Art Schilling: Small Business Marketing

By Jim Hingst 

In the sign industry and the pinstripe community, Art Schilling has built a reputation for excellence in small business marketing. The key ingredients in his success are dependability, professionalism (producing great work), using the highest quality materials and a passion for the sign business.  He defines dependability as always doing exactly what you say you will do for a customer.  In other words, never over-promise, instead over-deliver. 

 “Once you have a handle on  what your costs are and what you need to cover your overhead and make a profit, set your price and stick to it." Artie Schilling 

Professionalism is all about learning your craft. Artie devotes a part of everyday to educating himself by reading the industry magazines and books and watching educational videos. “Sign makers today have all of the resources today for a comprehensive sign business education right at their fingertips,” says Schilling. “If you invest a minimum of one hour every day learning something new about the business, within two to three years you will be one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry.”  

The third ingredient to be successful is using the highest quality materials. Artie Schilling believes that using the best materials is essential to preserving your reputation in the industry.  “To me it makes no sense to save a few pennies and use lower quality materials or take shortcuts, when it can cost you your reputation if the job fails ,” Schilling says.  “There are no shortcuts in producing a quality job. When a product fails, you usually lose that customer forever, because you have lost their confidence.”

Artie Schilling explains that the final ingredient necessary for someone to be successful in the sign industry is a passion for the business. “If you don’t love what you’re doing,” Schilling says, “maybe you should be in another business.” Schilling’s passion for the business began when he was working in a body shop at age thirteen.  The shop owner told a pinstriper to let Artie try his pinstripe brush.  Artie seems to have a knack for this work.  The pinstriper gave Schilling his brush and within a year Artie was selling his striping services. 

In his seminars, Artie Schilling emphasizes the sales and marketing skills that are essential for any sign business. The positioning your business which involves how you present yourself to the prospect is critical.  “I don’t have a sign shop,” Schilling says.  “I have a sign studio. So what’s the difference?  The difference is an additional $20 per hour.”

Another skill that Artie Schilling covers in training other sign makers is estimating costs and pricing of services.  The financial aspects of his sign business are an important topic of conversation at the Schilling dinner table. Art’s wife, Linda, is an accountant.  “People don’t know the value of what they do, so they charge too little for their services,” says Schilling.  “Once you have a handle on what your shop and administrative costs are and what you need to cover your overhead and make a profit, set your price and stick to it.  Never let your customer dictate price to you.”

Artie Schilling argues that he has spent too many years developing his pinstriping skills and his reputation to give it away by discounting his price. “People come to me because they have seen my work and they like it,” Schilling explains. “If they want my work, they have to pay the price. You are not selling a commodity. Pinstriping is an American art form. As a work of art, you should price it accordingly.”

For more about "East Coast Artie' Schilling and his annual charity event, Artie's Party, read these stories:

Artie Schilling's Ultimate Pinstripe Cart and Artie's Party Raises $77,000

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

© 2015 Jim Hingst