this is how we sell signs

[player]

Ummm.... most folks who have gotten tired of seeing their artwork reproduced by others.

You are really lucky to have cultivated such a trustworthy and loyal clientele that you would offer such detailed, labor intensive preliminary artwork without even so much as a copyright infringement clause being printed on it.

There are two things I have no hesitation shoving in a client's face BEFORE I or anyone else here spends more than even an hour's worth of design time on, a price range and material type or process. I'm an artist also , so if I want to fulfill my creative urges with something, I'll do a painting, not give away detailed, production ready sketches to anyone who calls.

Perfectly put.

 

[Pat Whatley]

I swear Montgomery must be some kind of anomaly in the cosmos. In 25 years I can count on one hand how many times I've had someone "steal" my artwork and God knows I've emailed off thousands of layouts. It might take both hands to count the number of times I've done a full blown van layout and not gotten the job.....its infrequent enough that the last one I remember not getting was only because the guy died.

It's only spec work if they ask for it....it you do it voluntarily to make the sale it's marketing. :Big Laugh

 

[TimToad]

I swear Montgomery must be some kind of anomaly in the cosmos. In 25 years I can count on one hand how many times I've had someone "steal" my artwork and God knows I've emailed off thousands of layouts. It might take both hands to count the number of times I've done a full blown van layout and not gotten the job.....its infrequent enough that the last one I remember not getting was only because the guy died.

It's only spec work if they ask for it....it you do it voluntarily to make the sale it's marketing. :Big Laugh

Maybe its all that southern hospitality you're exuding.

Are you saying that your success rate is nearly 100%?

You don't a have a pile of layouts in your dead files of the ones that went elsewhere?

If its working for y'all and you're comfortable bucking the conventional wisdom expressed by countless graphic designers, signmakers, artists, interior designers, builders, tradespeople, etc. who am I to question you?

 

[JMPrinting]

Pat! Never realized you were in Montgomery, I was through there on the way to Pensacola. I'll have to stop by next time we go through!

 

[Pat Whatley]

You don't a have a pile of layouts in your dead files of the ones that went elsewhere?

No, because like I said we don't do it for everybody. If you call the office out of the blue and say you're looking for a van wrap and want me to send you some ideas its not going to happen. You can bring us a design deposit and we'll go to work. I'm not running around willy nilly doing layouts for everybody I can find and neither is visual800 up there.

If, however, you're a customer we've dealt with or a large enough potential customer then I'll put together a few base ideas for you....consider them "computer based sketches". At that point, if we start hashing out a design yes, my closure rate is damn near 100%.

Heck, last Monday I had to do two yard signs for a guy....while I was at it I spent 10 minutes dropping that same artwork on to a template of his trailer. He never asked about it, he never would have paid a $200 design fee on it....he did drop $880 on trailer graphics this week because of a free layout.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Pat! Never realized you were in Montgomery, I was through there on the way to Pensacola. I'll have to stop by next time we go through!

Come on....most smart people don't stop going through Montgomery, though.

 

[visual800]

What software do you use to create this?

hwo the heii did this get drug up out of the graveyard?

anyhoo we deisgn everything in flexi and then drag it over to illustrator to add embellishments and shading. flexi is great for laying stuff out but sucks at the detail.

as far as all this "contract" talk. I have always believed you need to have a logo first. how can price anything, do anything without a logo. I went after the Peytons Place Restaurant above and "offered" him a sign quote and he didnt have a logo. so i sat down and came up with what you see........a few weeks later I rode by and pepsi had done him 2 4x8 signs, cant compete with free! they look like crap but no one cares.

 

[JMPrinting]

Come on....most smart people don't stop going through Montgomery, though.

Meet stop through to see the Hank Williams gravesite and my dad wanted to go to the museum. That's the reason we stop

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

I would like to present like that well done & looks great, would make sales easier for sure, & then collecting deposit & signed contract.

What I do is at most do a quick sketch they can see the type of work I do on website, & if needed a final sketch that is even more close but money 1st & normally if I put in final drawing sketch I would rather do a full scale layout takes same amount of time, so I try not to do a final sketch.

My interest or drive to learn CorelDraw is low, but that will most likely change sooner or later.

 

[TSC1985]

hwo the heii did this get drug up out of the graveyard?

anyhoo we deisgn everything in flexi and then drag it over to illustrator to add embellishments and shading. flexi is great for laying stuff out but sucks at the detail.

as far as all this "contract" talk. I have always believed you need to have a logo first. how can price anything, do anything without a logo. I went after the Peytons Place Restaurant above and "offered" him a sign quote and he didnt have a logo. so i sat down and came up with what you see........a few weeks later I rode by and pepsi had done him 2 4x8 signs, cant compete with free! they look like crap but no one cares.

Thanks. One of our designers uses Flexi the other uses Omega, been trying to get away from both now that we have a new printer most of our work seems to be strictly AI work.