How do you get chain stores as clients?

[depps74]

I've approached just about every type of business I feel qualified to serve for potential business. When I approached Starbucks, Subway, H and M and other chain stores I get the response, "you have to go through corporate" After following through a bit, that lead seemed colder than an ice so I gave up. Anyone know how to break into this market? I've seen so many chain stores like these in NYC with crooked half measured installs and hate to see such big clients get the weakest service.

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[Texas_Signmaker]

They will contact you when something comes up. It's usually third party companies that handle this kind of stuff but the calls will eventually come. You can try reaching out to some of the big ones to get in their system... Try the sign syndicate, they have a list of them and you can tell the popular good ones from other peoples reviews.

 

[TimToad]

Be careful what you wish for. Most of these third party companies who want work done in your area are usually only interested in having you do site surveys and installs of their product. You get to assume all the risk, liability, hassle with permits, wear and tear, etc. and then most won't pay you until you badger the hell out of them for months on end. Unless you are in a real tight spot for work, the best course to take to build your business is increase your sales through better networking and proactive sales efforts.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Be careful what you wish for. Most of these third party companies who want work done in your area are usually only interested in having you do site surveys and installs of their product. You get to assume all the risk, liability, hassle with permits, wear and tear, etc. and then most won't pay you until you badger the hell out of them for months on end. Unless you are in a real tight spot for work, the best course to take to build your business is increase your sales through better networking and proactive sales efforts.

To add to this, Toad is right about have to badger about $$ sometimes. I do ALOT of work as a sub installer for these folks and I'm very happy with the jobs i get. Two main things I always consider... GET PAYMENT UPFRONT and PRICE IT WELL. I know this may sound crazy to some but MOST of them can (despite saying otherwise) and will pay upfront. About 10-15% will not and that's fine.. I have a busy schedule and don't mind loosing a few orders. I tell them if they want it done fast (as they are always in a hurry and I CAN work them in quickly if I price it right) they need to pay to get on my schedule. I was not going to play the chase the $$ game with these people any more.

This may not work in a large market though. I work in small market 2 hours from a major city with limited competition. I know the shops in my area could care less about these type of jobs, so I can be ballsy in how I handle them.

Risk, Liability , wear and tear and hassle is there... but price it right and it's worth it. Sometimes I just laugh at what the "offer" is for the jobs... 10 page Site survey with a bucket truck needing to be done in a few days and we'll offer $125... HAHAHAHA yea right!

 

[visual800]

I lost a job 3 weeks ago to a large corporation that said they do NOT pay money up front. It was a $48k job. Aluminum monuments with raised brushed aluminum lettering 7-8' tall 6 of them. If you are that important that you do not pay for services offered to you I dont need to deal with you. This particular company sells water heaters. i wonder if they would let me come pick up about 15 units if I told them i would like to be a distributor?

if you decide to do corporate get ready for no money down and beg for your money after job is done. We want no part of it. I dont even do site surveys for other sign companies anymore looking to come into our area

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I lost a job 3 weeks ago to a large corporation that said they do NOT pay money up front. It was a $48k job. Aluminum monuments with raised brushed aluminum lettering 7-8' tall 6 of them. If you are that important that you do not pay for services offered to you I dont need to deal with you. This particular company sells water heaters. i wonder if they would let me come pick up about 15 units if I told them i would like to be a distributor?

if you decide to do corporate get ready for no money down and beg for your money after job is done. We want no part of it. I dont even do site surveys for other sign companies anymore looking to come into our area

Funny how some big corporation passes the buck all the way down to a small local sign shop and expects them to finance their purchase. On larger orders (for me, over a few grand) I don't require the entire amount upfront, only 50%.

Oh, and another tip... on sign REMOVAL requests... ONLY Full-payment upfront!!

 

[rjssigns]

Ironic. The OP wants to break into corporate accounts and I get calls about corporate jobs that I don't want. Go figure.

 

[Pat Whatley]

I lost a job 3 weeks ago to a large corporation ....This particular company sells water heaters.

If that was the local company they used to pay me on 90 day terms no matter what they purchase order or invoice said.

I still do a fair amount of vinyl installs for national companies. The orders are NEVER from corporate, they are from the graphics supplier. I'll give you a hint, when you quote the job figure out what you want to get paid and then double it because no matter what price you give them they are going to tell you that the maximum budgeted for the job is about half of whatever you quote. They will ALWAYS insist on paying you 30 days after the install....don't believe it. What they mean is 30 days after they get paid which is usually after all the installs nationally are done. Expect 90 days at a minimum if you invoice them. If they can't find a shop to invoice them they'll pay it up front because they have to get it done.

