This is a continuation of my previous article regarding solicitors, what their role is and the general perception of solicitors. Here I’m expanding on how solicitation can be done effectively and ethically.

EFFECTIVELY

One of the unique things about hand to hand promotion is the element of surprise. Whether your soliciting door to door, or outside a club most people don’t necessarily expect you to be there. This is both a benefit of flyer distribution and one of the greatest challenges.

As stated in the previous article getting information to people at the exact moment they are looking for it is a much sought after strategy in marking and promotions. However as solicitors we are more often than not sneaking an advertisement directly to an individual at more or less a random time. One strategy to increase the chances of your messages falling into welcome hands is to deliver the message quickly. With as many annoying solicitors as there are out there are it’s important to distance yourself from their tactics. Whether your passing out flyers on the street or going door to door in an office building be brief and to the point. Leave a good impression and you’ll increase the chances of your message being welcomed.

One of the great benefits of this element of surprise is that you can cut through the advertising noise rather effectively. A print ad in a magazine or a giant billboard off the highway is much easier to forget or ignore. Also on a flyer the information is already written down so there is no need to hope your phone number was easy enough to remember for the prospect to contact you when the need arises. If interested, the prospect now knows about your service, and has your calling card.

ETHICALLY

There are only so many steps a solicitor can take to remain ethical. For the most part, I expect people to ignore “no soliciting” signs. With that said a solicitor can still be mindful of others valuable time and try to keep their pitch brief to the point, in addition to being relative to the business being solicited to. Examples of people selling baseball tickets to video duplication houses and religious wacko’s selling God to anyone come to mind as non-relative solicitors. Internet and search engine optimization however may be a good candidate to sling door to door. I think that most business to business marketing is more acceptable than the idea of business to consumer marketing if soliciting door to door. As the solicitor try to envision yourself as attempting to build a network of professionals instead of merely trying to make a buck. Even if someone has no need of your service, attempt to leave an acceptable impression so that they may mention your product or service to someone else. This does not mean hounding the prospect for more information or with more questions. As stated before, be brief, to the point, drop off a flyer and get out. Let the prospective customer digest the information on his or her own terms and you’ll see a much better return.

Why is it that nearly every business has a sign to warn off solicitors? And since when has solicitation really been the problem it’s made out to be with the ba-gillion signs warning against it? There is a culture that believes the only acceptable means of promoting a noun is buying an ad someplace. I think it comes down to peoples perception of solicitors.

Solicitors are known as people who knock on your door at eight pm trying to pitch the latest print newspaper to you. Or they’re the assholes that threw a bag of rocks at your door with a coupon inside.

Here’s the definition.

solicitor – so⋅lic⋅i⋅tor [suh-lis-i-ter]
–noun
1. a person who solicits.
2. a person whose business it is to solicit business, trade, etc.

The guy walking up to your door is a canvasser, his job sucks but supposedly it’s effective. The bag of rocks on your driveway is litter, it’s not really the flyers fault some asshole threw it on your driveway. In these situations I think we’d be better off hating the player not the game. Solicitation done ethically is no dirty word. Face to face human interaction is not the problem the playing field just needs to be more clearly defined.

When you at your home no one should bother you. When your out in public you run the immediate risk of encountering something or someone unexpected. If you work in a business with an open door to the public people may attempt to come inside and talk to you. Do not be alarmed! Not everyone is pitching snake oil! Identify who, what, where, and then make a decision!

Getting information to people exactly when they’re looking for it is a holy grail of marketing. The problem with solicitors going door to door, or passing out flyers on the street is that you never know if someone is ready to accept the information you have to offer. Most people it seems, would rather digest the information on their own terms. When, where, and how they want to via the Internet, friends etc. However as a solicitor we believe we have some information someone doesn’t know they want. So as well meaning solicitors we should all brainstorm on how to change our collective image. And find new words for Rockthrowers, Canvassers, and Telemarketers because professional well meaning solicitors they are not.

So in closing not all solicitors are bad. And I believe that businesses should help each other succeed. Instead of shutting doors and posting signs that attempt to spell out such reclusive attitudes in a professional manner. “We don’t want it, no matter what, we know everything, have everything, and don’t want any new friends”.

What if ads were illegal and the only form of communication between product and consumer acceptable was human interaction?