online business

Sign Distribution Business

A potentially profitable business that can be operated from the home is a retail and/or wholesale sign route. Every business needs signs -- from the OPEN/CLOSED and HOURS OF OPERATION on the doors to the flashing arrow or neon sign outside. No merchant can afford to operate a retail establishment these days without signs .Many of the signs small businesses have, especially those on main streets and highways were purchased from route salesmen, or one just passing through, who made approximately 50% profit on each one. A few years ago, the only way to get a sign was to call or go to a professional sign painter and have him paint you one. Then, you waited until it was finished to find out what your sign would look like. Today hand painted signs are but a small fraction of the sign industry.

Quite a few of today's "sign men" don't even know how to hand-letter, they use pre-formed or press-on letters! Some of those who do paint letters apply patterns and then fill in the lines. A ready-made or "stock" sign that a merchant pays $25 for probably cost the sign salesmen $5 to $10, and he might sell 2 or 3 to the same merchant! If you think about it, there are not many places to buy signs - they aren't like vacuum cleaners, where every department store has a line of them. Retail businesses buy almost all of their signs from sign companies and route salesmen, who buy directly from the manufacturer.
Going into the wholesale or retail (or both) sign sales business requires a relatively small investment -- about $50 to $200 worth of samples and initial stock -- things you think will sell.
This business is suitable for male, female; young or mature people, since it involves calling on established businesses during normal working hours. It is possible to sell from a catalog, better to have samples, and best to have signs for delivery NOW, when the customer really needs them.
The sign supply companies will be happy to provide suggested retail prices, catalogs and sales literature, but you are free to sell at whatever prices you feel are best for your area and profit needs. If you decide to sell at other than the company suggested prices, make sure you change everything that your customers can see before starting out. The next step is to get in your car and start calling on retail merchants. Sell them the signs they need (if you don't someone else will). Keep track of who you call on, when, whether they bought something, and a short note on the gist of the conservation -- especially things you said you would do.

Keep a small notebook in your car with a page for each customer, and update it EACH TIME you call on that customer (include the names of people you talked with as well as notes on the visit.
This record will also come in handy when it is time to figure up ( and substantiate) the tax deductible business mileage for your car! Keeping your customer pages in the proper order will reflect your route because they are in the order that you call on them. And, you review each and every page just before going into their place of business to refresh your recollection of the last visit. You will "remember" their name, what they bought, what they said, they liked, etc.,)
As you approach each potential new account, notice what signs are There, and which ARE NOT. For example, if they already have a nice OPEN/CLOSED sign, don't try to sell them another, even if yours is slightly better. When you enter and ask if they would like something that you think they could use, they get the impression you may be there to help them -- not just "sell" them.

Do the same with established accounts, expect much of the "sizing" up is done from your notes of previous visits. This way, you really are there to help them! after all, you call on many businesses and are in a position to make intelligent recommendations in this area where you specialize. Each time you visit a customer, take in their order and show them one or two different or new (to them) items that you feel they might be able to use - in the course of your short, polite and friendly (but intimate) conservation. Don't try to show or tell them about too many products or they will feel "bombarded". Above all, don't discuss religion, politics or other accounts. Always be presentable: look, talk, and act like a business person. When the customer talks, LISTEN. Find out what the merchant thinks, what products he would like to move, and some of his interests. Your intent is not to change his mind, it is to work with his line of reasoning to improve his business.