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how well do the flyers and door hangers really do?

32K views 70 replies 34 participants last post by  jeeperscrow 
#1 ·
Hey guys thanks for looking! I am looking to get out on my own hopefully full time this year, I have been in the business for 10 years now so having experience and providing quality is no issue for me but the getting clients part could be! I just got my first hat and tee shirt made along with 1000 flyers and 500 door hangers I am really planning to hit the streets hard this upcoming week going door to door is it crazy to expect to get one yard for every 30-50 flyers I hand out? I also plan on starting out charging a rate of 30-40 dollars an hour depending on the yard is this too much starting out? Thanks any advice would be appreciated.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Where is jamestown? I had in business in Simi Valley/ Thousand oaks in the early 1990s. If I got a lilltle slow Id passout flyers on a street that I was doing some work on. That seemed at the time to work very well.
Here in Alabama Ive had almost 0 success with flyers, however it still helps promote your name year in and year out.
 
#3 ·
ya know this is a GREAT Question.....

When I started in a NEW area. I passed out flyers when I had nothing to do.

got some calls from them, really didn't keep stats on it. But a lady called me several years after I did this. and she said she had one of my flyers. and when I got there, I be Dammed, she DID !!!!

she had to of had this flyer for 2 years at least, this really BLEW my mind.

Also: From time to time we pass them out in areas where we need to build up more customers.

best of luck to you
 
#4 ·
so far flyers/postcards have been a waste of money for me. i have only mailed out 500 postcards the past month, but i thought i'd get a call or 2.. nothing. 3 months and no calls, no estimates done. lol. i've done alot of word by mouth, which i was suprised that a few of my friends and co-workers wouldn't give me a chance and switch from tru-green to me, or from scotts to me.. lol. they don't even know i do good work. i'm doing something wrong.
 
#5 ·
well I am not mailing the flyers out I am going to go door to door preety seriously going to try and hit 750 houses over the course of a week. I think its one thing to give somebody a flyer to view but its another to give it to someone face to face in person cause then you get to talking about the business even if the customer is not interested in the product you are trying to sale them. I hope all goes well thank you guys!
 
#7 ·
keep us posted on how it goes. 750 sure is alot.. i work another job, so its hard to get out to that many every week, mailing them was so much easier and faster... not to mention, i'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to knocking on a door to sell something to somebody out of the blue.. i guess i kinda respect peoples privacy, because i get kinda annoyed when people knock on my door like that... anyway, i wish you the best of luck with it, and i hope you pick up alot of new clients.. keep us posted.

well I am not mailing the flyers out I am going to go door to door preety seriously going to try and hit 750 houses over the course of a week. I think its one thing to give somebody a flyer to view but its another to give it to someone face to face in person cause then you get to talking about the business even if the customer is not interested in the product you are trying to sale them. I hope all goes well thank you guys!
 
#9 ·
also what would be the best thing to say? I was thinking something quick and easy like "Hi I have a few accounts in the area and am just looking to get a few more here is my flyer please contact me if you are interested in any of my services."
BE VERY CAREFULL WITH THIS.

Most citys have laws about this. Most of the time " ALL CITYS I KNOW OF "

you CANT do this with out a permit....

and MOST will have you jailed for knocking on doors.
 
#10 ·
really? i mean, i know in my city we are "supposed" to have a canvasing permit.. and you have to wear a badge. (all laminated and what-not, so you look legit..) but most people here usually go without the canvasing permit. unless its a larger company like a garbage service, local paper.. etc.. sending out people, then they would usually have the badge. If somebody actually called the police, i would assume the cops would ask you to leave.

you have a good point though, IMO.. better safe, than sorry. and if you go about things the right way, people might take note and it my win you some extra brownie points.

BE VERY CAREFULL WITH THIS.

Most citys have laws about this. Most of the time " ALL CITYS I KNOW OF "

you CANT do this with out a permit....

and MOST will have you jailed for knocking on doors.
 
#11 ·
If you choose to try door hangers Check out A'Deas Printing. We have some great specials right now on those.. If door hanging isn't your thing.. you can always try direct mail.. At A'Deas we can help you create a mailing list and help you pin point the areas you are wanting to target.. our website is www.adeasprinting.com or feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call for more info! My name is Glenda, my email is glenda@adeasprinting.com or my number is 1-866-778-4254.
 
#12 ·
BE VERY CAREFULL WITH THIS.

Most citys have laws about this. Most of the time " ALL CITYS I KNOW OF "

you CANT do this with out a permit....

and MOST will have you jailed for knocking on doors.
I have never, ever known anyone, ever, to get a permit to go door-to-door. I couldnt tell you if my area needs one or not. I can tell you that I live and work in one of the most bureaucratic, red-tape, boot licking counties in the nation, and you would have to start your conversation by punching someone in the face before they called the law for you being at their door. Now, Im not saying most of them wont tell you to 'bugger off' using some colorful language, but I really cant imagine the police coming out for this.

