Recipe for success: How to make a successful EMC/LED Sign sales program in 5 easy steps.

-Deacon Wardlow

Thanksgiving got me thinking about recipes. The recipes I’ve had the most luck with tend to be incredibly simple. They’ve been handed-down from friends and family, tested, tweaked, and altered-to-taste over the years until they’re just right. Following along this idea, I present a recipe for success with Digital Outdoor LED Signage:

Ingredients

- an awesome resource/partner for manufacturing of your Digital Signage product
- an educated, informed and motivated sales team
- resources and sales tools to help the sales team effectively sell the product
- resources/documentation for your sales/installation/service and PM teams
- a great sales rep from your partner who not goes beyond just quoting options and helps you find the best fit for each and every client

Instructions

Qualify your partner. Don’t accept a company who’s going to be an ok vendor/source for product. You should have higher expectations from a manufacturer. The manufacturer needs to be an active partner, ensuring you get everything you need to be successful with sales. When you can’t close on a sale, you should be able to go back to the manufacturer and discuss what went right/wrong and get assistance (sales training, tools, resources, information) to help close on the next deal. Don’t accept anything at face value, really dig into the manufacturer and make sure they cover all bases. Checkout some of the hard questions and other resources we’ve created to ensure you’re making the right decision for a partnership.

Educate your sales team. Your manufacturing partner should have educational resources to help your sales team effectively discuss and source the best solution with clients. The sales team for sign companies have enough on their plate to deal with and learn, the partner should make it easy for them to feel confident/knowledgeable selling the product.

Analyze your client’s needs. The manufacturing partner should have resources for you to be able to quickly, effectively, and easily handle this. The best solution for a client is not always the most expensive product. Sometimes, the cheaper option is the most effective solution for your client and sourcing the best solution, every time, will build a solid reputation for you as the go-to business.

Bring it home to your team and make sure the majority agrees the partner is an effective, price-conscious and quality solution for both your company and your clients. Dynamic LED Signage is a long term investment for your clients. Make sure you’re sourcing the best solution with the best engineering to provide a system which will last out the lifetime expectancy. Signage isn’t a purchase, it’s an investment in the long-term success of a business and you need to make sure your client is getting everything they expect for the cost of that investment.

The recipe for success is simple and straightforward. Don’t be misled by weird add-ons and misdirection. If your choice of manufacturer can’t give you a simple explanation or a quick response on your need, assess if the relationship is everything you want it to be and find a  partner who can meet your needs to make the recipe work each and every time.

*I invite you to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. 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.