How To Make $584 A Week Selling LED Signs

by 177 replies
225
A few month ago I got a wholesale novelty catalog in the mail from a company called Rhode Island Novelty. You can order their catalog by calling them at: 1-800-528-5599 or you can request one online at: www.rinovelty.com. In their catalog they sell 10" x 19" LED open signs for $10.80 each or you can order a case of 20 for $216.

I did a search online for the exact same 10" x 19" LED open sign selling at the retail price of between $49 to $99 per sign.

So, I ordered a case of 20 and figured I would sell the LED open signs to local businesses, such as corner stores door to door for $40 each.

All I did to sell my LED open signs was I walked into a store I noticed didn't have an LED open sign or I thought could use another one and ask if the owner or manager wasm in and then I simply showed them the LED open sign and asked if they would like to buy one for just $40.

I did this for 5 days, Monday - Friday working only 2 hours a day and I made 1-3 sales each day and ended up selling all 20 of my LED open signs at $40 each, for a profit of $584 for just 10 hours of work.

Now, that is great, but what I figured out while I was selling the LED open signs was that almost every corner store I went into had an ATM machine, but they didn't have a lighted ATM sign, only a sticker or paper sign on thier door or in their window, but that doesn't catch a customers attention as much a lighted ATM sign, so I did some searching online for a wholesale supplier of LED lighted ATM signs and I found a company called Alibaba, their website address is at alibabe.com and they sell LED lighted ATM signs for $10 each when you buy them in cases of 10 or 20.

So, I ordered a case of 20 for $200 and I did the same thing I did with the LED open signs and sold them door to door to corner stores for $40 each. Now, unlike to LED open signs that took me 5 days to sell working only 2 hours a day, the LED lighted ATM signs sold like hot cakes in 2 days, so I worked just 4 hours and sold all 20 lighted ATM signs at $40 each for a profit of $600.

Now, sense the first 20 lighted ATM signs sold so fast and easy, I decided to order another 40 and I sold all 40 of them in 7 days for a profit of $1,600.

This is a very simple money making idea that anyone can do to make some great extra money, so give it a try and let me know how things turn out?

UPDATE:

I now buy my open and atm signs from:

www.alibaba.com

you will also have to call or email each supplier to get the lowest price per sign if you order a case of 10 or 20 open or atm signs. I pay between $10 and $12 per sign.

I hope this helps and if anyone actually tries this idea, please post here your success story or email me, as i like to read them.

To your success,

Martin
#offline marketing #$584 #led #make #selling #signs #week
  • Wow, so simple, and yet it works.

    Takes a bit to get out there and overcome your fear of selling, but great job, man.

    And thanks for the detailed, in-depth report. Love it!
    • [2] replies
    • redicelander,

      Thanks and your welcome!

      Martin

    • You know what? No it don't. You know why? Because if you're hungry enough, tired (of being broke) (have no real workable ideas) enough and want it bad enough...? Nothing will stop you from going out there and kicking butt and taking NO prisoner's!

      When you KNOW you've got something they want (signs) and they've got something you NEED (money)...at a price they ? You WILL get out there and make the sale--over & over, again & again! Trust me! :p       Hell, I'll even ask for referrals! LOL!

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • You have giving me an intereting idea to implement. Thanks!
    • [1] reply
    • hisham88,

      Would You be willing to share the intereting idea my post gave you to implement ?

      Thanks,

      Martin
  • Simple and effective idea! I am right down the 90 from you in Buffalo...I wonder if it would work in this market. Seems like a fast easy seller, but if you go on eBay the same signs sell for $10 but if you're in the business selling I could see where it is more of an impulse buy for the business owner.
    • [1] reply
    • SDotSpells,

      Yes, selling signs is a impulse buy for the business owners and most buy due to the fact that they get the sign now and don't have to wait, like they would if they bought it on ebay or online somewhere.