On that note, I will be flier dropping next Jan - April but doubt I will knock on any doors. If I see the homeowner outside, sure, shake a hand. If not, I'll simply leave the flier on the door and move on.
 
#14 ·
Huh? Did I read that correctly? 2000 fliers to get 1 customer. Woah, I would have never mowed my first lawn if that were the case in my area. In years past on small to 1/3 acre suburban lawns, I could pickup customers at 1% return, not undercutting the competition.

Where do you live that affords you that many homes to market with such a low return rate?
 
#15 ·
I tried postcards and door hangers when I first started my business, spent a lot on getting them, postage, gas, labor, would not bother with it again.

I think most do like I do, postcard in the mailbox, goes in the trash without even looking at it, door hanger on the door when I get home, also goes in the trash without even looking at it. Spam in my email, trash, banners popping up ON LAWNSITE, closed without even looking to see what they are. We are ALL overloaded with advertisements trying to get your business, so we tend to ignor them.

I am at the point now where I am growing good by word of mouth, but it took years of hard work and happy customers to get here. Good luck with whatever you do.
 
#16 ·
Huh? Did I read that correctly? 2000 fliers to get 1 customer. Woah, I would have never mowed my first lawn if that were the case in my area. In years past on small to 1/3 acre suburban lawns, I could pickup customers at 1% return, not undercutting the competition.

Where do you live that affords you that many homes to market with such a low return rate?
I have have not see a great deal of return on flyers.
 
#17 ·
I tried postcards and door hangers when I first started my business, spent a lot on getting them, postage, gas, labor, would not bother with it again.

I think most do like I do, postcard in the mailbox, goes in the trash without even looking at it, door hanger on the door when I get home, also goes in the trash without even looking at it. Spam in my email, trash, banners popping up ON LAWNSITE, closed without even looking to see what they are. We are ALL overloaded with advertisements trying to get your business, so we tend to ignor them.

I am at the point now where I am growing good by word of mouth, but it took years of hard work and happy customers to get here. Good luck with whatever you do.
Word of Mouth, solid internet presence, visability in the neighborhood.

It is expensive but highly targeted personalized mailings get a good return IMHO.

I am sure flyers do work. There are so many of them that you have to do something to make them stick.
 
#18 ·
Best thing to do at this stage of your business IMO is to get some NICE fliers made and campaign to the 4-5 neighbors of the current yards you mow. Every time you cut, go to the house on either side, and the 2 or 3 across the street. If you are in a cul de sac (sp) hit up the whole thing. Oh and dont just put the flyer out, actually knock on there door and say something simple like "Hey I was cutting your neighbor's yard and wanted to take the opportunity to talk to you while I was here"

This is what I did when I was pressure washing and it had great results.

Good luck
 
#24 ·
i have to agree this is the wrong time of year to look for customers, but you might get a few who are tired of mowing or tired of who they hired.

i started in march by knocking on doors. mostly just yards that needed mowing. for the first month or so i was averaging a YES for every 20-25 knocks... not too bad, although most of those did not turn out to be clients. some had broken mowers, some were under doctors orders to take it easy, etc... but some did stick and are still clients today.

by the time May arrived almost everyone who was hiring was already in bed with someone and my 1 job per 20 knocks went out the window.

my method was business cards and a personal knock and talk.

i already have plans for this winter. i plan to hit every business i can. i am also gonna build and implement a website in the off season.

then come February i plan on mailing out flyers and start knocking on doors again. along with running a craigslist ad and ads in the small town's newspapers that i service.

i currently have about 17 accts and wanna grow that big time, so i plan on a combination of the above to gain more clients..

oh and word of mouth can go a long way. i have gained several clients through referrals. in fact, i just got off the phone with a guy who hired me for a 1 time shot. he used to be in the business and knows a lot of people in his gated community. he asked me for extra business cards and promised to talk me up to his friends and neighbors...
 
#26 ·
whats the secret? i do lawn apps only, i think its a bad time to start.. but i got 1000 out roughly, mailed alot of them, handed out some. got some info on my truck window that really stands out. i have gotten no response from any of that. I got one call from word of mouth, and it was a crap lead.. crap lawn, the lady wanted something to be sprayed to kill pine trees, and when i couldn't do it she slammed the door in my face.. lol. i have hit up everybody i know with a lawn, or that has a lawn service like trugreen. no takers. I even offered to do apps at cost, just to get out there.. now, if i was really that bad.. i would quit, but have yet to get my foot in a door for people to find out if i really suck or not.

anyhow, the motivation is down now, far, far from giving it up.. its still what i really want to do. Ric, and others were right, its a horrible time to start.. with this economy. i've been hoping within 7 or 8 years i can go full time. i'm thinking in spring i may just offer applications for free to a few customers if they keep a sign in the yard that says something along the lines of "lawn treated by..."

glad its working out for you, what does your flyer look like?

Flyers have. Been working preety well guys I have handed out about 50 and Been picked up 3 clean ups and 2 maintenance accounts.
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