Superman Strength & Considerable Savings – The NEW Monument Sign

What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear the term “monument sign?” Do the words expensive, heavy or big come to mind? Not anymore!! It’s time to shatter those pre-conceived notions & meet the new monument sign of 2010, the Foamcore Monument Sign.

There are several different finishing systems that can be used when manufacturing monument signs. These include Traditional (Brick or Stone), EIFS (Dryvit), Urethane and the NEW Poly-Armor ™. While all of these methods will create a beautiful finished product initially – they are not created equally.

EIFS (Dryvit) and Urethane monument finishing systems are relatively lighter and cheaper at the start- which makes them a great alternative for some consumers to the traditional stone or brick sign. However, they are prone to dry rot, impact and moisture retention – ultimately destroying the once beautiful structure and costing you more money in the long run. In addition to a high failure rate, some components of these structures must be completed on site and seamed and jointed pieces could be necessary to complete the on-site portion of the product’s installation process.

For years consumers were forced to choose between the heavy traditional monument sign and the cheaper Dryvit and urethane signs which didn’t last… there wasn’t a quality alternative until now. In 2003, a quality alternative was developed to compete with the traditional monument sign and the Dryvit/urethane finishing systems. Within the last 7 years, that alternative has evolved and is now the primary finishing system of choice for the world’s largest retailers, property managers and complexes. That finishing system is the Poly-Armor ™ finishing system used exclusively in The Original Foamcore Monument Sign.

The Poly-Armor ™ finishing system is a unique plastic hard coat that is sprayed on a solid block of foam. It is rot, moisture, termite and damage resistant. It has been referred to as the superman of signs, since several Foamcore monument signs finished with the Poly-Armor ™ hard coat have withstood the test of floods, extreme winds, hurricanes and direct impact from vehicles. The Original Foamcore Monument Sign is independently tested and approved to withstand 175 MPH winds, and is extremely lightweight. This allows for significant cost savings since no metal bracing or on-site construction is necessary. In addition, there are no seams or jointed pieces – just one solid structure that will stand the test of time.

The Original Foamcore Monument Sign is available at all Sign A Rama locations and can be used in conjunction with dimensional letters, faux brick & stone accents, integrated graphics, light boxes, LED message centers and more.

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Superman Strength & Considerable Savings – The NEW Monument Sign

The Power of Belief and Expectation

By John Boe

While you may not always get what you want, you will always get what you expect! Surprisingly, the power of belief and expectation work just as effectively on your feelings of self-doubt and limitation as they do on your thoughts of success and achievement. Think thoughts of defeat or failure and you are bound to be discouraged. Belief is an incredibly powerful state of mind. Your belief system not only defines and shapes who you are, but it also determines your potential. Henry Ford was correct when he said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right." Your belief system, like your computer, doesn't judge what you input; it simply accepts it as the truth. Earl Nightingale, cofounder of the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, concluded that life's strangest secret is that you become what you think about all day long. If you want to know where your predominant thoughts lie and what you believe, look at what you are experiencing in your life. Your thoughts are creative by nature and express themselves through your emotions, which in turn, drive your actions. Everything you say, both positive and negative, is literally an affirmation.

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for they become habits. Study your habits, for they will become your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny." - Anonymous

Many years ago, I heard about an eager, new insurance agent who had just received his license and was looking for prospects. He met with a successful businessman who had agreed to provide him with referrals. As the businessman handed the insurance agent ten referrals, he asked him to contact the prospects immediately and get back to him with the results. Two weeks later, the enthusiastic salesman dropped by the businessman's office to give him feedback and ask for more referrals. The insurance agent was pleased to announce that he had been very successful! He proudly stated that he had already contacted and sold insurance policies to seven of the referrals and was still attempting to contact the other three. After thanking the businessman for giving him the ten prospects, he asked him if he had thought of any other referrals. The businessman smiled and said that he was very busy at the moment and surprised the insurance agent by handing him a phonebook. The businessman informed him that the previous ten prospects were not his personal contacts, but rather names that he had selected at random out of the phonebook. He suggested that the salesman go ahead and get the next ten prospects out of the phonebook himself!

