How to quote signage

[Texas_Signmaker]

I was owner and operator of a wholesale and installation fabrication business. We specialized in ADA, wayfinding, and custom hand crafted commercial signage before selling off that arm of the business and pivoting to consulting and graphic design, takeoff, and project management work. This is me speaking from experience. While I can understand why people would provide free layouts, I would not encourage it. And per your statement you no longer do this either (most likely because you recognize the value intrinsic to this type of work). This is just my humble opinion, not a judgement of what others do or feel that they have to do.

Said I don't have to do it... But I did quick mockups twice last week for new clients prior to deposit and both are orders in production this week. It's a gamble and you have to use judgement on who's calling. Don't do free mockups for a tattoo shop or beauty salon, they are tire kickers. My clients were both "need it now, ready to buy" customers and I knew none of my competitors would get them a price today, let alone artwork to approve. I knocked it out and emailed it in 10-15 mins. Both said "how do I pay?". I'm not talking about spending hours coming up with branding books, just rough mockups to get a visual of what they're buying. Yes, some of those have walked, lost a few minutes of my life, but I'm not the cheapest priced. Probably on the more expensive side... But the client will see that value when they start dealing with me..and ultimately that's the business I want to attract, customers that can and are willing to pay more for better service.

 

[nssignguy]

I did something similar to this a few years back. I just used a sub I know and they made and installed the letters. I was the middleman between them and the customer and only did a minor amount of work. I went along to the install, learned a few things and made some money. You can try that as well.

 

[JBurton]

I think it's critical to point out, mock ups are not logo designs. Or really even layout work. It's just the act of laying art onto a photo so everybody knows what they're talking about. At most, it's adding a raceway in an appropriate spot to catch all the letters.