What are the Legal Rules for putting Flyers on someone's property? - Cleaning Talk - Professional Cleaning and Restoration Forum

SanitarySpecialist · 10-12-2009, 12:02 PM

Hi everyone, below is a post that I made a few days ago, but felt it was a good question and I wanted to bring it to its own thread to benefit everyone. We all want to market our services, but don't want to end up fined and/or with a citation or worse because of it!!

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I have always wondered about the exact legality of door-hanging etc... since I am newer to the business (less than 2 years) I am very motivated and have used the past couple months to come up with a very comprehensive company literature package (flyers, trifolds, business cards...) and I would be willing to go "door to door" in affluent neighborhoods (I don't 'like' cleaning homes, because their ROI is literally 20% of commercial jobs, but it is a good income bridge).

If my understanding is accurate, as long as we don't place anything into their physical mailbox without postage (or is it just by hand in general?) we are legally ok? I have gotten things in my newspaper open box beneath the actual mailbox, and of course things on my home's doorknob and in the screen door...

What is best, and legal? Thanks!!!

John · 10-27-2009, 05:39 PM

I get flyers dropped off at my doorstep all of the time. I used to drop off flyers on people's doorstep, but it was never effective unless I actually talked to them. If you are a good communicator then you will get the business. The only illegal way of dropping off flyers is in HOA communities that specifically prohibit the practice..........but, If I happen to be doing a job in an expensive neighborhood, I will take the opportunity to knock on a few of the neighbor's doors to ask them if they would be interested in the same service i provided to their neighbor. It is a great way to get in and people have never been offended if i took that approach.

SanitarySpecialist · 10-27-2009, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

I get flyers dropped off at my doorstep all of the time. I used to drop off flyers on people's doorstep, but it was never effective unless I actually talked to them. If you are a good communicator then you will get the business. The only illegal way of dropping off flyers is in HOA communities that specifically prohibit the practice..........but, If I happen to be doing a job in an expensive neighborhood, I will take the opportunity to knock on a few of the neighbor's doors to ask them if they would be interested in the same service i provided to their neighbor. It is a great way to get in and people have never been offended if i took that approach.

VERY good points, and thanks for responding! I was always curious about this, and assumed a little of what you shared with me.

I do have a question that goes hand in hand with what you said above... which is, aside from face to face or door knocking, would it be wise and potentially successful/profitable to use the same "your neighbor uses my services" technique, with sending out fliers to homes by mail or by foot?

What I mean it... we're not knocking on their door physically, BUT the brochures or post-cards we send them in the mail (WITH the client's permission of course) would specifically let them know we clean for someone in their neighborhood by name and address, who would be happy to refer us? If I can get current clients to agree to let me use their home address, or name and an email or voice-mail number for people to call and check on our services - that would be GOLDEN!!!

Thanks!

tempy · 09-15-2010, 06:49 AM

Ugh, I know this is old, but i'll answer it anyway. Every city is different, and you should check their website or call to see if they have any laws against flyer distribution. If you live in a large city, there may be several different smaller cities (you'll know if you live there I suppose), and need to verify each one and check what the city borders are. Covenant areas may have a sign located on their entry points, look for those any time you enter a new area, a large fenced off area is a good indicator. Any door that has a sign that says "no flyers" or "no hand bills" you should not distribute to. However, any sign that says "no solicitation" you can distribute to, as you are not soliciting. It can be a matter of person taste though, as some people don't want to offend anyone and others take their chances. Never ever under any circumstances put a flyer on a mailbox, not in it, or on it, or anything. It is a federal offense. Flyer should go on doors, and not anywhere else. I would suggest, not opening gates, but that's my personal opinion. As well as, never open a screen door to place onto a door. Apartments can be tricky, look for "no trespassing" signs as well as the "no handbills". They like to call the cops first and ask questions second.

greencleaning · 12-15-2010, 06:28 AM

If you're on private property, leave. Don't argue. You have no basis for any argument.