      Martin
      • [1] reply
  • Another great idea! Thanks.
  • This is why I love reading Offline stuff. Whilst being a lurker on this forum I think this is a smart idea and one that can work in the long-term.
  • Hi Martin,

    The cost you got the LED sign - are shipping included? Because I know Alibaba is actually a B2B platform that allows Manufacture to sell to wholesalers and usually are from China, which shipping can be more expensive than the product itself.
    • [2] replies
    • Congrats Martin! You are a true entrepreneur. May I ask how long it took to get your shipment from the time you placed your order?

      Was there no problem with them shipping to an individual rather than a company or did you order as a company?
      • [1] reply
    • ikme,

      What i did is call the supplier in china that i'm getting my signs from and made a deal with them for a set price for shipping if i buy 2 or more cases of 20 signs and so i pay around $2 per sign for shipping.

      If you order your signs from rhode island novelty and order a case or 2 of 20 signs from them you can usally get them to offer free shipping.

      I hope this helps,

      Martin
  • I am just new in this forum and after reading this thread, I am greatly amazed at the wide array of knowledge I could acquire from here.

    This is a wonderful idea! Really great job.
    • [1] reply
    • I love this post!
      How about this - lets say you have a biz you are trying to get in with to do a website - mobile site - whatever. Box up a sign and send it to them for free with some sort of letter saying "now all the passerbye's will know you are open - how about all the web (or mobile) surfer/searchers?"
      Follow up with a visit and say "I see you got our sign - anything else we can help you with?"
      • [ 4 ] Thanks
      • [2] replies
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • hi Martin,
    such a genius idea. thanks for sharing this
  • Love this deal.
  • excellent idea and easy to implement I guess..
  • [DELETED]
    • [1] reply
  • That's great. At that price, you could also toss one is as a freebie to get a hesitant prospect to sign (no pun intended) up.
    • [1] reply
    • I have been getting a few emails from people asking for me to supply them with the suppliers i buy my open and atm signs from, so i figured i better share that with everyone and not just a few, so here you go.

      I buy my open signs from: rinovelty.com

      if you call rhode island novelty and tell them you would like to order a case of 20 open signs, they will give you a discount price of just $10.80 per sign.

      and i buy my atm signs from:

      alibaba.com/product-gs/387058759/LED_Sign_ATM.html

      alibaba.com/product-gs/295079977/LED_Signs.html

      you will also have to call or email the 2 companies above to get the lowest price per sign if you order a case of 10 or 20 atm sign. I pay between $10 and $12 per sign.

      I hope this helps and if anyone actually tries this idea, please post here your success story or email me, as i like to read them.

      Thanks and I wish you much success,

      Martin
  • Nice and simple, Too often we want to make it much more complicated then what it has to be. Thanks for sharing Martin

    @rugman nice twist again simple
    • [1] reply
    • very informative and inspiring way to make a business w/ LED. I'm taking notes of this post. Thanks a lot!
  • Either I am having Deja Vu or I read this story somewhere before.

    Am I crazy Martin or have you posted this before?

    Great way to make some cash!
    • [2] replies
    • ADukes81,

      You might have read the idea on a few of the other forums i post to or you might have read it on my website where i share my money making ideas for free.

      Thanks,

      Martin
    • Yep you've read this and the other items before... from Don Alm.
      • [2] replies
  • I wanted to do this years ago. Nice job!
    • [1] reply
    • Thats nice, man...

      I´m happy for you, the only reason I can´t do the same is that here in Spain the mindstate / culture are sooooo different.

      Almost imposible to do the same.

      but anyway.. kudos to you!
  • Lots of great ideas bounced around here.

    Thank you for sharing this info.

    Great entrepreneurial spirit in this thread.

    Ray
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks everyone for all your input and positve feedback.

      I hope at least one person who read this post will take action on this idea and make money with it.

      Also, if anyone does try out this idea will you please post back here and share your results with all of us.

