As Bill McHugh (VP of National Accounts for Optec Displays) works to support Optec's dealers and their customers, his "work" is a constant encouragement of education and enlightenment with the philosophy that there is more to a sign sale than just a price.

"Dealing with customers is always a challenge and the sales cycle from "Hello - I want to buy an LED sign to "Congratulations on your new sign" is a long and arduous path of educating the customer on all aspects of what owning and operating a sign is all about."

The dynamics and issue of the sales cycle is a multilayered strategy the he summed up as follows:

CONFIDENCE
Educating the customer all about the LED sign product he is about to inherit. It's almost like having a new born as the sign owner begins to realize the enormity of owning and operating a sign. The dealer's task is to make the customer realize that they can really own their sign and that it is easier to do than they think.

CHALLENGES
Find out what the hurdles are. Is it financial? Is it permits? Is it the competition? Resolving these issues with the customer goes a long way to them realizing that YOU are the person who can sell them their sign with the service and support they need to make this sign work for them.

CREDIBILITY
The dealer has multiple levels of professional resources to offer the customer. What he brings to the table is his professional experience in needs analysis, delivery of the sign, installing it on site, servicing it and training the customer in operating the sign.

COST
For most first-time sign owners, there is always "sticker shock." Buying a sign is not a commodity product, it is an investment in an advertising medium that the customer will own and operate for many forthcoming years.

CLOSE
You've educated the customer, you've demonstrated the product or you've let them "borrow" it for a trial run. It's time to pop the question and close the sale.

COLLABORATION
Owning a sign is a collaboration between Optec Displays, the dealer and the sign owner. Post sales there is Optics Customer Service (training) Tech Support (maintenance) and a new sense of business ownership for the customer.

COMPLETION
The new sign owner has been empowered with a direct market opportunity to build customer awareness to his business, influence impulse sales and expand new sales opportunities on a daily basis.

In conclusion, McHugh sees sales barriers as customer challenges to resolve. It's about setting comfort levels with customers, educating them and providing presales support, product competence and at the end of the day closing the sale.

Visit Optec Display's Premier Member Profile...

---