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The best jobs out there are vehicle lettering. I market to industrial areas. But of course door to door sucks. Since these jobs are the most profitable and less time consuming, how do you guys line these gravy jobs up?
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Kerry.. I wouldn't say that THE best jobs out there are vehicle jobs, although they are my mainstay along with boats. I consider the best jobs to be the most artistic/well designed/satisfying customer's needs jobs.
I am assuming you mean BEST=MOST PROFITABLE?
In that case, just go out and approach a few fleet owners, show them your portfolio, throw out a few ideas, make some suggestions about how to improve their current image, let them know that YOU can, and will do what they require.
I know that door to door sucks, but until you do the door to door, get a few jobs under your belt in the vehicle lettering/graphics area, you won't be getting the referalls. You have to do a good job for a customer before they will refer you to one of their contacts.
And by the way...doing vehicle lettering isn't always all that profitable. Just like every other area of the trade..some contracts are super and some just plain suck!
I guess what I am trying to say here is... "If you don't cook the meat to start with, then there won't be any gravy!"
Just my humble opinion.
------------------ Dave Grundy shop#340 AKA "applicator" on mIRC "stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!" in Granton, Ontario, Canada 1-519-225-2634 dave.grundy@odyssey.on.ca www.odyssey.on.ca/~dave.grundy "A PROUD $ supporter of the website"
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Dave is right on about the referrals. Carve yourself a niche, like tow trucks. Do a few killer jobs or even a "nice" job at a good price and the word spreads. You WILL have to cater to them in certain ways though if you want a lot of truck work. Demanding they bring the truck to your shop to be lettered doesn't sit well with somebody with thirty trucks to shuttle back and forth. I derive most of my work from truck dealerships. I have about a dozen in a 200 mile radius that I work with. I stripe, do graphics and letter , paint or vinyl, whatever flips their switch. I'm happy to say that 80% is paint. You work on location dressing up a truck, another trucker sees it, sets up an appointment to do his truck a few days later, you dress up his truck, another trucker sees it....... My best salesman is the finished product sitting on the lot.
------------------ George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@ixlmemphis.com
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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EXACTLY George!!! Thanks for saying, in a few words, what I was trying to convey!!!
You have to go to the customers site, when they want you, and be prepared for working nights/early mornings/weekends..whenever is convenient for them. AND there WILL be another customer wandering by asking "Hey!..Wanna come out and look at my truck and give me a price?"
At that point you drop what you are doing, grab your paper/pencil/tape measure and digital camera and get to work selling another job!!!
Oh.. and then you get back to finishing the job at hand. I have NEVER had a customer object to me stopping work on their project to spend a few minutes with a possible new customer.
------------------ Dave Grundy shop#340 AKA "applicator" on mIRC "stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!" in Granton, Ontario, Canada 1-519-225-2634 dave.grundy@odyssey.on.ca www.odyssey.on.ca/~dave.grundy "A PROUD $ supporter of the website"
The very best way to drum up business for vehicles would be to have the most outstanding job on your own vehicle.
I am simply amazed by the amount of poor examples I see of poor lettering and graphics on sign company vehicles.
We don't do lettering on vehicles, but have very effective graphics and lettering on our vehicles. It astounds me how effective they are in getting noticed. Folks know who we are by our vehicle. It advertises us and our work everywhere we go, including where they are parked each night. And to my knowlege there are no restricting bylaws to limit their effectiveness.
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Something simple I do is when I finish lettering a vehicle for a customer I park it right out by the street for everyone to see. The customers think it is great as they get to see it before they even pull in the parking lot and they get a bit of "free" advertising. I've gotten numerous jobs from people who "didn't know" I did vehicles by seeing them sitting out front.
------------------ Greg Gulliford aka MetroDude Metro Signs and Banners 1403 N. Greene St. #1 Spokane, WA 99202 509-536-9452
[This message has been edited by Greg Gulliford (edited January 26, 2000).]
Posts: 576 | From: Spokane, WA USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
George, Dave and Dan are right on target. The best way to increase your truck lettering business is by turning out top notch work. Cheapo jobs will only attract you cheapo, low profit, business. Get a few really attractive jobs out there, and you will be surprised how they will bring you a trail of customers that are looking for something a cut above the average. I have found that the guy who just spent a hundred grand for a new truck is willing to pay a premium price for a premium lettering job.
They are also right, that you will need to do a little traveling. Almost all the big trucks I letter are done at a dealership or truck shop. I don't really mind this, as it's a lot cheaper for me to drive a little bit, rather than try to maintain a shop big enough to house big freight trucks. Most of the truck shops are good about letting you work at their facilities. It's also good advertising when other truckers see you working there. Get to know the guys that work in the shop. They can send you a lot of business. From time to time I'll do some kind of a small "freeby" for them to show my appreciation. Something like lettering the mechanic's name on his tool box, or the salesman's name on his office door. Give these guys some of your business cards.
Jerry Mathel Jerry Mathel Signs Grants Pass, Oregon signs@grantspass.com
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Posts: 916 | From: Grants Pass, OR USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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Dan's right I drive a little black Saturn around town with 22K gold pinstripping on it.. A touch of flares here and there..More people look and ask were I had this done? Me I say to Ye..Also because I do alot of Airbrushing I do some sample work on my own Clothes Leather vest (Snow Fox) Denim Shirt(Tiger) Jean Jacket ( Praying Mantis) etc.etc. I like being a walking billboard of my work as it get to the people who ask what I can do.... OK here I show you....
------------------ Raven/2000 Airbrushed by Raven Lower sackville N.S. deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca
Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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I often put business cards in the drivers window in car parks when I stop to get shopping or supplies and I see a van without sign writing - sort of wedge them in between the rubber and the glass - Got a few jobs that way.
There are always people who say - "I didn't know you did signwriting" They have to be educated. And I hate to see a van naked - if ya get my drift.
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Hey Dan a naked sign is ugly don't you think ...It's like taking a thing and making a thing of beauty..When you see it pass you by on the Highway you say to yourself "I DID THAT!!!"
------------------ Raven/2000 Airbrushed by Raven Lower sackville N.S. deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca
Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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We do one or two vehicles! We take pictures, we get most jobs on referral, the shop truck makes people look, we have lots of pictures of different vehicle types on the website, we have vehicle outline libraries from several sources covering most makes, we use cast vinyl on most jobs, but like most things it takes awhile to build up, our workshop is on an industrial est.
------------------ Henry Barker #1924 akaKaftan SignCraft AB Stockholm, Sweden. A little bit of England in a corner of Stockholm www.signcraft.se info@signcraft.se
Posts: 1552 | From: Stockholm, Sweden | Registered: Nov 1998
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