5 Important Items That Flyer Distributors Can’t Live Without
by Admin Joe
published – July 26th 2019
What more can a flyer distributor need than two working pairs of arms and legs, you might ask? Well, it turns out there are a variety of tools that can help you a tonne in your flyer, leaflet, poster or catalog distribution work.
What equipment does a flyer distributor need? In my opinion, some of this equipment might not be completely mandatory.
At the same time, it should make a flyer distribution worker’s job a little less difficult. This is something that I think we can all agree on wanting in our respective occupations, let alone just flyer and leaflet distribution.
Why do I need equipment in flyer distribution? I find that a big benefit is that these tools can make you more efficient in your job. This will then lead you to earn more money for the time spent working.
Kerching! Now your interested, right? I thought so. Let’s take a look at the equipment that can make a flyer distributor’s life a whole lot easier.
1. Map
If you are a door-drop flyer distributor, then you will get a map of the streets and homes that you will be distributing flyers and leaflets to for that day. From my experience, this will likely be from a bird’s-eye view possibly from Google Maps or something similar.
The flyer distributor and the client will both have maps of the target homes so that both parties are up to date. A map will help you find the right people to distribute to when we’re talking about target audiences.
Obviously, no leaflet distributor has a perfect memory (mine is terrible). In this case, you will need a map to help with general navigation. You might be distributing in places you’ve never visited before. You will never know every single location like the back of your hand.
This will also help you to notice which houses you’ve already covered and which ones you haven’t. This will cut down the waste and time a flyer distributor might unwittingly be spending distributing to the same house twice or more.
Maps will ultimately help you track your progress too. This will give you an impression of when you can finish the working day based on the flyer distribution work you’ve already done.
In addition, a map can tell you where to avoid distributing as well. This is good seeing as another distributor within your team might be working a street that you mistakenly plan to cover.
Planning ahead with a map will allow poster distributors to see where the prime locations might be for putting up a poster. You can see this by the various icons on a map marking out buildings and public spaces. This isn’t really relevant unless your client or employer gives you free rein to pick the locations of distribution.
For instance, if you can see that there is a shopping mall nearby then you will want to put posters up there. You know that it will be heavily populated with people. This is good advice unless your client wants you to distribute in a specific location without yourself having a say.
Are there any situations where I won’t need a map? If you are distributing flyers on a high street in one location all day. Clearly, you won’t need a map for that. You will be pretty much stationary so you won’t need any navigation help.
2. Camera
The main reason flyer distributors use a camera is for providing evidence. Workers will need to prove to their employer and clients that they have completed all the work they have been assigned. Obviously, a video is better and will offer a lot more information, but a picture should still do the trick.
This might seem extreme but flyer distribution employers don’t like to take chances in this aspect. I will get into more detail on how flyer and leaflet distributors provide evidence of completed work at another time. It is much too big of a subject to discuss here and now.
What if I already have a camera? Most people have a built-in camera on their fancy-smancy smart phones. Alternatively, if you don’t own a camera then the flyer distribution company you’re working for should let you borrow one that they will provide.
[bctt tweet=”Having the right equipment can really help a flyer distributor when it comes to communication, navigation, memory, record-keeping etc.” username=”@athomegrind”]
3. Notebook
No, I’m not talking about lugging around a Blu-Ray or DVD copy of the 2004 romantic movie ‘The Notebook‘ (which I still haven’t seen) starring the beautiful Ryan Gosling. Doing this would just be plain silly, wouldn’t you agree?
Anyway, it’s helpful to have a notebook or notepad
What information do I need to make a note of? Details that you need to take down can include stuff like:
- addresses
- contact details
- names of potential customers
If you don’t make a record of data such as this in the moment then there is a good chance that you’re going to forget it sooner or later.
Can I make notes beforehand? A notebook is also good for taking pre-written notes with you as you go out into the working day. These notes might be answers to questions you didn’t know the answer. Recipients might want to ask you these things, for example.
You will then be able to prepare yourself without having to think on your feet as much. If a recipient asks you about the intricate details of a flyer then you won’t panic. This is because you will know how to handle it.
Note-taking in flyer distribution work is also good for logging the number of hours you have worked if your employer relies on you to do that.
If you want, you can also jot down customer feedback that you might believe will be useful to you and your employer. I find writing down general observations on what works and what doesn’t will help you a lot, as it did me.
If you are a catalog distributor then your notebook might act as a ledger. What I mean by this is that you can use it to record all of the transactions from your sales of goods bought. You will probably want to write down:
- the name of the item
- price
- date
- customer name
- payment method
Your distribution employer might even give you a separate form for all of this so a notepad might be unnecessary.
4. Telephone
Why do I need to have my phone with me while distributing flyers? In my view, it’s a good idea to take your phone with you on the job. This is because your manager or co-workers might need to get in contact while you’re out on your rounds.
I know from doing this work that plans can change during the working day in flyer distribution. They may need to contact you in order to relay new, important information. This can include when or where to go next and exactly how they want it to be done.
Telephone communication is also a good way for employers to check on the progress of their flyer and leaflet distributors. A supervisor might want to know how many flyers you have left to deliver. They can also monitor how many leads and sales you have obtained so far, for instance.
Will I need to contact others? There is also the situation where you (the distributor) might need to contact other people while distributing. This is helpful if you have any problems, queries or need assistance. Having this easy form of communication is very useful for both parties.
Most people have a mobile phone but if you don’t then you could always buy a cheap, low-end phone just for this purpose. The fact that flyer distributors mostly work alone makes communication all the more important.
5. Bag
We’ve already talked about several pieces of equipment that are useful for flyer distribution work. Clearly, you will need something to carry your gear and distribution materials around with you. This is true unless you were planning on juggling them like a circus clown.
Sometimes you can make do by just storing stuff in your pockets. However, consider taking a comfortable backpack or satchel on the job with you. You will normally have a bag to carry all of your flyers and leaflets anyway. In turn, you will likely be able to find some space for all this other equipment too.
Luckily, your bag should get lighter and lighter throughout the day as you gradually get rid of flyers and leaflets. This should give you more room to carry other things later on.
Some distributors even use carts or trolleys if they have a lot to distribute, but this is probably unnecessary to be honest. Although, distributors who deliver catalogs or brochures will need something with a large capacity. This is down to the heaviness and thickness of these particular materials.
As you can see, there are all sorts of aids you will need with you (or are at least “nice to haves“). These are all important in a flyer distribution job for different reasons. Having the right gear with you can really help you when it comes down to:
- communication
- navigation
- memory
- record-keeping
Don’t worry about the financial impact, a lot of this equipment will likely come at no extra cost to the employee. Any flyer distribution employer worth their salt will provide you with everything you could possibly need to do this job. However, if you are a freelance flyer distributor then it can be a different story.
We can learn that taking down information while distributing is pretty helpful. You can never go wrong with having a pen and paper on you just in case. We also know the importance of keeping in touch with colleagues and superiors as plans can change during the working day.
Next, I recommend for you to go shopping for the items mentioned previously if they aren’t already provided and freely available to you. It’s always beneficial if you can teach yourself more about flyer distribution work in general too. You can do this by reading more articles or books about flyer distribution
You now know about the gear required, but do you know what a flyer distributor actually does? Let’s find out What Are The Duties & Responsibilities Of A Flyer Distributor?
What is the most useful piece of equipment in flyer distribution for you personally? Can you think of any important equipment for this job that I might have missed? Please don’t forget to share this with your friends and comment below. Thanks for reading!
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