Interview with Colin Sinclair McDermott, the Online Print Coach
By Sign Trade Supplies
Colin Sinclair McDermott has spent more than two decades helping print companies improve how they work, sell and grow. These days, he’s applying that same experience to signage businesses, and he’s seeing striking similarities.
“I’ve been really surprised,” he says. “My own background is commercial print, but there’s so much crossover between traditional printing companies and signage businesses. In fact, I’ve found myself working with a lot of signage companies over the last five years.”
For Colin, two themes connect the industries: systemisation and positioning. “I speak a lot about positioning yourself as a trusted partner, a marketing partner. And I’m starting to see a lot of signage businesses paying attention to that, trying to stand out from all the noise in a very competitive market.”
The speed of expectation
If there’s one thing that’s changed across every creative trade, it’s time. Customers want everything faster.
“People’s expectations are so much higher than they’ve ever been before,” Colin says. “No one’s got any patience anymore. Customers want quotes back in minutes rather than hours or days like it used to be.”
He recalls speaking to a signage company that had lost work simply because its quotes took too long. “They were taking two, three, sometimes four days to get back, and the company that won it replied within one or two hours. That’s the difference now.”
In print, this shift happened years ago, but Colin believes signage is catching up fast. “Everyone expects everything right now. Signage companies are having to up their game and change their internal processes to get back to customers quicker.”
Automation: buying back time
Digital automation once sounded threatening. Today, it’s a survival tool.
“In the early days, people were quite sceptical,” Colin admits. “They worried what automation might mean for jobs. But really, it’s about making everyone’s life easier and making the customer experience better.”
He points to online proofing tools like ArtWorker as examples that “streamline artwork approvals and free up your time to focus on what really matters, being more creative, more strategic, and building relationships.”
Stop selling, start educating
Colin’s philosophy on sales is simple but challenging: stop pushing, start teaching.
“I ran a presentation earlier this year called Stop Selling, Start Educating,” he says. “Eighty per cent of your time should be spent educating customers and twenty per cent selling. When you do that, you become the trusted advisor, the marketing partner, and the go-to person.”
Educated customers, he adds, ask fewer repetitive questions because “you’ve already thought about what they might need to know.” It’s an approach that builds loyalty and confidence, crucial in a crowded market.
Know your numbers
If there’s one area where print has already learned some hard lessons, it’s financial awareness.
“One of the biggest issues I see is businesses not understanding their numbers enough,” says Colin. “I still meet people who don’t know their breakeven or gross profit margin. They’re making decisions on gut feeling rather than data.”
That’s risky, he warns, because “too many people are quoting based on what others charge rather than their own costs. You’ve got to understand your own numbers, not someone else’s.”
Don’t ignore AI
It’s impossible to talk about technology without mentioning artificial intelligence. Colin believes the print and signage industries are only scratching the surface.
“The big buzzword now is AI,” he says. “A lot of people still think it’s just for writing content, but it can do so much more. I’m already seeing companies being left behind because they’re not taking it seriously.”
He advises business owners to ask one simple question before any task: could AI help with this? “There’s a very high chance it can,” he adds. “You don’t have time to wait until next year. You need to start learning and experimenting now.”
Build a brand that stands for something
Finally, Colin circles back to brand and focus, knowing who you are and what you stand for.
“Build a brand that stands for something,” he says. “Pick an area you’re passionate about, whether that’s sustainability, creative installations or something else, and go all-in on it. The more you niche down, the more success you’ll see.”
The winners in signage over the next five years, he predicts, will be those who combine personal expertise with process, automation and AI. “Become that trusted advisor to your clients, adopt new tools, and keep improving your workflows. Those are the businesses that will lead the way.”
For Colin Sinclair McDermott, the message is clear: systemise smartly, educate relentlessly, and never stop learning. It’s practical advice, and it’s exactly what both print and signage need to stay competitive in a faster, more demanding world.
You can find Colin on LinkedIn. Just type in The Online Print Coach or visit Business Coaching and Online Training for The Printing Industry.
You can also watch our video where we talk to Colin as part of the Sign Trade Supplies Expert Series.
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