WHEN LOOKING FOR BILLBOARD LOCATIONS, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

Finding new locations for billboards has never been harder.  All of the easy ones are long gone.  It looks hopeless, doesn’t it?

W-R-O-N-G! I’ve heard this from so many people over the years.  And those who gave up almost immediately definitely set in stone their failure in the billboard business.  But those who persevere and think creatively --“outside the box” -- seem to always find locations and prosper.  So how do you “think outside the box”?

First, you need to have a firm belief that there are legal locations out there.  And, if the market you are looking at does allow for the construction of new billboards, then I assure you that there definitely are opportunities.  There is one individual that I know that seems to put in a new sign every time I turn around.  This kid has no training and not that great salesmanship, but he does think very creatively.  And it’s really paying off.  He believes that there are plentiful locations to be had, and then systematically goes about proving himself right.

Second, you need to disregard what everyone else says about the possibility of finding a billboard location.  Talk is cheap, and there are always people out there who delight in dampening enthusiasm.  Think to yourself “I am going to find billboard locations, no matter what anybody says”.  When you start to think “outside the box”, everyone will tell you that you’re an idiot, that you are trying things that don’t work or can’t be done.

Third, and most importantly, you need to let the creative side of you mind take over, and start finding maps around the normal way to obtain locations.  These are some of my favorite “outside the box” concepts, but they are by no means all of them, and I am not going to give a definitive list because you should not accept my list as the gospel truth – that would not be thinking outside the box.  Here are my favorites:

• Go to a city that does not allow billboards and trade them a variance that allows for the construction of two or three billboards, if you build them a few “Welcome to _______” sign at each end of town.
• Instead of starting at the center of town and working out, start outside of town and work in – this gives you much greater odds of finding locations in the more rural areas, and allows you to train yourself on these less demanding locations, and build a portfolio of signs to show landowners as you move into town.
• Buy existing, old wooden billboard signs and upgrade them (make sure its legal first).
• Re-zone land, or better still, follow along with existing re-zoning cases that may make new legal locations available.
• Go to the owner of a two-sided billboard that was built by a user (McDonalds, Fina, Etc. ) and see if they would let you rent the face going away from their business for a nominal amount, so that you can re-rent it.
• Follow along aggressively with new highways being built, and start pulling permits and leases as soon as the right-of-way is dedicated.

Never, ever get discouraged.  Let the rejection and difficulty in finding location fuel you resolve.  Remember, the harder it is to find a billboard location, the more money its worth once you get one.

The first time you sell a lease for $50,000 or a constructed sign for $100,000 profit, every thing you’ve ever had to put up with or sacrifice for will immediately be forgotten.

And you best chance for quick success is to “think outside the box”!

About the Author:

Frank Rolfe started his billboard empire from his coffee table, as a fresh graduate from Stanford University.  It began as a resume builder for graduate school applications, and ended with a sale to a public company 14 years later.

Using unique strategies he developed from desperate competition with much larger adversaries, Rolfe eventually owned more billboard units than any private individual in Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Along the way, he fine-tuned the techniques to find billboard locations, rent advertising space, and sell signs and leases.

Rolfe is the author of the Billboard Home Study Course and has also put together the only bootcamp for those looking for a crash course on the billboard industry.  The Billboard Bootcamp is held twice a year in St. Louis, MO.