      To your success,

      Martin
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
    • [1] reply
    • I'm just curious, What does this have to do with the thread?
  • Now just add a QR code on the back of each sign sending them to your website and boom more sales.

    Quentin
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Quentin,

      Thanks for the QR code idea.

      I'm working on tieing in QR codes with some of my other biz ideas as they are becoming more and more popular as most people are only buying smart phones now.

      Thanks again,

      Martin
      • [1] reply
  • This is a very interesting idea, but I'm curious how you pull this off, most buisnesses I know have a no soliciting policy and you can supposely get into trouble. How do you work around this, and when you go in, do you bring the sign in? Do you dress a certain way to? Formal? Informal? Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • RatRaceWatch,

      I don't worry about no soliciting policy, i just walk in wearing casual dress cloths with a sign in hand and ask for the owner or manager and i make my pitch. In 8 years of sales i have only had, that i can remember 2 businesses ask me to leave and don't come back. A tip i learned a while back from a top sales man was, if you see a No Soliciting sign on the door, that mean the owner can't say no, so come in and sell me something...lol

      I hope this answers you question's and helps,

      Martin
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • This is really good stuff my man. It opens up a lot of ideas.
  • What a great Idea. So many ways to make money in this economy. You just have to be williing to take action.
  • Glad you had much success
  • When you look for buisnesses do you target only mom and pop places. Or do you actually go in more corporate stores? I would love to try this, but knowing my luck most of the people wouldn't have the authority to buy anything haha, or they'd call the cops and i'd get a fine for soliciting (dunno if thats a real law in Florida) haha.
    • [2] replies
    • RatRaceWatch,

      I target mostly corner stores and retail stores. You have to let go of the what if thoughts you have and just do it and see what happens, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

      Good luck!

      Martin
    • I don't know of any 'no solicitation law' in Florida. This type of sale isn't something where that will even come up most of the time.

      If they have it (the sign), then you aren't even walking in.

      If they don't have it (the sign) then they need it. And most of the time, they have already thought about getting it but, just haven't. That doesn't mean that they will buy from you but it does increase your chances.

      You will literally know inside of 30 seconds of conversation whether or not someone you are talking to is a real prospect or not. Certainly not enough time for someone to call the cops on you.

      I bet if you put in a solid 8 hours of door knocking in a real closely targeted businesses area, especially where there are new businesses, you could go through a case in a day.

      Once you do a few hours of this, the fear is gone and it's all about the cash in your pocket.
  • Great Idea and your signature looks very interesting too.
    • [1] reply
    • Christian Amador,

      Thanks and yes my signature products below are very interesting, so why havn't you bought them...lol just joking

      All the best,

      Martin
    • [DELETED]
  • Absolutely brilliant! I've tried door-to-door sales before and I'm terrified of that type of encounter but you've made it work. Congratulations!
  • Excellent idea! Where I live, there are literally thousands of delis, restaurants, bars, pizza shops etc. with ATMs. There are also quite a few people in need of work. My time is limited, but I could see buying these in bulk and reselling for $20-$25 to people who would then turn around and sell them to the stores.
    • [1] reply
    • LongTail Silver,

      I would say you should place an ad on craigslist to hire sales reps on a commission basis to sell your signs, but your profits will be very low like $10 doing things this way and that's fine, but as easy as it is to make sales selling signs, I would just perfer to do it all myself and make bigger profits, but that's just me.

      I wish you luck and please keep me posted on your results if do end up selling signs.

      Thanks,

      Martin
      • [1] reply
  • Hello, quick question

    with alibaba have you run into people not shipping product etc? I know with the escrow this may not happen but i gotta ask
    • [1] reply
    • big jeffrey,

      I have never had a problem getting an order. I have had an order take a little longer for delivery than i was told it would, but when ordering from china, ect. you have to exspect delays sometime.

      I hope this answers your question.

