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Sales & Marketing: How to Make the Most of Your 168 Hours Every Week
By Mark Roberts
Where does the time go? Why do we usually feel rushed, hurried, and tired at the end of the day? Of course we all have the same amount of time as anyone else, so the lack of hours is not the problem.
The problem is the successful management of the hours we have to be productive. Let’s take a look at how we can become more efficient with our working hours, so we will be able to enjoy our leisure hours even more.
Chances are we have computers in several places in our sign shops, our homes, and even in our vehicles. When I started my sign business in 1979, the computers had the large 5.25-inch floppy disks; ZIP drives and other portable storage devices were not even on the radar. Yes computers are the lifeblood of every sign company, and we have six in our facility and two at home—meaning I am never away from work and always able to design and answer e-mail.
The issue of time management becomes more and more important if we are looking for increased profitability and increased leisure time. Here are some tips to enjoy a profitable sign career and an enjoyable life at the same time.
Prospects and existing clients can become spoiled if you go too far in your proposal efforts. Most of us are proficient in Adobe® Photoshop®, Illustrator®, or various other design and layout programs. As our efficiency increases, we could develop a tendency to show “too many” variations and options for a given sign project. Too many options, variations, and scenarios can lower your “profit per hour” if you are not careful.
For instance, if one of your favorite clients asks for a window graphics layout for a proposed project, you may find yourself working for two to three hours on an idea that may never materialize into a paying assignment. How do I know this? The answer: Personal experience!
I have been guilty too many times of creating an elaborate “dog and pony show” to close a graphics package because it is easy to get caught up in the closing of a sale. Naturally we all want to “impress to close,” but sometimes this trait will come back and bite into our profit margin.
Rather than designing a window graphics package or a vehicle wrap from the ground up just to show a prospective buyer, why not have three or four examples of your best window graphics packages and vehicle wraps at your fingertips? Open the files and show your Web site pages. By showing what you have already accomplished, you may narrow down the sales time considerably.
Time is what we sell. Ideas are what we sell. The consumables never cost as much as our time and talent are worth.
Chances are a new sale can be closed by showing great examples of what you have already accomplished for other happy clients. There may be a slight price variation between the past and the future project, but at least you and your client will have a good working idea about what their project will cost.
The next step is to ask for the deposit. This is not (or should not be) a hard thing to do. Sign professionals are not in the finance business, and my company policy is if we cannot pay cash as we go, then we do not buy it. Our custom, one-of-a-kind products are only valuable to the person who placed the order; therefore, money must exchange hands before we touch the mouse or the start button.
For this reason, we accept all credit cards—especially for deposits. Any projects under $1,000 are paid-in-full upon order. Why not? Go to a Home Depot® and order a set of kitchen cabinets or carpeting for your entire home. They get 100 percent of their money upon the closing of the transaction; why should our businesses be different? Of course, if lending your money to others without interest is appealing to you, go for it!
Some other, non-productive “working hours” time-wasting activities are also computer related. Spending time surfing the Internet for “fun,” logging into Facebook or Twitter several times a day, or spending time in sign industry chat sites is probably not the best investment of your time. Oh sure, maybe five to ten minutes a day may be permissible, but what else can you do to increase your worth by diverting that time to a more worthy cause? Read a how-to technique, watch an instructional video, or read about sales and marketing techniques.
I am not “anti-fun,” but I am very “pro-productivity.” After all, the more productive we are, the greater our chances are to be ready for the next great assignment or opportunity that comes our way.
Another worthy investment of our time is to be totally prepared. Have your order forms at arm’s reach. I keep order forms in my portfolio, my file box in my truck, and in the top cube behind our sales counter. Having quick access to the order forms shows your customers and clients that you are ready for their order.
Customers like enthusiasm, and we must show it all the time. Yes customers will come into your shop when you are perhaps “neck deep” in an intricate design project. My advice is to press “Save As,” get out of your chair, and greet the customer/prospect like the valuable person he/she is. I practice this trait all the time because I have seen from experience how some sign professionals make their prospects and customers “wait” until they finish what they are doing—which is not the way to build long-lasting business relationships.
If you are a morning person (like I am), it is a great idea to make your sales calls early in the day. I like to see prospects and customers before two o’clock because later in the day most people become less motivated to transact business. I like to sell in the mornings and produce in the afternoons.
The time invested in your creative growth should never be limited. Enroll in sales classes at the local community college. Join the Chamber of Commerce or some other networking activity. The more “soft” exposure you are involved in, the greater the chances of attracting worthy customers and clients that can become repetitive buyers.
One-time sales are good—but twenty-year supplier/buyer relationships are even better. Set aside some time to plan your involvement in the various community networking opportunities you have in your market.
And finally, your family deserves their share of your undivided attention. Put down the laptop and interact with your spouse and children. Take a fun trip once a month and, at least every week, discover something new in your community.
Keep those creative batteries charged by balancing your life. It is not all about signs, designs, printers, and cutters. Enjoy a balanced, creative, and happy life. We all have 168 hours every week, so make sure your hours are allocated and enjoyed in the proper percentages.
Mark Roberts is a thirty-one-year sign industry veteran and the owner of The InterSign Group” in Houston, Texas and Mark Roberts Instructional Products. To learn more, visitwww.thintersigngroup.comandwww.signprice.com.
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