Billboard for Sale: An Amazing Deal that Anybody Could Have
Home > Outdoor Billboard Articles > Billboard for Sale
By Frank Rolfe
Although I spent my career in the Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas market, I discovered one of the greatest billboard for sale deals in Los Angeles, California.
It all began with an ad we were running that said, “We Buy Billboards”. The caller was a guy who had inherited about twenty-four billboard units in Los Angeles when his brother was killed in a car wreck. This guy had no idea how to run an outdoor billboard business, so he stopped taking calls, paying ground rents, and let all the ads go empty. He saw my ad and was intrigued.
He threw out a price and I accepted it at full price because it sounded low. The important part to me was what he agreed to. He allowed me a six month due diligence period to try and re-paper the ground leases.
When I flew out to Los Angeles, I found that the locations were pretty decent with three of them standouts. The risk management part of my brain went to full speed; I quickly decided to try and sell these three standout locations to a big outdoor billboard company to reduce my investment in the remaining signs. So, I packed up these three signs (after re-negotiating their ground leases) and met with the biggest sign companies in Los Angeles. My hunch was a good one, because the biggest company offered me as much for the three signs as I was paying for the whole operation: $250,000.
What made this an amazingly great deal was the fact that I didn’t have to put one cent into buying these signs. I did a simultaneous closing of the three signs and the entire operation. In one day, I had gone from no signs in California, to a major player in Los Angeles. The best part is that I had not risked one penny.
I found that operating billboards in Los Angeles was extremely difficult. After a few years, I sold the operation off for a $300,000 profit. That amount was not very impressive, except for the fact that I had not put one dollar in the deal.
You’re probably asking why didn’t the big local companies contact the guy directly to buy the signs before he ever called me? After closing, I asked them. They told me they only wanted the three signs that were standouts. They guy would not offer three billboards for sale by themselves. So why didn’t they just buy the whole group and sell off all but the three signs? Chalk that up to the amazing dynamics of big companies (and an opportunity for you and me).
The lessons I learned here were as follows:
- Thinking outside the box is very profitable.
- Buying a group of assets and selling a few off to pay down debt is a great strategy.
- Big outdoor billboard companies can make stupid decisions.
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.
Copyright secured by Digiprove Billboard Rent – Make Money with Billboards that Nobody Wants
Home > Outdoor Billboard Articles > Billboard Rent
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.
Outdoor Billboard Cost – How to Build Your Billboard Correctly
Home > Outdoor Billboard Articles > Outdoor Billboard Cost
By Frank Rolfe
There is a right way and a wrong way to build a billboard. Unfortunately, the outdoor billboard cost for not building it the right way can be crushing – from $10,000 to move the sign to total loss of your investment if property damage leads to expensive litigation. Building a billboard the correct way is essential to a successful outdoor billboard business.
The first step in building billboards is to gather all of the relevant information regarding billboard placement. You need to know the front and side setback regulations (both city and state), the exact dimensions of the structure (from the blueprints), and distance that the light fixtures stick out from the catwalks – everything that will determine sign placement.
The next step is to map out exactly where the billboard column should go. When the driller gets there to drill the billboard foundation, the only question he will ask you is where the center of the column will go. You need to map out, well ahead of time and without any pressure, where that center should exactly be. One of the best methods is to buy some wooden stakes and a hammer, and map out where all the corners of the sign will be. This will help you to visualize all of the setbacks and their relation to the real sign.
Once you have figured out exactly where the center of the column should go, give yourself a break and increase the front and side setback by an extra foot or two. I learned this from experience, since you never really know 100% where the property lines are. If there is ever a dispute on the property boundary, you will have to hire a surveyor to find the exact property line, and it may be a foot or so different than where you assumed it is. Even if the property owner tells you with great authority exactly where their property begins, don’t count on it. I once had a land owner show me where the easements and underground pipes on his property were, and then I dug down and hit an 18” water main. The cost to move a billboard is extremely high – around $10,000 or so. However, nobody will ever notice a 2’ additional setback. It’s a simple case of risk vs. reward.
Before you start building the sign make sure that you have removed any obstruction to the sign that it is within your power to do. If you have permission from the neighbor to trim his tree, then trim it before the sign goes in. It always works best to do your trimming and removing before the sign calls a lot of attention to what you are doing. You never know what impact the actual sign may have on the agreeable neighbor – they may change their mind when they see the huge size of the sign they will be staring out forever.
Now that you have a mastery of the sign’s location, it’s time to get ready for the steel to arrive and the construction to begin. Prior to the arrival of the heavy equipment and some huge pieces of steel, it is important to obtain complete permission and cooperation from the landowner (and tenant) for the dislocation that will occur at his property on the day of construction. You should also make that you have all of the necessary permits and that none have expired. Remember that in some cities, you must commence construction within so many days of the permit issuance, or it terminates. You cannot take the risk of building a sign that has no legal permit. You should also scout out all of the access issues – how will the big trucks get in? Hopefully, your sign erector has already walked the site with you.
Once the sign erector and foundation driller show up, you should never leave the job site. There are many problems that can come up during construction, and you need to be there to help make the choices on how to remedy them. The first potential risk is the possibility of hitting water or rock when drilling the foundation. While the driller should have a solution ready in the event that either should occur, you will have to give on-the-spot approval for the additional cost to fix the problem. Other reasons to stay on-site the entire time is to help resolve any problems with the property owner or neighbors (noise issues, etc.), and to make sure that the exact location you marked for the center of the pole is utilized.
Once the driller is at work, he may get lazy and not drill quite as deep as the plans recommend. This compromises the safety of the sign, as well as throwing off your height limit. Make sure that the hole is the correct depth. Even a 6” difference can be a huge problem. Watch him measure the depth, and make sure that he does not cheat.
Once the pole is in the hole, it is time to choose the “V” – the angles of the sign faces in relation to the traffic. This is something you never want to leave up to the installer. It’s not their sign, they will not be saddled with renting the ad space, so they get lazy and don’t do nearly as good as job as you can do yourself. The correct way to choose the “V” angles is from the road it is seen from. It sounds awkward, but you have to normally spot the angles from the middle of the road or highway. I normally use a cell phone to do this as the sign installer cannot hear you from 100 yards away.
When the pole is in the hole and aligned, it is time for the concrete truck. This is the final step that requires your presence. With the concrete, your focus is to make sure that they do not over-fill the hole, or make a big mess on the property. The concrete should stop about 2” from ground level, so that you can put dirt and grass back over the hole. And the biggest mess you can make on the property is a bunch of concrete dumped on the property. Often, just your presence makes the concrete guy more careful.
Once the concrete has been poured, you no longer have to be on-site through the end of the construction process. However, you still have some additional duties to build a sign properly. Make sure that the permit is clearly affixed to the billboard pole, so that the city inspector knows you have one and that you are following it. Also, take some sort of thank-you gift to the landowner or tenant to show your appreciation for letting you tear up their property for a few days. It makes a great first impression.
You should make a lot of money with your first billboard. So it is important that you do not waste any money on having to fix the setback, height, angle, and visibility that you could have easily prevented through informed thinking and attention to detail. Follow these directions, and your billboard should go smoothly and successfully.
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.