      Thanks,

      Martin
  • Great ideas! I think it's a great strategy a) to make some nice extra cash, and b) to get your foot in the door to offer other offline services.
  • A new idea i just came up with today that i have not tested, but i can't see any reason why it wouldn't work is to go to your local county clerks office and ask for a list of all the new retail businesses that have been registered in the last month. The list may cost you money, but it will provide you with the businesses name and address and then take that list and go to those businesses and see if they need an open sign.

    Good luck,

    Martin
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Dammit man! You keep coming in and hitting us over the head with these awesomely brilliant #$!@* ideas! Every time I read this thread, it's like I'm reading something new! What are we going to do with you??
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • That's a good idea that would be an excellent way to shorten the time searching for customers.

    Unsure of your specific skill set but by knowing they are new businesses you could leave your card or mention after the initial sale of the sign about other services that you may be able to offer e.g- facebook pages, web-sites or other things that as a new business may not have in place yet.
  • This is good idea, thanks.
  • can you recommend a good supplier that ships internationally? i can't find this product on rinovelty.com
    • [1] reply
    • Stfuser, please read the entire thread.
  • Do you charge them tax? I know in a lot of states, you have to charge and report sales tax for hard goods and some states even require a license to do so.
    • [1] reply
    • mr2monster,

      No, i don't add sales tax to my sign sales, i just clam my earnings at the end of the year and as far as a license goes, it might be better to be legal in your area, but in my area they don''t enforce it, so i'm not worrying about one untill i'm told to get one

      Thanks,

      Martin
      • [1] reply
  • very good idea. But I am not good at this kind of sales. Anyways good job and thanks for sharing.
  • the one i picked seems to not be offering low prices , i was qouted $30 per sign (at least for the supplier listed here). going to try a few others on alibaba

    i even tried to haggle a bit and up the order to 20 signs but they still wont budge
    • [1] reply
    • big jeffrey,

      I think what has happend is that the suppliers i listed have been getting a boost in orders or requests for their signs and have decided to raise the price as the demand for them has increased.

      I'm looking for new suppliers that have cheap prices on led open and atm signs and i will post here once i find some good suppliers.

      Thanks,

      Martin
      • [1] reply
  • Actually this is great bro. You can even sell much bigger LED signs and make that amount just from one sale. I know some great providers who give you the 4 color signs dirt cheap. Finest LED Signs- Our Tri Color and Full Color LED signs are electronic message centers for outdoors, indoor and window signs that will increase you business up to 150% will allow you to sell their signs and you don't even have to buy them up front the ship it to your customer once you closed the sale. There is Big $$ to be made from this guys.
    • [1] reply
    • Martin, I just order 5 ATM signs from your new source. Plan to test the market here in NYC $40-50 for each sign . I will keep you posted.
      • [1] reply
  • LED signs, now that's a cool idea And, by the way, we build websites! I still like it IMO.
  • Interesting, has anyone tried doing this in the Chicago area?
    • [1] reply
    • There is plenty of room for you to make money with LED signs even if there was a few other people using this idea in Chicago I would say the chances of you guys bumping heads would be slim, so just run with it and see what happens, as you won't know until you try and take action.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • Just copying my post from the other thread that Martin has posted.

    "Okay I found another wholesaler here in the US who sells them for 17$ each when you order 20 or more. Shipping is included too. Pm me with your email if you want her contact details.

    Regards,
    Agon

    p.s. I have also started selling them personally using the method explained here and I sold 3 of them two days ago. I had to visit 8 stores. 3 not interested, two of them thought they were over priced
    I wish I had more time to do this for a longer time ... Some easy $$$ tho "
    • [1] reply
    • agonce,

      Way to take action!

      You are proof that my ideas are legit and profits can be made if you just take action.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • That's a REALLY good idea. Goes to show "old school" techniques still work in today's business world. There's actually a great opportunity to upsell here too: Merchant terminals, Marketing Services, Coupon/Flyer design service etc.

