This is the third article in a series by Neil Bell of New South Outdoor on Selling digital billboard space.New South is the company that put a tiger tail on an Auburn Alabama billboard to tie into hometown football loyalties.   Neil’s previous articles were Getting the Most out of a Digital Billboard Ad and Digital Billboards Make the The Pie Bigger.

By Neil Bell, owner, New South Outdoor.

Selling advertising space is, in practice, selling an intangible.  The deliverable is the benefit that comes from running the ad.  Some prospects understand this on a basic level, but have a hard time moving forward on this concept alone.  You have to paint them a picture.   If you have a digital board, it can give you a giant canvas.

Although you are selling advertising success, outdoor is still a visual medium.  Showing your prospects will help you close deals and fill space.  Here are a few helpful ideas to get going in this direction.

• Spec Art – Have a great idea for a potential customer? Have a design laid out and ready for a meeting with them. Explain to them that you’ve been thinking about their business and that this idea/art could really help increase their sales.  When they start making layout and color suggestions for the art, you can see that they have become engaged with the idea and your chance of closing them has gone up.

• Show Function – Provide visuals that demonstrate the dynamic abilities of the sign. You can find more success when you get them thinking about how to incorporate these functions into their campaign.  Try to push for them to consider using conditional content and day parting as they help deliver the right message at the right time, which will help increases effectiveness.

• Go ahead and run it – On the day you plan to meet your prospect, schedule those copy ideas on the empty slot you are trying to sell them. See if you can get them in the car for lunch or to just ride the board.  This will certainly help them visualize their ad on your board – and best of all, it doesn’t cost you a thing.  Using this technique can increase your closing rate.

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement