“We’re negotiating with the landlord about the sign,” said the lawyer.

“The sign?” I asked.

He explained that they had the terms worked out for the office space and had worked through a bunch of issues like parking spaces, a right of first refusal for some adjacent space, and night/weekend use of the HVAC system. “It’s going well, but we’re hung up on the sign,” explained the managing partner.

It turns out that the office building has a big sign out front. The sign lists some of the building’s tenants. The landlord charges extra for the listing on the sign. It’s negotiated as part of the lease.

I clarified, “This is just a sign with the name of the firm on it?” I asked. “Yep,” he replied. “Nothing special on it like a billboard or a bus bench. Just the name of the firm,” he continued.

The landlord was holding out for a pretty big price on the sign. The lawyer was struggling with the cost, and he just couldn’t justify the additional monthly fee. Some of the partners, however, really wanted the firm name on the sign.

What’s a Sign Worth?

I wondered the same thing when we renewed the lease of one of our spaces about 18 months ago. We shrunk our space as we moved our team to remote work from home. Obviously, we needed less space, and the landlord indicated that it wouldn’t allow us signage on the building exterior since we’d no longer be as large a tenant.

Did we need the sign? Did we push the landlord and/or offer more money to keep our name on the marquee? Was signage a hill worth dying on?

Nope, we let it go. The landlord took down our name, and we started paying dramatically less rent.

Our business made a dramatic turn. Had the loss of the sign made the difference?

Well, when I say dramatic turn, what I mean is that revenue went up—way up. And it continues to increase at a rate in excess of 20 percent per year. Did taking the sign down increase our revenue? Of course not.

The sign doesn’t have any impact on our business. The sign isn’t important. I know lawyers earning millions per year without a sign on their building. I know other lawyers with really impressive signs who can’t meet payroll. The sign isn’t the reason for the success or failure of any law firm.

What the sign does, however, is significant. The sign feeds the ego of some lawyers. It makes them feel good about the firm. That’s especially true of the lawyers who have their last name on the sign. They sometimes love a big, shiny sign.

Is ego feeding worth the cost of the sign? That’s for you to decide. The sign really does provide value, just not from a marketing perspective. Should you do it? Again, you’ve got to know your people and what it takes to make the magic keep happening in your firm. Good luck.