 

[ThatGriffGuy]

I worked for a company that did sub contract work for corporate stores in NYC. All jobs go through a marketing firm that then subout the graphics and install separate. All work is last minute and half the time the materials are a few hours late to the install. You always have to make the best of what materials you are given as they beat up the suppliers for the cheapest materials to do the job. And good luck getting paid! They find reasons to pay less and expect you to do odd jobs while you are on site that are not part of the scope of work. It’s literally more hassle than it’s worth. If you stand up for what is right or give even a little push back they will find another crew to do the jobs. I was always amazed to see how bad the other crews butchered installs and got away with it.

 

[ams]

National accounts handle those.

 

[equippaint]

It depends on what sort of work your after. For small busy work signs it helps to have an in and you have to be able to offer something that they cant get through corporate. Like make a dry erase board for their back office sales charts. Most managers have a P card and discretion to use it but you need to bring value outside of just being able to make existing stuff or install a sign straight to get anywhere with them.
Be careful of the franchise owners also, they dont often have broad rights to use corporate trademarks and are in no way a representative for the corp they franchise from. They typically have to buy all of their marketing materials through the franchise per their contract.

 

[AKwrapguy]

I've approached just about every type of business I feel qualified to serve for potential business. When I approached Starbucks, Subway, H and M and other chain stores I get the response, "you have to go through corporate" After following through a bit, that lead seemed colder than an ice so I gave up. Anyone know how to break into this market? I've seen so many chain stores like these in NYC with crooked half measured installs and hate to see such big clients get the weakest service.

d

Most is not all of these 'corporate' business have companies that they deal with that do massive national roll outs. They contract out companies that pay local installers to take site survey's and install the graphics. They pay very little for the work involved, kits can be incorrect, getting paid can be frustrating. One way to do this is to register with an organization, become certified in a material such as 3m or avery. You can also go through some place like Lowen.

Pretty much the only time we do stuff like this are mall barricades for new construction. They're pretty straight forward, we can knock them out pretty quickly, and the main mall is down the road from us.

 

[mark galoob]

My buddy’s sign shop Did this as their main profit center...he kept a huge staff of installers and trucks and fab equipment to do those jobs. Business went broke trying to keep that huge staff and all the equipment all the while trying to make payroll with jobs that took 3-6 months to pay

 

[kcollinsdesign]

It is not hard to break into this market. Start with your local franchise and corporate store managers; they will generally give you contact information for their corporate support departments or sign suppliers (most corporate owned and franchise stores are contractually obligated to order signs through their corporate support channels).
These large sign companies are constantly on the lookout for qualified sign installers and maintenance service. You can also advertise in Signs of the Times. Generally, once you have been vetted, they will send out survey requests and ship signs directly to you for installation.
It's good work if you are set up to handle it. Usually it helps to be a Union shop and have good references. They can be slow to pay, but that can be alleviated by having a good contract and an understanding of their business model. These sign forwarding companies usually release funds after they have been paid by their clients (they are not banks). You are not a bank either, so you must price accordingly (you may have expenses that you need to put on the books for months). Most everyone I have worked with involved with corporate accounts are understanding and helpful, but you cannot give away the farm. They will try to lowball you, but you need to stick to your guns and pass on opportunities that don't support your business model.

 

[Bobby H]

The situation varies from one large client to the next. The most common way to get an "in" with a major company is by doing those thankless service and installation jobs. If you build a good reputation (being prompt, dependable, professional, etc) those kinds of clients will start giving you better projects to do. Many large companies have their own lists of preferred suppliers. Occasionally some of their work has to be jobbed out to others for whatever reason. When you're one of those "others" getting to do a project is an opportunity to boost your reputation. It can lead to getting on that "preferred suppliers" list.

Many big name brands (Subway was mentioned earlier) have many franchise store owner/operators. Many of those guys have to get their signs from sources closer to their location. The company's corporate offices may still have to approve the designs to make sure they follow their brand guidelines, color specs and don't otherwise mess around doing hideous things to their logo, like squeezing or stretching it fun-house mirror style like so many sign designers like to do with fonts.

The best way to get an "in" with a large company with lots of locations is be lucky enough to have started working with them when they were small. Our company has a few clients like that. If you maintain a good professional relationship with them long term they'll keep doing business with you when they get big. We made the original Love's Country Stores street signs 50 years ago. Three years ago we made a full size a replica of it for an exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center near the State Capitol. It was an exhibit spot-lighting Oklahoma-based companies and their signs.