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I am a small business owner and was recently approached by Signpost.  I would like to share my thoughts here in hopes that other business owners can be better prepared when they get a phone call from these guys. While I chose not to use them (in part for some of the reasons below), I am not necessarily saying that the service they provide isn't worth the money (I don't believe it is, at least not in my industry).  I suspect it's largely based on your industry, your margins and the volume of inquiries  you receive.  It might also matter how much (if at all) you've optimized your own local listings.  If you've never done anything, it's more likely to be worth it, since they (at least claim to) build out your local directories for you.
 
The time frame required
 
I am always sketchy of signing a long term contract.  The shortest timeframe they offered was 3 months. They claimed the 3 month offer was something they rarely offer but from reading complaints on their BBB page, it seems unlikely that this is so, given the fact that some of the reviewers there apparently signed up for that time frame.  So if they call and claim they are "making an exception" for you by lowering the commitment to 3 months, just know this isn't the case.  This doesn't appear to be that rare.
 
Getting detailed answered is difficult
 
Their product overview left me with many questions, none of which were answered by their very short contract.  I had several questions and concerns so I emailed the sales rep.  These were legitimate concerns and some of them were in regards to how many changes they make to your business process (changing your display phone number, your electronic billing, etc).  Getting some detailed answered (and better yet, documentation) would have shed some light on whether this would have conflicted with our new appointment scheduling software (in retrospect, it would have, because our new scheduling system would not have integrated with their platform--but the Sign Post rep was more concerned with "closing" me).  Unfortunately Signpost doesn't work this way.  If you want your questions answered, it's done by phone call where they then try and close you.  In other words it's "If we answer your questions, will you sign up?"  This alone makes me uncomfortable with this company and not want to do business with them.
 
The "5 Contacts/Leads guarantee" is nonsense
 
One of the things they do is guarantee you 5 new contacts every month, and cite an average of "20 new leads" among their client base.  There is just one problem: It's difficult if not impossible to really know if they are bringing you new leads.  Their methodology involves simply counting any new lead that doesn't already exist in the client database they create with you (you load your current list so they know your existing base) and crediting themselves.  So if you get 3 new leads from Yelp and 2 from Facebook, they'll claim their service did this, even if you already had a Yelp and Facebook account (meaning, there's no way of knowing you wouldn't have gotten these leads without them).   
 
Having said that, their BBB profile listing shows business owners complaining that the service brought it no new clients, and with Signpost responding that their service brought in 5+ new leads as promised (meaning the 5 leads is no guarantee of actual new business).
 
http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/business-reviews/marketing-software/signpost-inc-in-new-york-ny-122122
 
They'll use a "local" number to call you
 
This is either clever or creepy depending on how you see it, but they'll use phone a local phone number to call your business, even though they are calling from NY (or perhaps TX or CO now).  But yes, they'll 'trick' you by using a 'local' number.
 
Their social media appears controlled
 
In the past I've been able to view marketing company's reputation by checking out their Yelp or Facebook page and seeing what sort of reviews they have.  Signpost has no Yelp page, nor do they allow for reviews on their Facebook page.  Take from that what you will.
 
They cause an inconsistency in NAP
 
They offer to improve your local SEO presence but also want to change your display numbers (that will route through their system for tracking purposes) certain local directories.  But the latter results in inconsistent local phone numbers (old directories that you can't control will still have your phone number) across the web and this hurts your local results listings.  The salesperson didn't seem to understand or care about this and instead just kept repeating the same non-sequitur by epxlaining that we're not actually changing our phone number.  In any case, the Signpost blog and Twitter account both link to local SEO studies that cite this fact (that inconsistencies hurt your results) so they may want to do something about that.
 
Too much control to them
 
Signpost essentially becomes your customer database.  Your contacts are uploaded into their system.   Phone calls to your business actually go to them and are routed to you.  They also want 'access' to your emails (not that they 'go through' them but to be able to track inquiries).  And to get the full benefit of what they offer, you also have to use  Payment Solutions (so if you're using Square/PayPal they want you to stop and switch over to Payment Revolutions).
 
This is where I decided NOT to use Signpost.  I told the salesrep that I wanted time to research Payment Revolutions and their solution was to put me on the phone with a Payment Revolutions rep.  The salesperson just wanted to close me.  In reality, I needed time to not only learn more about this company, but to see how it would affect our other software integration.  In retrospect it would have been counterproductive.  But of course, the rep only cared about closing me.  There was no interest in sending me documentation like I asked.  Their solution was quick answers on the phone, followed by an attempt to close me.
 
Having worked with several third-party providers at my old job I have become accustomed to a more open sales process whereby answering questions via email and sending documentation is not a big deal.  The Signpost sales process works more like a Multi-Level Marketing sales pitch where they are trying to 'close' you at every turn, and you use tactical one-liners try and guilt trip you into signing up.  
 
In defense of Signpost
 
I don't believe Signpost is a "scam."  I believe they're TRYING to find a way to offer a decent marketing service at a pretty low price and using a very aggressive sales approach in order to get enough people on board to make it profitable for them (and/or their investors).  Hopefully they'll find the right balance without angering too many more business owners.  Hopefully they find a way to make this a more palatable service.  In the meantime, I'm staying the heck away from these guys.

Anyone thinking of employing Sign Post for help advertising should beware. The sales representatives/customer service team ran me around in circles when I tried to cancel and terminate their services. Besides the fact that they completely failed to bring me any new clients (not bringing me even one new client a month), they offered inaccurate and contradictory information on the cancellation procedures. In May 2014, a month prior to the end of my 3 month agreement, I called their customer service department telling them I'd like to end all services at the end of the 3 months. A representative informed me that she could help me with this and that the service will be terminated at the end of the 3 month agreement. On June 8th, 2014, two days after my 3 month agreement ended, I noted a new charge of $375 on my credit card statement from Sign post. I called them immediately to inquire about this new charge and the representative this time informed me that I had been charged a new 3 month service fee. When I told her that I had called in May to cancel all services, she said she had no record of this transaction and that I am now responsible for the new charge.