    For offline marketers - weather they opt for the LED sign or not, leave them with your card & let them know you can help their small business on many levels.
  • great idea and thanks for sharing it here
  • Might be an idea to sell them online as well?
    • [1] reply
    • There is to much competition online that is why this idea work much better offline selling the sign business to business as you know they need the sign and the business owner knows they need the sign, so as long as your price is good and your signs look good making sales is easy.

      • [1] reply
  • Hi Martin,

    What a great idea! When I go shopping, I'm gonna carry with me a pen n notepad and look for signs!
    • [1] reply
    • I'm going shopping tomorrow alright; shopping for stores needing signs!
  • LED signs cost $584 a week to run. Shucks.
    • [1] reply
    • !! They DO?!? For who? The business owner?
      • [1] reply
  • What a great idea well done and thank you for sharing.
    Simon
  • Good work! You saw an opportunity and you acted on it. It's amazing how many opportunities like this are around us when we really think about it.

    Although those signs are easily obtainable at a low price, plenty of shop owners haven't even bothered to work that out. And like you say, it's an impulse buy, which helps. eBay has so many things you can sell to businesses in person like this.

    I think Alex made a good point in that you can get your 'foot in the door' by what you're doing. You can probably find some success in selling related items and services to the same businesses.
  • Even if it has been seen before, it's always nice to get a refresher or a new twist on an old idea...I appreciate people sharing what has worked for them and how we can benefit from it.

    I'd hate to see a Warrior hesitate to post an experience or idea because it may be similar to another post...sometimes what works is in the details and the execution. Thanks for continuing to share Martin and keep it up.
  • Wow this is really interesting. I'm definitely going to be looking around at all the small business stores in my area now checking out if they have led signs
  • I never stated "who" created/originated the idea...
    either yourself or Don, I don't care...
    ADukes wondered where he had seen this before...
    and I answered him.
  • You are a brilliant crazy man lol love it
  • interesting, open up another possibilities
    • [1] reply
    • After doing some research, I've come to realize that if you can buy an "Open" sign for $20 and re-sell it at $50, that is still a good deal for the merchant. Atm signs seems a little bit harder to find, still working on that.

      Now, here's an interesting twist that I don't mind sharing. And, I'm going to town this morning to do some visual research, lol. Since the economy is not he best (have you ever passed by or even lined up for food stamps or general relief), it's apearant that a lot of people are getting financial aid.

      I had no idea what an EBT card is until recently and what it is, it's like a credit card that gets loaded with government funds like food stamps, general relief etc. if you qualify.

      It is my understanding that most food stores accepts the car and some liquor stores and gas stations that sell food. The 99cent store and the
      Dollar Store accept them but not Big Lots. Anyway, you get the picture. Oh, and I also think that some fast food places takes them.

      Long story short but I also wanted to add that my area is really depressed and a lot of people that you would not even think, are actually living on food stamps. To reach a level of not being able to support yourself is embarrassing to many and they don't want others to know about it.

      Most stores or should I say all of them (that is why I am doing my research today) do NOT have a LED sign saying EBT ACCEPTED HERE! Question is, would the store feel weird about advertising that they do accept the card? I'm sure some will but that's probably only a small fraction.

      Online, these signs go for $89 to over $200. Alibaba hardly has ANY manufacturers. So, even though the concept is great, finding the signs and finding merchants to buy them might be a different story.

      Just thought I'd share, Eva
      • [1] reply
  • open + atm + EBT = win.

    But is there enough profit margin to have this whole thing outsourced?
    • [1] reply
    • I would say a separate "Open" sign and one that says atm+EBT+cash, since with general relief lets people buy non-food items. There are signs like that but they are too expensive.

      As far as out-sourcing, Martin already touched on that in an earlier thread. I would tend to agree with Martin=out-sourcing does not give you the margin, Eva
  • I would like to thank everyone for all their positive comments and PM's. I really do enjoy helping others learn ways to make extra money and hearing success stories.