If you're on public property (specifically, a public right of way) (as long as you're not making traffic back up) tell the officer, "It is illegal for you to give that order. If you enforce it, you will lose a lawsuit." If he arrests you, do not resist arrest. Just tell him, "I guess you're just going to have to find out the hard way."

Pressure Cleaning · 12-15-2010, 06:02 PM

Don't get caught!

Peerless · 12-16-2010, 09:52 AM

We have door hangers that we put out every once in a while.
In my experience you HAVE to put them on the doorknob.

I have sent out some of my neighbors high school kids to put them out.
They get lazy and put them in the mailbox, and that is when the post office started calling me! They said as long as this is the only call, they would leave me alone.

When I'm going to put out door hangers I do it myself now. Doing them myself I get way less out, but I have a GREATER return, much greater. I will put out 25 flyers and land almost half that day. I like to get about 4 out of 10 estimates to weed out the shoppers and complainers for next year.

I have sent the goof troop out and had them put out in excess of 500 and I get a few shoppers and Calls from HOA's asking me how the funk I got through the gate etc. I usually turn the negative into a positive and clean the caller anyway LOL.

But, now all we do is direct mail to our client list and a small amount to cold addresses. Works much better imo

Folks that live behind the iron gate usually respond better to direct mail or when I build momentum off of a neighbor. And those are the clients we want.

Apple Roof Cleaning · 07-19-2011, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pressure Cleaning

Don't get caught!

LOL, I agree! We don't solicit anymore, since our Tampa Roof Cleaning Company is very firmly established. The latest rage we see is throwing flyers in peoples yards in a bag with a rock in it

I agree with Thomas, when I put out flyers in the past, I left them right on the door

I like to actually call my past roof cleaning customers vs direct mail them though.

Roof Cleaning by A&E · 07-19-2011, 02:35 PM

Thats my biggest ROI throwing posts cards in a bag with a river rock in it.We had done 10,000 or so this year with 1 bad complaint.

MikeFromHC · 07-20-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencleaning

If you're on private property, leave. Don't argue. You have no basis for any argument.

If you're on public property (specifically, a public right of way) (as long as you're not making traffic back up) tell the officer, "It is illegal for you to give that order. If you enforce it, you will lose a lawsuit." If he arrests you, do not resist arrest. Just tell him, "I guess you're just going to have to find out the hard way."

As long as you are willing to be arrested, possibly be convicted and have about 10 grand to start a law suit that may be a solution.

Make sure it is a public site, most parking malls are not.

Make sure you have been returning to that public site and removing all the flyers left behind.

Otherwise your first big hurdle will be in showing that your flyers don't meet the legal definition of litter.

An arrest would not be made for giving an order which *might* be illegal but for something an officer "would have reasonable grounds to believe..."

bds · 07-21-2011, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roof Cleaning by A&E

Thats my biggest ROI throwing posts cards in a bag with a river rock in it.We had done 10,000 or so this year with 1 bad complaint.

Are you serious? You actually do this and it gets you jobs? The reason I ask is, I asked opinions on another forum about an idea I had for distributing flyers or postcards and someone stated that your rock method was being used in their neighborhood. My idea involved something useful attached with the flyer. But not a rock. That's not to say rocks aren't useful. We all know they are.

Roof Cleaning by A&E · 07-21-2011, 07:44 PM

Yes it works!

David Stainberg · 07-31-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

I get flyers dropped off at my doorstep all of the time. I used to drop off flyers on people's doorstep, but it was never effective unless I actually talked to them. If you are a good communicator then you will get the business. The only illegal way of dropping off flyers is in HOA communities that specifically prohibit the practice..........but, If I happen to be doing a job in an expensive neighborhood, I will take the opportunity to knock on a few of the neighbor's doors to ask them if they would be interested in the same service i provided to their neighbor. It is a great way to get in and people have never been offended if i took that approach.

Exactly! It is a very good idea!