Marketing Advice
Story-based credibility B
uilding a library of customer success stories that quantify impact
allows sales teams to build trust faster by providing context-rich benchmarks for new prospects. Imagine a salesperson sitting in the
boardroom of a major prospect. They have the technical specs for a complex wide-format roll-out ready to go. But the conversation stalls because the person across the table isn’t a production manager; they are an economic buyer focused on lead conversion and brand equity. The salesperson is speaking the language of GSM and DPI, while the executive is speaking the language of ROI. This is a common friction point
in our industry. Many signage sales teams find themselves ‘relegated’ to lower-level contacts who lack decision-making authority. To break out of that trap, you must stop selling what the machine does and start selling the problem it solves. Credibility in the wide-format and display sector isn’t built on your plant list; it is built on your ability to prove you have solved a similar business problem for someone else.
Start selling the problem Clients do not care about your products. They are focused on the problems standing in the way of their objectives. If you are approaching a retail client with a new window graphic solution, they aren’t buying vinyl; they are buying footfall. If you don’t speak the vernacular of the buyer you are engaging with, a disconnect occurs. When you lead with a story about how a specific high-end finish increased a previous client’s lead conversion, you are no longer a commodity provider. You are a trusted advisor who happens to use signage as a tool. This shift in mindset separates the low-margin volume chasers from the operators who command a premium.
Use quantified success stories as your primary sales tool Authenticity in sales comes from
| 30 | September/October 2026
Building trust with clients is an important step for any business. Colin Sinclair McDermott, The Online Print Coach, talks about this issue and how flaunting customer success stories allows sales teams to build trust faster.
evidence. Instead of telling a prospect that your display stands are ‘high quality,’ you should be telling them how those stands reduced assembly time for a national retailer or increased point-of-sale engagement by a measurable margin. Value selling is a framework that
allows you to establish credibility quickly. By documenting how a specific finish drove higher engagement for a client, you create a benchmark. When you can say, “We did X for company Y, and it resulted in Z,” you provide the prospect with a mental map of their own success. It removes the risk from the purchase. If you haven’t built a library of these stories, you are forcing your sales team to start from zero with every single lead.
Protect your accounts with a purposeful cadence Existing customer bases are often the most under-monetised asset in a signage business. If you only speak to your clients when an order is due, you are leaving the door wide open for a competitor to ‘unhook’ the account. However, the nature of that contact is critical. The ‘just checking in’ call is a waste of time. Instead, a consistent contact cadence – at least every three months
– should be used to uncover evolving problems. By staying close to the buyer and asking about their current business hurdles, you position yourself to offer new solutions before they even realise they need them. It is about being proactive rather than reactive.
Move from commodity provider to strategic partner Luck in the signage industry is manufactured through discipline. It looks like having the right Case Studies ready, the right vernacular prepared for the boardroom, and the right follow-up SOPs in place. The lesson I’d love for you to take
away from this is that your technical expertise is only valuable if you translate it into a business outcome. If your sales team is stuck talking to people who can’t say ‘yes,’ it is because they haven’t given the people who can say ‘yes’ a reason to listen. Start by auditing your last three major projects. Don’t look at the print specs; look at the business impact. Did it save the client money? Did it increase their sales? Once you have those answers, you have the foundation for story-based credibility.
www.signupdate.co.uk
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