Smart business owners know the value of well-designed signs. They capture the customer's attention, provide the first impression and communicate the type of business. Sign Gallery 7 offers a wide ...
A bid proposal that incorporates a sign miniature can result in a big sale
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Contrary to popular belief, bigger is not always better. Mini-Me, for example, not only upstaged the much larger Dr. Evil, but movie headliner Austin Powers. A collector recently paid Christie's auction house millions of dollars for a small, 2 1/8-in.-tall portrait of George Washington. And, in an age in which giant Oldsmobiles are being discontinued, little VW Beetles enjoy renewed popularity.
The same holds true for the sign industry: Tiny is tops. In bid proposals, for instance, miniature, to-scale models can serve as valuable sales tools. Fifteen-year-old Woodgraphics (Douglasville, GA) uses models to particularly good effect. The company keeps on-hand models of the 10 standard monument signs it offers. Measuring between 5 and 9 in. high and roughly 1 1/4 in. thick, each double-faced monument is made from two sheets of routed high-density urethane (HDU), glued back to back, and handpainted.
"The faces are magnetic and interchangeable, allowing them to be customized for different clients. Using our GERBER EDGE®, we can print a miniature faux-granite face with goldleaf letters in no time," salesman Jack Caldwell explains. "Then, we paste the face onto one of our miniature plaques, and the plaque is magnetically held onto the mini-monument."
When shown to a customer, the mini-monument is set into Woodgraphics' standard, green base, and mini "shrubbery" is arranged around the sign. Woodgraphics owner Alan Denyse credits designer Ken Cain and |1137|'s Sabre® router master Jon Keller for the models. Gerber Scientific Products
"We're always trying to come up with unique tools that put us at a competitive advantage in the market we serve, which is, in general, fancy entry-monument signage," Denyse says.
In addition to the 10 standard monument models, Woodgraphics occasionally makes a custom model. Last year, the company created a custom model when trying to land Miles Properties' Highland South job. Woodgraphics first took a physical inventory of the signs on Miles' other properties. During this inventory, the sign company learned Miles often uses monument signs with Roman and/or Greek themes.
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