    To your success,

    Martin
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Cool idea, thanks!
  • ok I have seen people come up with a lot of ideas and tips in this thread, now a question for all of you: Have ANY of you taken ANY ACTION from this idea AT ALL?

    There is no point to sit in front of a computer, brainstorm, come up with ideas, post them on a forum so that people will look at you and say "hey this guy is so smart, I didn't think of that"

    At the end of the day, the one who TAKE ACTION is the real winner, and I don't think anyone here has done that
    • [2] replies
    • If you read the thread more carefully there are actually action takers here. What about yourself, how many sales do you have? Me, yeah, I've been taking action but I'm working on a bigger project than what's suggested in this thread so yes, again, there's "action" going on.

      Looking forward to hear about your success, Eva
    • yukinara,

      There have been many people who have taken action on my money making ideas and have made money with then. My Pizza Cards Profits idea (see sig below) has been a huge success for many people, so for you to say without knowing that no one has taken action and made any money that is wrong and false, as i have many emails from students that are making money and taken action with my ideas.

      Thanks,

      Martin

      • [1] reply
  • Really AWESOME!

    There are TONs of things that work like a charm!
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • This is an interesting idea. Great job! I wanna try it myself. LED signs can really make your business more popular and visible to anyone because of its great features.
  • hmm interesting.
  • Thanks for sharing - you do know that you could have turned this into a 22 page report and sold for at least $10 on the WSO thread.
    Seriously I like this idea, its something else to put in the tool kit for local business marketing.
    • [1] reply
    • saras,

      I am actually working on a WSO that will be sharing 10 unique and creative ways I have made money with offline, but thank you for your support and positive comments.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • Hey Martin,

    That's great news you're working on a WSO - I'm sure the people familair with the content you share on the WF will jump all over it! It's always quality stuff.

    It's even more motivation to sell when you hit the streets with this weather in NY!

    Do you still employ the same tactics in the Winter?
    • [1] reply
    • SDotSpells,

      Thanks for the kind words regarding my money making ideas and my up coming WSO.

      Yes, I employ the same tactics in the winter as I do in the summer, the weather dosn't change anything other than what I or my sales reps wear

      All the best,

      Martin
  • Why not just go right to the credit card equipment provider or ATM distributor/servicer and sell them the signs in bulk, just have them drop shipped. Their customer svc/sales people would make the end user sales.

    Obviously, they would have sourced the signs themselves already if they were going to ever. Give them a new source of income for their customers. You could sell ten's or hundreds in one whack pushing paper. Just make sure drop shipper doesn't have any contact information on the package, or warehouse them yourself and reship them if you are worried.

    You could go to a bank or any other business that targets new businesses to buy them in bulk from you as a gift for new businesses. Or you could hand deliver them to the business, courtesy of the bank (for an extra fee to the bank
    • [1] reply
    • NewParadigm,

      Thank you very much for the great ideas and I will looking into your ideas more to see if they can be implimented and be profitable.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • THis is one of those posts that makes you go, why didnt i Think of that. Genius.

    Lots of great ideas in here. Thanks. My offline business needs a real boost and I feel like I just got a dose of steriods. Legal ones of course! *touches nose*
    • [1] reply
    • celente,

      Your very welcome and I hope you are able to use my idea and make some money with it.

      To your success,

      Martin
      • [1] reply
  • Yes I will be looking out for you in the WSO thread - you obviously can think outside of the box
    • [1] reply
    • saras,

      Thank you and I will let you know once my WSO goes live for sale.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • I actually looked at tons of these LED signs when I was last in China, and thought of ways to sell them, silly me, not thinking of door to door. Us IMs can be so 'online' focused. I wonder about applying a sales rep method. Essentially outsourcing the sales portion of this. Put an ad on craigslist and offer sales people $5-10 per sign to sell.
    Some other signs I saw while there that might be sellable: "coffee", "pizza", "take away"
    • [1] reply
    • kylemarvin,

      Hiring sales reps on a commission basis works as that is one of the ways I was selling my LED signs, so if you can get a great price on signs and can still make a decent profit for yourself after paying your sales rep commission, then by all means do it and save yourself the time and energy having to do all the work on your own.

