Ramit Sethi elaborates beautifully on this in his blog post “Your College is Not a Technical School“.

Think about your current priorities and where you’re committing your time. Are you doing things so you’ll be better?… or just so you’ll look better?

Yes. Yes, you do.

I assume you’re forced to flyer, you’ve got your stack of distributables, and you’re on Bruinwalk (if you’re at UCLA, otherwise your college equivalent of its flyering “gauntlet”). Suck it up and keep reading.

How NOT to Flyer

Flyering involves making an actual effort to hand out flyers. The typical attitude/excuse for sitting at the table instead of flyering (besides fear of rejection) is “if they’re really interested, they’ll approach me.” Think about it… how often does that happen? Number of flyers per hour you’ll hand out with that attitude: 0.75 (only because someone on Bruinwalk recognized you and stopped to chat and take a pity flyer… maybe.)

How to Flyer Like a Crazy Mofo

There are two keys to flyering like a crazy mofo:

• Make it personal.
• Be confident (or at least act confident)

Make it Personal

It’s easy ignoring someone spewing lines over a crowd. “Party this Saturday” or whatever. They’re not talking to you. You don’t care. You can ignore them. But.. say someone is looking right at you, establishing eye contact, clearly addressing you.. “Hey come out to our party this Saturday”… hey, they’re actually talking to you. The person flyering is much more likely to get a response, even if it’s a “no thanks” or a little head shake.

DO:

• Target individuals, not groups. Approach the individual as if you picked them out of the crowd and speak to them as if you were initiating a conversation.
• Flyer also between rush times when you can give passerbyers more individual attention. That’s also when a lot of people don’t bother to flyer since they figure there aren’t many people… fools.

Work the Approach: Don’t expect them to do any work. Most people avoid flyers, so what makes you think anyone would go through any trouble to obtain a flyer?

DO:

• Hold out the flyer conveniently close for them to grab without them having to exert extra labor. Yet you should not block their path or wave the flyer intrudingly close to them. That’s just rude and annoying.
• Make a little effort to physically approach them. Besides making it easier on them, I think if you have to go through a little trouble to take a step or two toward them, they might subconsciously feel obligated to return your favor and take the flyer.

Be Confident

CONFIDENCE. You’re not likely to take a flyer from someone who doesn’t seem like they believe in what they’re selling. Present your flyers not like “Umm… please take a flyer? Ow–.. my feelings.”.. but more like “YO B*%@H. Take a flyer cuz you know you wanna be part of this sh*%.. hellllz yeeeahhhh.” But don’t say that.

There’s always going to be those who intentionally avoid/ignore you (I used to be one). They keep walking, despite your hand being right in front of them. Oh they know you’re there. They hear you. They’re just too badass to even establish eye contact or decline politely. It happens. Move on.

There are those who never take flyers and a few who like to take flyers. This guide doesn’t guarantee 100% of the people you approach will take your flyer, but it helps maximize your effectiveness among the “undecided” crowd in between. With the right attitude and favorable conditions/material/cause, you can be a 100+/hr flyererer! :oD

Do YOU have strategies for flyering like a crazy mofo? Please share :o)

(A comic from Below the Mean):