candy in flyers

[adam5557]

Hey guys I am a young guy starting a business and this weekend I will be going door to door for jobs showing them my flyer and if they would like my service,BUT if they were not home i was thinking have my flyer in a small clear plastic bag and putting some candy in their along with my flyer.. does it sound good??gota get there attention some how?thanks

[1MajorTom]

What kind of candy? No, I dont really care for the idea. If I got candy from someone I didn't know, I would be leary about it.. I would throw the candy away... just my 2 cents.

[tonygreek]

i think you'll find that people would toss your candy in the trash if they don't know the source. that's just common sense, especially in this day and age.

besides, i stayed in birmingham for a stretch while doing consulting work for daimler. i think people there can afford their own candy... :)

[leadarrows]

The dump I frequent has that's square gum in a box with there name and logo on it. If your going to do that you might think about getting something like that instead of candy. But I really have to go with Jodi on this one. I mean I know the people at the dump and it's in a sealed box. Candy from strangers? My mom warned me about that! LOL

[Mark McC]

I'm with everyone else: bad idea for two reasons.

One is that it'll creep some people out. Two is that if someone gets sick after eating the candy, they'll sue you regardless of whether it was the candy that made them sick.

Any advantages to offering candy? None I can think of. As the saying goes, if the potential for damage looks bigger than the potential for help, fuggedaboudit.

[beransfixitinc]

Candy no good. Do you have a state lottery there? Perhaps you could purchase like a hundred $1 lottery scratch offs (or jackpot drawing numbers) and insert them in like one in every three bags with your flyer. Never know how a promo like that would turn out.. expecially if one of those people won like $100 or more. payup payup payup

[tonygreek]

y'know, it just dawned on me that you might want to check with city hall to see if you need to pull a permit to go door-to-door soliciting or flyering. i live in an upscale area, not too different from birmingham, and it varies from illegal to requiring a permit and getting a "do not knock" list.

if you see brendan shanahan, tell him i said hi.

[Todd's lawncare]

Candy no good. Do you have a state lottery there? Perhaps you could purchase like a hundred $1 lottery scratch offs (or jackpot drawing numbers) and insert them in like one in every three bags with your flyer. Never know how a promo like that would turn out.. expecially if one of those people won like $100 or more. payup payup payup
They better split it with me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[amw]

if they broke their tooth, you would be paying the dentist bill...

I would forget about the idea, if you want to "give" something...why not magnets, everyone uses them, and they keep your info even if they dont need or want service yet..

[westwind]

candy is a no no. try something else. i worked a deal with a few local car washes. There are a lot of good marketing ideas out there, but i don't think this is one of them. Good Luck. payup payup

[Madstriper]

Adam,

Did you notice that all those replys are from up north?
Being a fellow Southerner, I understand what you are trying to do.
Down here people think, "Hey, this guy is trying to get our attention,
and doesnt mind spending a few cents and a little extra consideration
to get it. And cool, I love peppermint!"
I say go for it, but yes, you do have the potential for some former
Northerners may be put off by this and they will just throw it away.
Good luck and let us know.

No disrespect to our Northern brothers, but things are a bit different
down here, even in the larger cities. I know not everyone in every place
are like that, but a large group of them are like that.

[tonygreek]

No disrespect to our Northern brothers, but things are a bit different
down here, even in the larger cities. I know not everyone in every place
are like that, but a large group of them are like that.
that's great advice for southern companies, madstriper, but he's in birmingham, michigan. if there's ever been a bigger contast between 2 places sharing the same name, i'm not aware of it.

[Madstriper]

OOpps.........big difference.
Sorry for not paying close enough attention.
I have lived and traveled all over the country, and I am always
surprised by the differences in folks.
I dont dislike the north, but their opinion of us Southerners is
often way off because of misinterpretation and stereotyping.
But I also realize the Northerners get the same treatment.

I am a new LCO solo and I have learned so much from ya'll
and heck, I come here instead of the porn sites, so you guys
know you rate high on my list.........lol
Damn, I must be getting old.........................

[karen1122]

Interesting ideas - How about the suggestion of putting a dollar bill in each. Nothing attracts attention more than cold hard cash. I have received a survey recently that did this and it sure caught my eye.

You could also create your message on your flyer around cash. The value of the time you save by using my service would result in more of your free time - how much would you pay to gain an extra hour a week?

This argument worked well for a local laundry. 20 minutes to iron a shirt, 5 shirts a week = 1-2/3 hours. $1.45 to have a shirt laundered x 5 shirts = $7.25 per week. This means that by ironing your own shirts you are working for $4.35 per hour. Isn't your time worth more than $4.35 per hour. Would you pay $4.35 per hour for free time?

Using the same argument; if you put out 200 fliers with $1 in each. Wouldn't you expect at least two more accounts to sign up? Are these accounts worth more than $200 in a year.

Just a suggestion.

[tonygreek]

keep in mind that if you are not legitimate in the eyes of your city/county/friendly irs agent, any advertising might also draw unneeded attention to your "business", given that you are 15.