One of the most effective ways of doing this is billboard advertising. A properly placed billboard advertisment on the way to your wash can draw the impulse buys that you need.

The number of exposures a billboard yields to passing vehicles is absolutely unbelievable. True, the traffic is usually going past the billboard site at pretty high speed, but when quizzed it is astounding how many motorists know what products and services those boards advertise. More important, it is repetitive.

Are billboards expensive? They can be prohibitively so. However, the ones you see here were done primarily as trade-outs and almost no money was paid.

While there is almost a national outcry to regulate billboards out of existence, it is still possible to trade out space on your lot to place a sign.

When considering a billboard, here are some things to consider:

- Ensure that your signs will be rotated to sign locations around your business area so the most consumers will see them.

- Try to include free layout, artwork and production as part of the agreement.

- Don't be shy. Most carwash locations are on primary arteries in very good locations that make highly desirable sites for such signs. One of the high rise (14 feet x 48 feet) signs referred to above requires only a 4-foot x 4-foot space of ground. Signs may also be erected on rooftops as well.

A side benefit of having a sign on your site is that signs are changed regularly and each time they are, people notice your business all over again. It is a constant refocus on your business even though your message may not be there all the time.

Another way to trade out is for services. It may not be possbile to trade out 100 percent for signage, but it is possible to work a very reasonable and affordable package in this way.

Give it a try. The right billboards can pay great dividends.

George Akers is a carwash consultant in Tampa, FL, and a long-time contributor to Professional Carwashing & Detailing.