      To your success,

      Martin

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Thanks for the ideas
  • Does anyone know if there's an import fee when ordering from Alibaba in China and bringing it in to the US?
    • [2] replies
    • cash89,

      I have been finding good or better deals on eBay over Alibaba for buying wholesale or bulk led signs, so check out eBay first before ordering from any where else.

      All the best,

      Martin

    • Yes, you will have to pay import fee's - unless you get the sender to lie and say they are samples or a gift, but if its looked at by customs and noted, the second time you try to buy 2 or more of these and have to import them, you will have to pay fee's.

      Another thing to pay attention to is that a lot of the signs bought from taobao (which is the cheapest), non U.S. eBay, Alibaba and Aliexpress is that the electric plugs aren't made for U.S. sockets so you have to change them over or buy an adapter. A lot of the sellers won't tell you this because they are just middlemen and aren't actually from a factory.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Great idea, MartinBuckley! I like the idea of a QR code on the back of the sign also.

    Keep up the great work!
  • That's a great idea. I love in person sales =)
  • That is so cool, seeing lot of led sign before, but never thinking about selling it
    • [1] reply
    • Fat Wolf,

      Sometime the things we see around us every day are the things we over look and don't see the opportunity right in front of us to make money with it, there are ways around everyone in their area to make some money if they just take notice.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • Martin you could make yourself a potentially significant income from
    the businesses you've already sold a sign to by doing two things:

    # Make a deal with an internet marketer here who specializes in
    doing internet marketing for brick and mortar businesses.

    # Go back to the businesses where you sold your signs and tell
    them you have a friend who is an expert at helping businesses
    like theirs make more sales and profits using the internet.

    Tell them that you twisted his arm and he's willing to give them
    a phone consultation worth $250 as a gift where he'll give them some tips
    on how to improve what they're doing with the internet to bring
    in more sales.


    # Any of those free consults that turn into sales you can take
    10% to 20% of the fee.

    If you're working with someone who charges $1,000 to $5,000
    a project you could be making $100 to $1,000 for each project the
    consultant sells for just dropping in on businesses you've already
    sold a sign to.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
  • Congrats! Nice work this is a great way to earn extra money!
    • [1] reply
    • So simple and brilliant idea.Thanks for sharing.
  • Great idea, May think of doing this one day
  • I did the same thing with fake domed security cameras. I think with shipping I paid about $1.50 and sold them all day long for $12 to $18, depending on my appraisal and how many they wanted.

    I did a little door-to-door but mostly just kept a case in my van and brought them in when shopping. Then maybe hit the stores on either side. Ran a few Craigslist ads and offered free delivery in nearby zipcodes if they bought 3 or more.

    There are many things you can sell casually to businesses. I suggest selling them as a lead to another company so you don't get bogged down with paperwork. If you want to do the paperwork, you can earn more.
    1. Equipment Leasing Services
    2. Alarm Systems
    3. CCTV Surveilance Systems
    4. Credit Card Services
    5. Cash Advance Loans (Merchant Cash Advance on CC)
    • [1] reply
    • Lol, I made some money back in the day with the fake security cameras and I was a little sneaky and sold the name and address of everyone that bought one from me for a fee to a real local security company

      All the best,

      Martin

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [2] replies
  • thanks for sharing this .I like this topic.
  • hmmm.....never consider making money with LED Signs
  • Hey I am starting to see these neon open signs pop up all over downtown Fullerton! LOL Ok, so who is it?!?!
  • Great information! I also enjoyed your Niche Biz Ideas site. I am a newbie and I can definitely see myself making money with your tips. It all makes so much sense. Thanks for sharing!
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • genuinenine,

      I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the free money making ideas on my
      site http://NicheBizIdeas.com and I do hope you are able to make
      some moneywith them and if I can be of any help to you, please
      feel free to ask.

