very bad signage. Whay would you hire him. maybe on price alone.

Try to think of the service you offer and why people should hire you over the next signwriter.

Also "make the invisible - visible"
That means that you should work out a way to show your customers the extra mile you go that they will not see.

Also it will take about as much effort to land a large client as it will to land a smal client. Sometimes large clients are actually easier as they are not penny pinching. Go for the large jobs.

I hope this helps