Neighborhood Flyers ... Mass Mailing Vs. Door 2 Door

[nay62]

This September will be 3 years that I've moved into my first house. I of course thought everyone in the area will welcome me into the neighborhood but no one did but one.

Here I am trying to make this work and today was the day where I was going to walk my dog around and hand out some flyers. Of course once my dog did her business she wanted to come back home and I lost my nerve. As I was putting away her chain a thought came into my head "how about mass mailings".

Ok, I am such a chicken @*^t of rejection. Buck it up buttercup, I say this to myself but It's not working

Soooo in your opinion... mail or door to door???

 

[pchockeymom]

Mass mailing is a waste of your tiime and money if you can't personally follow up with each person via phone.

So, door to door is the way to go. I live in the same kind of neighborhood-unwelcoming. Instead of doing it all at once, give yourself the goal of talking to 10 neighbors. Go door to door, if they answer, introduce yourself, tell them your with pc, ask if they're familiar with pc, do they have any of our products, have they been to a show lately, would they be interested in coming to your event (I'm assuming you're planning an open house/no buy show/last chance, first glance, something). Then you could get their info (have a sheet of paper with addresses ready then fill in with name, phone, email.)

If no one answers, don't leave a flier, go on to the next house. If your goal is 10, go until you've talked to 10 neighbors. From there you can decide to keep going or call it a day.

 

[vminaudo]

Thanks for this posting. I just made up flyers and was going to drop them off at homes within my neighborhood. PC Hockey Mom, you made an excellent choice by setting a goal of talking to 10 neighbors. I am also getting up enough nerve to do this too.Regards, Vickie

 

[maldvs]

What is your opinion for rural areas? I live on a road that I walk for exercise daily. Their doors aren't close to the road but their mail boxes are. Are we allowed to hang anything from the outside of the mail box for them? Or is this too illegal?

 

[pchockeymom]

Nope, can't hang on the outside of mailbox either. Here's an "out of the box" idea...why not do the old fashioned neighbor thing-make some goodies (smores cups?) and take them, along with an invitations and a catalog, to each neighbor. Knock on the door, introduce yourself ("Hi, I'm xxx, I'm your neighbor down the road at ...some distinction... and I've decided it's time to meet my neighbors! I've made some delicious treats! And, I'm hoping for us all to get to know eachother better, so I'm holding a neighborhood party, Pampered Chef style! Are you familiar? ...." go from there.

 

[pampered1224]

You know that is an EXCELLENT idea pchockeymom! Limits. Don't go over board but reach that goal. 10 is easy to handle. Now if it would just get cool enough not to be a sweat stain on legs! GROSS!!

 

[wcsis]

I did a door to door thing a couple weeks back. I set my sites on a small development of houses (38 total on the street) that were built and occupied about a year ago. Weekday at 5pm didn't work out all that great for me, not many people home. But I was able to leave a mini and contact info with a couple. No shows booked but my intent was to break out of the 'comfort zone' and actually approach new faces and tell them about what I do. In that respect I was very successful!!!!!!!!!

 

[nanzkitchen]

Hi ladies, i did the same thing a month ago. I live in the suburbs and a new subdivision is being built as we speak. I went out door to door to introduce myself, gave out flyers and small packets with PC info in it. Had booked 4 shows, but then they called to cancel. Never heard from them again. I have tried to contact them to reschedule, but you know how that goes. I think in a way is a waste of time and ink, but at least my name is out there for now. I guess keep trying and don't give up hope

 

[aPamperedBride]

What might promote more success than nanzkitchen had is to not only host your own party, but provide an extra incentive to your neighbors. The question is: what is your goal? Is it just to meet your neighbors? Is it to reach a certain amount in sales? Is it to get your neighbors to book? Is it to earn products yourself? Figure out what your goal is and create an incentive around it.

For instance, if your goal is to get more customers and reach a certain sales amount, try hosting a Mystery Host Party. Create ways to earn more entries in the drawing for ALL the host benefits, or split the benefits between two lucky guests! (RSVP, bring a friend or an outside order, spend $100 or more, book a party, share what fav product is and why, etc...) Only those present can win.

If your goal is to get more bookings, DON'T give away the host benefits as that might ruin your chance to have that guest host. You might find a local cause and advertise that a portion of the sales will go to the local food bank, homeless shelter, children's advocacy center, etc. (Try finding a charity that most people will be happy to support rather than something that caters to a select group of people.) Then let your neighbors/guests know that the organization gets more $$ when they host their own show. (I actually tell them it is $10, then explain later that TPC gives $3 when they book and I contribute another $7 when they close their show, but you can do what works best for you.) If your goal is bookings and free products but you don't really need the income, you can submit the show as a regular party under your name and just donate out of your commission (which makes it tax-deductible if you itemize). Or you can submit as Fundraiser and just get the Host Benefit yourself.

The point is that just having a chance to meet the neighbors might not be enough to get them out of their comfort zone and over to your house either, so figure out what will work best for you with you hosting. Once they have fun and see the tools in action, you should get some response! PchockeyMom was right that the goal is to TALK to people. Don't leave your fliers on the door if no one is home because they will likely just be thrown away. Good luck!

 

[chesse]

I'd make sure it was "legal" to go door-to-door! I know you need a permit here in my snobby little town. Also, remember it is illegal to put anything in someone's mailbox. You have to hang on the door knob or stick it in the door.