The astute businessman taught the new salesman an extremely valuable lesson in the power of belief and expectation. The salesman had made those sales on the belief that he had been given ten preferred prospects. Therefore, he was confident and eager to contact those leads and expected to make the sales with little or no difficulty. What is your belief about your market and what expectations do you have for your success? Yes, belief is indeed a very powerful state of mind!

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call 937-299-9001

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

The Power of Belief and Expectation

Use negative comments to accentuate the positive

When you position your brand or company on Facebook, Twitter and the like, you’ll be opening yourself up to positive feedback – as well as negative feedback. And that’s okay. Really. It may seem counter-intuitive that negative feedback can actually boost your image, but it’s true.

Of course, you can always have your administrator remove negative comments immediately. However, that would be disingenuous, and visitors to your Facebook or Twitter pages would become suspicious of such a perfectly rosy picture of your company. Think of comments as a way to keep your brand honest. If you follow up and “engage” negative feedback your credibility will remain in tact, often times it’s seen as beneficial to face the adversity head on. In fact, a few negative comments will validate the accolades.

See customer critiques as an opportunity to give instantaneous customer service. Visit the Twitter pages of Zappos and Comcast to see how they do it. They see constructive criticism as not simply beneficial (you pay for user-testing and focus groups right?) but as a way to communicate with the client base on what REALLY matters to them. And if a negative comment does emerge, you will probably also see an army of satisfied customers coming to your defense.

There was a situation on a major cruise line’s forum in which a traveler blamed the cruise line for his bad vacation. Almost immediately, other travelers jumped to the cruise line’s defense. “I was on that cruise and had a great time,” some declared. Others queried the critic for details. It turns out his problem with the cruise was the weather. “The cruise line can’t control the weather. How can you say it’s their fault?” they demanded. The praise drowned out the criticism, and the cruise line didn’t have to lift a finger. If only everything was this easy to fix.

Source: One in a series from Starmark.com called "Winning eTips Every Marketer Should Know"

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Use negative comments to accentuate the positive

Keep It Simple

There are many different reasons to use signage in your business, but perhaps the most common is to direct people either to your location or within it. For that reason, simplicity must rule the day when you’re designing your signs.

Less is more should be your mantra, despite the fact that you may feel there’s so much more you can say. And, because it’s not likely that you’re an expert at sign design, it’s always a good idea to work with someone who is to make smart decisions with respect to:

• Overall design
• Font selection
• Color choices
• Verbiage and messaging

All these things will affect how successful your signs are in doing the jobs you intend them to do. You want to stand out without being gaudy, accurately reflect your company’s image, and ensure your current and potential customers aren’t confused by your messaging. We invite you to take advantage of our expertise in producing signs that are simple yet effective.

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Keep It Simple

Use Vehicle Signs to Drive Customers to You

Erecting a billboard is typically beyond the budget capabilities of most small businesses, but that’s not the only alternative you have to get your message out to the driving public. How about turning your own car, or your company’s entire fleet, into rolling advertisements?

Vehicle signage options include everything from small magnetic signs to full body vehicle wraps. Your choice should be predicated on the message you want to broadcast as well as what you want to spend. The benefits you receive will include the following:

• Your vehicles will be turned into valuable business assets. Wherever they go, your company name will go with them, getting exposure to literally hundreds of potential customers every day.
• Your investment is long-term and cost-effective. Because vehicle signage is always “on the job,” you get a lot of bang for your buck.
• You enhance the community’s awareness of your business 365 days a year. Branding is an ongoing process; it’s well documented that potential customers may need to be “touched” up to a dozen times before they do business with you…and vehicle signage is a simple way to create visibility.

There are slightly different “rules” for vehicle signs, since they’ll often be viewed on the move. We’re happy to advise you about the best ways to literally drive more customers to your business.

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Use Vehicle Signs to Drive Customers to You

Vehicle Signage from Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Vehicle Signage from Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Dimensional Signs from Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Dimensional Signs from Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego