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Billboard Mastery Podcast

Welcome to the Billboard Mastery Podcast, where you will learn the correct way to identify, evaluate, negotiate, perform diligence on, select the construction type, build, rent the ad space and operate billboard signs. And now here is your host – the guy that built from scratch the largest privately-owned billboard company in Dallas/Ft. Worth – Frank Rolfe.

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Episode 89: All About Saving Gas

Gas is expensive and there’s no reason to waste it. And time is even more valuable. In this Billboard Mastery Podcast we’re going to review some methods to cover territory more efficiently and more respectful of your time and money.

Episode 88: Forging The Correct Advertising Lease Length

One month is too short and a century is too long. So what is the correct lease length for your advertiser? In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review how the length of lease can vary with the type of advertiser and what is required to make the sale.

Episode 87: All About Renting Non-lighted Signs

Some signs have lights and some signs don’t. But a non-lighted sign should not necessarily spell doom for getting it rented to a good-quality advertiser. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on the topic of non-lighted billboards and offer some productive tips to help you get them rented faster and for more money.

Episode 86: The Joy Of Cigar Butts

Warren Buffett has long discussed “cigar butt” investing and how it contrasts with his favorite: “value investing”. However, there is much to like about “cigar butt” investing. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review Buffett’s concept and why billboards offer a great entry into that type of high return/low cost investing.

Episode 85: How To Find A Wooden Sign Contractor

Wooden billboards have been around for over a hundred years, but finding someone to build these time-proven signs grows more difficult every year. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review the different places to find contractors who can build wooden signs including tips on building them properly.

Episode 84: The Whole Industry In One Simple Formula

The fundamental law of economics is “supply vs. demand” and that same formula holds true for every aspect of the billboard industry. So how can you apply this metric to every single part of the billboard business to determine what’s of value and what’s not? That’s our topic for this Billboard Mastery Podcast discussion.

Episode 83: How To Rent Any Billboard In Five Easy Steps

Every billboard has a natural advertiser if you can just help them find the sign. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to show you the five easy steps to finding the right advertiser for your billboard as well as explain why they’re so effective.

Episode 82: Motivating The Landowner Who Thinks Money Doesn’t Matter

When you’re trying to lease ground space to build a billboard you occasionally run into the property owner that declares that “money means nothing to them”. How do you counter this argument? In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’ll review some strategies to get these type of personalities to move forward and sign the lease agreement.

Episode 81: Think Like Elvis

Elvis is not someone that you typically consider as a source of wisdom, as his life was kind of screwed up and he died at the age of 42. However, Elvis did have some winning quotes and one in particular serves as a reminder to think outside the box. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to summon our inner Elvis and review one of his best quotes and how it relates to billboards.

Episode 80: Nobody Ever Went Broke Taking A Profit

I received a call recently concerning an offer that was made to buy a billboard with the seller asking me “should I sell”? In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review the methodology to deciding whether to sell or not. Sometimes knowing when to sell is as important as when to buy, and we’re going to unlock the correct way to do it.

Episode 79: Keeping A Leash On Your Attorney

Sometimes you have to craft a custom agreement with the landowner. Or a new advertising lease. Or maybe you need some loan documents reviewed. In each case you hire an attorney and wait in terror for your bill to arrive. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review some simple steps that allows you to stay in control of your legal cost.

Episode 78: Understanding CPM

“CPM” stands for “cost-per-thousand” exposures. It’s an important metric that many advertisers use to evaluate different advertising options so it’s vital that you understand how it works – as well as the loopholes that nobody talks about. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review how CPM is calculated and everything you need to know about it.

Episode 77: What To Do When An Advertiser Won’t Pay You

There’s no purpose to renting a billboard if you don’t get paid for it. And sometimes the advertiser’s check doesn’t come in and you start to panic. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review the steps to take and how to solve the situation without losing the advertiser as a good customer.

Episode 76: Helping Advertisers Get Creative

A billboard is only of value if it makes money for the advertiser, and that requires a good marketing message. But how do you help the advertiser to get “creative” in the correct way to market their product or service? In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review some constructive techniques to create successful ad campaigns.

Episode 75: How The Death Of Radio Will Help Billboard Investments Immensely

Radio is under attack when it comes to listening to it in automobiles. AM is no longer offered in electric vehicles and many manufacturers are considering eliminating it altogether to allow for more profitable concepts. What will this do to billboards? That’s the focus of this Billboard Mastery Podcast.

Episode 74: The Beauty Of Being Federally Regulated – And Hated

There have been very industries regulated by the U.S. government, and billboards are one of those few groups. But the hatred that many environmental groups have for billboards have actually created a huge amount of the value in the sign industry. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss how being federally regulated – and hated – provides one of the best positions any industry could hope for.

Episode 73: Fixed Vs. Percentage Ground Rent

How should you pay the property owner for allowing you to build and operate a billboard on their land? There’s two basic methods: 1) percentage of revenue or 2) flat amount. But how do you select the right option? In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to explore the variables to constructing a fair deal for all parties.

Episode 72: Taking Action Responsibly

There’s an old adage “think like a person of action and act like a person of thought”. A key part of that theorem is the concept of taking action. But how do you do that responsibly and minimize risk and embarrassment? In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review some strategies to this effectively.

Episode 71: The Best Deals I Ever Did

I have built or bought over 300 billboards, but some stand out from the pack. In this Billboard Mastery Podcast we’re going to review the best deals I ever did and look for commonalities that all those deals shared. As you’ll see, there are definite attributes that all great billboard deals share.

Episode 70: Signs And Storms

High winds and billboards have never been good friends. And as weather events seem to be escalating in the U.S. it’s important that you understand what happens to signs in high-wind events. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review the topic of signs and wind damage and how to mitigate those results.

Episode 69: The Risk/Reward Matrix

Risk and reward are the two main attributes of building or buying a billboard. How these two items interplay yields whether you should build or buy that sign structure. In this Billboard Mastery podcast, we will review how to do this type of analysis and why it’s so crucial in evaluating potential opportunities.

Episode 68: Everything Old Is New Again

Billboards have gone up and down in desirability many times over the past century. It’s always the same cycle: advertisers find the next hot thing and then get burned out on it and return to their roots of delivering ad messages that really work. In this Billboard Mastery podcast, we’re going to review how the cycle has now gone full circle, and billboard demand and occupancy is going up.

Episode 67: Harnessing Your Audie Murphy Moment

Everyone has that moment in which they get fed up. Some people put that mood into action. Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier in U.S. history and his secret weapon was harnessing his frustration into positive energy. In this Billboard Mastery podcast we’re going to review what this power is and how to use it to your advantage.

Episode 66: Tips On Drawing Exhibits

Every billboard lease needs an attachment that shows where the billboard goes. So does every permit application. So how can you best create a winning exhibit to a lease or application – one that gets the job done and helps keep you out of trouble? That’s the focus of this Billboard Mastery Podcast.

Episode 65: The Dangers of Timing Out

While trying new things can be outside your “comfort zone” there is danger in being comfortable when it comes to making money. We all live under a biological clock, and every day that passes is one less day you have to hit your goals. In this Billboard Mastery podcast, we’re going to review the dangers of “timing out” and how to guard against that happening.