How to find High Volume Clients?

[MikeDCrux]

I'm new to the large-format print graphics industry. I'm the Director of Sales, and my company is about to get our new 5 x 10 flatbed printer delivered in January.

I'm struggling to find any sort of procurement portals for private sector companies who need to source OEM decals, signage and specifically ADA signage besides Thomasnet, and that is more of a B2B Google. Ideally I'm looking for:

1. Hotel chains that need a constant supply of ADA signage as they expand
2. Manufacturers that need custom decal kits for their products
3. Brands that require a large volume of cheap signage for advertising like convenience store chains (coroplast, window perf and clings)
4. Businesses that have showrooms and require nice branded signage for those.

We are considering redirecting our marketing funds away from a social media agency (FB, Insta, LinkedIn) and putting that money into Thomasnet advertisement and SEO, but that seems like it leans much more toward the manufacturing end of things. Has anyone had any experiences using Thomasnet? Does anyone have any good ideas for finding another place where these types of businesses go looking to source our products besides google (we tried PPC on Google for about a year and didn't get the results we were looking for, a lot of retail, not a lot of businesses). Just in general does anyone have any advice for a new kid on the block?

Any and all advice is appreciated!

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Hotel chains hire contractors and contractors hire sign companies. Contractors already have people they have a history with and trust. Best way I found my handful of high volume big clients was doing their one job very well.. and asking do they have more locations. If you have order takers answering the phone, they might not be bright enough to figure out which ones could be ripe for pitching to and you'll loose them. Of all the advertising and sales things you can spend $ on.. this has by far been the only method I've had success with... but it takes time.

 

[MikeDCrux]

Hotel chains hire contractors and contractors hire sign companies. Contractors already have people they have a history with and trust. Best way I found my handful of high volume big clients was doing their one job very well.. and asking do they have more locations. If you have order takers answering the phone, they might not be bright enough to figure out which ones could be ripe for pitching to and you'll loose them. Of all the advertising and sales things you can spend $ on.. this has by far been the only method I've had success with... but it takes time.

Ok yeah that makes sense. It's all about the follow through! Thanks so much.

 

[victor bogdanov]

Sometimes you just have to be lucky and know people. my single largest order came to me because I went to highschool with a guy who's a purchasing manager at a multibillion dollar company. They were in a bind and needed some product labels and he remembered seeing the stuff I post on social media. 15 years since last talking in highschool and he reached out and luckily I had the capacity/capability to deliver the huge order fast at pricing expected by a company that size. This has led to a some repeat jobs

 

[Rmurray321]

Sometimes you just have to be lucky and know people. my single largest order came to me because I went to highschool with a guy who's a purchasing manager at a multibillion dollar company. They were in a bind and needed some product labels and he remembered seeing the stuff I post on social media. 15 years since last talking in highschool and he reached out and luckily I had the capacity/capability to deliver the huge order fast at pricing expected by a company that size. This has led to a some repeat jobs

Luck is one of my best skills!

Also how we get larger clients is just ask. Open your facehole and get talking to businesses in the area. There are huge companies likely hiding right under your nose in the town you live

 

[Mike Paul]

Hi Mike,

I can’t really help with what you’re looking for but I’m so glad you said decals not stickers.

Hate that…

Stickers come in cereal boxes and crackerjacks.

I really don’t deal with the clients your looking for but one word I would change would.

Brands that require a large volume of cheap signage.

Inexpensive is a much better word than cheap….

Hope you get some good feedback from the forum .

 

[pro-UP]

There seem to be two primary ways people gain access to ADA signage projects, bidding and relationships. Bidding is purely a numbers game. The more times you bid, the greater the likelihood of winning. The majority of the time it is about being the lowest bidder, but being the best resource and most knowledgeable is equally important. This is a great way to gain an entry point into ADA signage projects. If you win and do a good job, the GC contact will want to use you again and can refer new projects. This is quite common. A note to remember though, is the GC contacts do not like to share their resources in-house. Just because you are working with a particular GC contact, doesn't mean you have gained access to multiple projects within the company. They don't want you distracted and they do not share their resources (based on my experience). Asking questions during the bid process is very important. It shows them you are engaged, reading what they are putting out, and it helps them remember your company. Also attending the pre-bid meetings (even when not required this is a great way to develop connections and build brand recognition). I did a ton of sales in the past and found great success with bidding and emailing contacts (as well as calling people). I'm no longer in the selling sign side of the equation. Now I help people with takeoffs and when they win projects help them with their submittals and remote PM services.

The relationship building one is still quite common. Going to golfing events, taking developers to lunch, going to architects and doing lunch and learns to get them to specify your company and products. This one requires a significant budget and a willingness to spend money to make money. One of my clients gets a lot of work with developers in this way. He's friendly and stops by with cookies, or takes them out for pizza (I'm copied on a lot of their emails as we are their consultants throughout the process). This is my least favorite way because I would rather not do these types of relationship building activities, but people do find great success with them. Attending project webinars is another good way to find which contacts you should try to connect with.

Two key things to remember. If you are working with GCs or developers it is all about the money and how few signs they can get away with ordering. If you are working with designers, branding companies, or architects directly there is no limit on how much they will spend (provided you are in early enough and they have not run through their budgets yet).

Good luck in the new year and feel free to message if you have any questions!