Billboard Rent – Make Money with Billboards that Nobody Wants
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By Frank Rolfe
Do you have an outdoor billboard that has been vacant forever? Maybe you need to change your outdoor advertising marketing strategy to get billboard rent. After all, everyone would be interested if you gave the space away for free, right? Of course they would! However, you have a resource that everyone needs.
So, why was the billboard undesirable in the first place? The answer is the pricing strategy–not the billboard itself. I assure you the demand is there if a few tweaks are made. Once these changes are made, you’ll be able to find the advertiser that will pay you more than any other advertiser for that sign.
You’re probably asking yourself, “How?” In order to find the advertiser that wants your billboard, you have to focus on three primary objectives: 1) promote the space effectively; 2) seek out and prioritize potential advertisers; 3) close the deal.
Promote, Promote, Promote
If you sign is vacant, you need to place the following message on your sign right away: “FOR RENT (XXX) XXX-XXXX”. This message should be printed in large typeface and can be in the form of a vinyl or paint job of the entire billboard face. Your message will now be seen thousands of times per day and you have effectively used your own billboard to rent itself.
Finding and Prioritizing Potential Advertisers
My technique for seeking out potential advertisers starts with making a list. In fact, I don’t just create one list; I create three. The first list is all of the advertisers who are on another billboard in the area. These are pre-qualified prospects and my mission here is to call each one. My goal is to find out if they would be interested in my billboard location. After all, these prospects may want to expand their advertising reach. Or, they may want to move from the competitor’s billboard after their lease expires.
The second list is comprised of individuals who call you from either your “for rent” sign or the direct mail campaign. Since these prospects are contacting you based on your marketing message, they are pre-qualified because they have some form of interest.
The third list is created based on companies that seem most likely to want to advertise on the sign, based on your guessing of who they would be. You can buy a prepared list, or you can type it yourself from the yellow pages.
Closing the Sale
It is now time to think like an auctioneer. Your goal here is to get the highest price and the longest term on the lease. Call everyone on all three lists and qualify the prospects by determining their interest level. You can also use this script, “I’ve got a billboard that I know would work for your business, and I know you’d take it if it was free. I can’t rent it for free, but what would it take for you to be interested in renting it?” Be confident and tell yourself that someone is going to rent this billboard. You just have to find them.
Once you get a bid, immediately set up a meeting to sign the lease agreement, as long as it is within reason. Don’t wait a long time to follow up and close the deal with your customer, or they may change their mind.
Some Final Thoughts
By using techniques from my own playbook, you will start to get bids. Take the best offer and don’t hold out for a higher offer. The longer a billboard remains vacant, the greater the opportunity cost to your billboard business.
About Frank Rolfe
Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later. Rolfe is sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards. He is the author of the book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”, which teaches you how to rent a billboard and build a successful billboard business.
How to Rent a Billboard Through Direct Mail
Home > Outdoor Billboard Articles > Rent a Billboard
By Frank Rolfe
Although it is well recognized as an effective marketing tool for most products and services, few outdoor advertising companies recognize the potential of direct mail as an effective tool to rent a billboard space.
Why?
There are many advertisers who have no idea what the cost of advertising space is on a billboard. Billboards are the least expensive per exposure of any media. Many advertisers who currently have ad placement in newspapers, radio or television are often shocked at how low cost outdoor advertising is. And many have never bothered to call to get a price list, since they are mistakenly convinced that it is out of their budget. Additionally, there are many new businesses that are equally unaware of the cost of billboard advertising, and are amazed at its affordability. Simply getting the message out to potential advertisers of what billboards really cost is very effective in finding new clients.
In addition, many advertisers have never even thought of a billboard as a marketing tool. Since most companies are familiar with print and other media, they often overlook the basic concept of investing their ad dollars in outdoor advertising. Receiving a direct mail piece often shocks them into giving it some consideration.
What does it cost?
The regular cost for a mailer is slightly above the cost of a standard postage stamp. Many modern direct mail companies are able to ship in bulk, with reduced postage rates. So by the time you add in the cost of printing the envelopes and the flyers, the total package cost is about 50 cents or so per unit. If you were to make a 500 piece mailer, it would cost about $250, plus some additional set up and printing charges based on the provider. This is a bargain if you think of the cost of cold-calling these same prospects. Imagine how much time it would take to sit down and call and reach 500 decision makers. At 50 calls per day, which would be an unbelievable quantity, it would take ten business days, or roughly two weeks. And I believe that the direct mail piece does a better job, as it gives all the information in a few brief seconds, without putting the prospect on the spot.
What are the results?
A standard direct mail piece should yield a 1% response rate. So if you send out 500 mailers, you should get about 5 calls in. Of these responses, some prospects are just calling to obtain more information. But if everything is working according to plan, you should be able to convert at least one of these five prospects into a paying customer – and one sale is absolutely all you are trying to accomplish. With most billboard leases being one year in length, you won’t have to do another mailer for a year on that same sign.
Who do you send it to?
You should target all of the businesses in the zip code of the billboard, or surrounding zip codes depending on the size of the sampling. Do not put too much effort into excluding certain business types – many of your best prospects are folks who have never used outdoor before. If there are 1,000 prospect businesses, then send an initial 500 out and, if that fails, send a second wave of 500. Often, you will get the job done with the first round of mailers.
What should the flyer say?
It should contain the following points:
- The traffic count (e.g. “100,000 cars per day”).
- The price (e.g. “$800 per month)
- A photo of the sign, with the current advertiser on it so they recognize it (or better yet a photo of the sign with their competitor on it).
- The location, in both verbage and on a map.
- The size of the sign.
- What direction it faces.
- Whether or not it is lighted.
- Your contact name and phone number
It should be compact and easy to read – no need for any fancy design work here.
Conclusion
One of the best salesman for an outdoor advertising company is a guy that never comes into the office, and can call on 500 or more customers per day. He is one of the best in the company, yet nobody pays him much attention. That guy, of course, is the direct mail piece. If you have a billboard for rent, try this concept out. You may find out that this is the best source of customers you’ve ever had!
About Frank Rolfe
Frank Rolfe became the one of the largest private billboard operators in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He eventually sold his billboard empire to a public company 14 years later. Rolfe is sharing his expertise to anyone interested in getting involved with outdoor billboards. He is the author of the book, “Big Bucks from Big Signs”, which contains everything you need to know in order to get started.
