Different Approaches to Selling LED Signage

- Mike Prongue


Unless your business is selling gold at ½ price, or pouring concrete for free, chances are you have competition. Advertising is not an option, it is essential.

You probably already agree that LED Signs are the most effective way to advertise, providing a very low cost per exposure and leaving radio, TV and newspaper in the dust. You’ve done your homework and have reviewed domestic manufacturers who can supply you  with  projects that “wow” the customer with a low failure rate. You’ve probably sold a few, if not several projects but need a little more perspective on the common ways to sell LED Signs.

Three approaches are spotlighted here:

Dollar per Day- This simple approach takes the cost of owning an LED Sign and expresses it to the customer in dollars per day. You must assume a period of time, for example 36 months, in which the sign will be paid for and then just do the math:

$10,000 LED Sign, to be re-paid in three years = $10,000/ (12months x 3 years) = $277 per month, or $277/ 30.4 (days per month) = $9 per day.

Can you customer afford $9.00 per day? They may have that much in spare change in their car’s ashtray!

Reallocation of Existing Ad Budget- Every business advertises. Unfortunately many business owners think that their purchase of an LED Sign must place an additional burden on their existing advertising budget. Customers are quite surprised by your suggestion to simply reallocate money currently being spent in some less-efficient medium such as radio, or some other broad-based advertising option (newspaper or TV). Since the majority of customer typically live within 5-10 miles of most small businesses, why spend money to target  customers on the fringe of a radio station’s broadcast range (30-50 miles plus) who will never travel to the customer’s store?

Where can the customer find that $9.00 per day?

A simple probing question, “How do you currently advertise your business?” then a follow-up of “May I ask how much you allocate per month for this?” Ask them if they’d consider reducing their current advertising program by enough to fund the LED sign. Go slow, here… run before walking. Let the customer see the results of the LED sign.

Return on Investment- How much of a sales increase does the LED sign actually create? A recent blog covered this topic and is available in its entirety here- Full Blog.

The business does $500,000 per year in sales and has a 35 percent sales margin. Adding a LED sign may then increase sales to $575,000 per year with an income increase of .35 x $75,000 or $26,250 in profit before taxes. The LED sign cost $25,000 to buy and install, so they put an extra $1,250 in their pocket, and completely paid off the LED sign. The following year there is no LED sign to pay off so any increase in sales makes an even bigger impact. In this scenario the sign pays for itself and actually drives additional sales.

A few additional ideas to sell LED signs:

·Create a customer-friendly interview sheet so you can present a plan back to the customer from the information they will provide.

·Establish a relationship with a Commercial Leasing Company. Typically they will act on your behalf and approach the customer to assist in financing the project. Beware- interview many Leasing Companies, there are differences and they are not created equally!

·Take a digital image of their existing outdoor display. Photoshop an LED sign into the target location to show the customer what the project would look like before approaching the customer.

The build-out of the outdoor LED sign industry is just now starting to heat up. There are millions of projects to sell across the country.

Define your approach, collect the presentation tools you need and participate in this modern-day Gold Rush! But beware, and choose wisely because there is much Fool’s Gold, in “them thar hills!”

**Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.