      All the best,

      Martin

  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Really awesome idea think to start in my city. thank u once again
  • That was really cool but my problem is that I'm not good in making sales talk and I don't know if people in my place will purchase led signs. However, it was really a great and profitable idea.
    • [1] reply
    • I like seeing other people say they tried the idea and it worked for them, even if just a little. Anyone selling these signs should definitely buy a handful of the other varieties and throw them in the trunk. I would put together a catalog and order form for every sign you keep in stock and some others. It's very possible to still sell people on signs you have sold out of or don't normally buy. Now, I think there's a limit to the number of signs one business owner can really throw in one window, but it's good to be able to sell. For businesses that already have an "open" sign, go ahead and walk in and see if they have an atm if it's the type that might. Anyone with a lot of traffic or a need for people to have cash may have one. If they don't have an atm maybe they want one...? ATM companies will place free ones if it makes good business sense and give the store owner a cut. Otherwise they can buy one and make more profit per atm use and take on the risk of it not giving a good ROI.

      I'm actually just starting out selling merchant accounts and there's a big fear of wasting my time or not doing well (i.e. not paying the bills). I've sold all sorts of low ticket products in the past to consumers, and I've provided customer service to big time executives and other high net worth individuals, but something about walking into a business to sell merchant services gives me pause, even though I know what I will generally say and so forth.

      I might try something like this- a quick and easy sale to break the ice and get a small relationship built- and an easy way to quickly identify the decision maker. Then say something like, "by the way, who are you using for your credit card processing?" followed up by some sort of statement that I happen to sell that and focus on low pricing and a local point of contact. Get a monthly statement to send off to the analysis team and set up an appointment a few days later to go over the savings with them. I could be wrong, but this might give me the motivation I need to get out there. The reasoning is I would get upfront cash in my pocket everyday while I go out and sell merchant accounts, which pays more but takes a bit longer to get paid. Any thoughts on that?

      As far as the LED signs, I think some store managers would also pay for this- either from a small discretionary fund they can use or out of their own pocket to get more business. It's not hard to imagine the additional sales that will come in during the early morning and evening hours and typically a store manager gets a good amount of income from bonuses tied to store sales.

      Also, if you are able to sell a chain store you have 2 huge advantages. Let's say for example you are able to convince a local CVS drugstore (or whatever is common in your area.) You can immediately go across the street and tell the Walgreens manager that you just sold a sign to CVS and maybe they want one too. You can also then go to all the other CVS stores since you now know that particular store (or whatever works for you) is able to buy one. Now these are just examples- can be any type of retail location.

      Sometimes it can be challenging to think up different areas to visit after you have been to a bunch of the major areas around you. Now, you could just drive down a street for 30 miles or so, stopping in as many places as possible. Something else you could do (if you have found a chain you can sell to) is find some free routing website and plug in all the locations for that chain. Along the way, you'll likely drive on some roads you never thought of before. I know there's a free website that optimizes the route for free, but I forget the website (I used it to maximize a store circular sale one day LOL)

      *edit* Also, combine this b2b idea with a b2c idea such as knocking on doors selling discount cards or whatever. You can prospect during the daytime when small business owners are likely in their stores and in the evening go around to homes selling something else.
      • [1] reply
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • That's a great idea.
  • Thanks, Martin for sharing your brilliant idea.
Join the discussion

Next Topics on Trending Feed

  • 225

    How To Make $584 A Week Selling LED Signs

    A few month ago I got a wholesale novelty catalog in the mail from a company called Rhode Island Novelty. You can order their catalog by calling them at: 1-800-528-5599 or you can request one online at: www.rinovelty.com. In their catalog they sell 10" x 19" LED open signs for $10.80 each or you can order a case of 20 for $216. I did a search online for the exact same 10" x 19" LED open sign selling at the retail price of between $49 to $99 per sign.