Matt Schulze is a partner at Selective Structures, an Athens Tennessee company which fabricates and installs sign poles, billboards, scoreboards and digital signs. Selective Structures annually fabricates over 1000 billboards each year. You can contact Matt at mschulze@windstream.net, 706-473-3250. Matt’s got the best how-I-entered-the-outdoor-business story of anyone I’ve ever met.

1. Matt, how did you get in the outdoor business?

My first media sales job was in radio in 1991, I sold a live remote over Halloween weekend to a local manufactured housing dealer. For the first hour of the remote no one was coming in despite free pizza and the local morning DJ being there. I started to panic, my commission was $50 and I didn’t want to lose a future sale, so I put on a Bear costume and climbed on their on-premise wood billboard and waved at cars for 2 hours. They sold 8 mobile homes in one day, it was the largest sales day in the company’s history. I went in the next Monday to sign him up for another live remote and he declined saying that nobody came in from the radio station, they all came in because of the billboard. So I immediately recognized that sales was not about my commission but about making money for the client. I went directly to the local billboard company and told him I could bring him contracts if he hired me. He did, and the rest is history.

2. What services does Selective Structures provide?

We are a turnkey fabricator offering design, engineering, installation, and on site consultation. One of the most underrated services that all Selective salesman provide is information to the industry. We build all over this great country so we see what works and what doesn’t, we know who is buying and who is selling, and we are committed to help before, during, and after the install of your new structure. I learned something a long time ago, “no one just owns one sign.” And if you get out sooner or later you will be back in it. And when you do we will be waiting for you.

3. What trends are you seeing in sign design?

I think we as an industry will have to be more creative in our approach to certain locations where a standard monopole just won’t do it for the property owner.

4. What questions should people ask when they are trying to decide whether to convert a static board to digital?

• Does the board have a waiting list? If you have a waiting list on the billboard then it is a good indication that it will be able support the increase in clients.

• Was the structure built to code when it was constructed? Do you have engineering documentation on structure and installation?’

• Does the structure have to be brought to current code ?

5. What common mistakes do companies make when they put up a sign?

They are not SELECTIVE in who they choose.