Bandit signs are a proven marketing technique for getting your phone to ring. Sometimes you’ll get angry people who will complain about uglifying (i just made that up!) their neighborhood, code enforcement threatening fines unless you take them down, but mostly you’ll get people needing to sell their house. I have never put out a bandit sign before because I’m simply afraid of getting fined the first couple of times. The funds are low as is, and getting fined will put a serious dent in my wallet.
This however is not going to stop me and to at least partially get over my fear, I agreed to go out with Lance last Friday night and hang some of his bandit signs. The plan was to meetup at 10:00pm at the Bridgewater Mall and then hang about 30 signs. We figured that would be a good start since we both are first timers. Lance had some H-Stakes so we could put some in the ground, and a sign stapler that would allow us to tack some up on telephone polls. We were ready!
In total we spent about 2 hours putting out signs. So how did we do? 4 Signs! A grand total of 4 freq’n Signs went up!?!?!?! Please don’t be in awe, if you work hard enough and don’t give up, you too can reach such great heights.
These are some of the obstacles that we ran into that kept us from putting out more signs
- Many business fronts that we could not put signs out on.
- The intersections were COVERED with political signs and ours would just get lost so we passed
- We didn’t really know the area so wasn’t sure were the good places were
- Traffic Jam that slowed us down
- Some of the good spots did not have any place to park the car without stopping traffic.
In hind site, we probably should have stuck some signs up amongst all the political bandits, and should have been less choosy where we wanted to put signs. We also decided to go back during the day and plan out some good spots before the next time. It’s much easier if you can see the spots during daylight ours.
Now it’s my turn to pick out an area and a day to hang some of my signs. I’m shying away from Mercer County because it’s just to dang far away, roughly 90 minutes. I’ll keep you all updated when I decided, which should be by the end of the week.
By a show of hands, how many people have put out bandit signs? and how did you do the first time out?
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Comments 16
I have very distinct memories of putting bandit signs up for the first time….I only did it a few times. The first time it took us a little over 2 hours and we only put out 20-25 signs. We had our children in the back seat of the car sleeping because it was some insane time of the morning on a Saturday. LOL! I’m cracking up just thinking about it (and how much it sucked). One other funny story….there was one time when I begged Phil not to make me deal with the signs again and like the wonderful hubby he is, he said he’d do it by himself. For some bizarre reason Phil decided he wanted to do it on a BICYCLE instead of in his car. He said it was because he didn’t want to have to keep finding a place to park. Anyway, needless to say it was a disaster. He hit a rock or a curb with the bike and got completely scraped up by the H-stakes from the signs he had somehow managed to attach to his bike. It was ugly. We can laugh about it now, but we don’t do bandit signs anymore and will only do them if we’re paying someone else to do it. LOL!Thanks for the stroll down memory lane, bud. I’m sure you can do 10x the number of bandit signs your next go ’round.
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That is a very funny story Scott and Shae!! Shae..that is hillarious! I have tried going out with someone, and I am right with you Scott. We did 4 or 5 also. Then I went out on my own and in 2 hours exceeded to 9! LOL You are right, having a detailed plan of action will get those out way more.
Good post
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I am just getting started and i don’t have a problem putting out the bandit signs….it’s what do i write on my bandit signs to attract buyers and sellers.
Thank You fellow investor and mentors
Edison S. Francis
Hey Edison, check out my friend Steph’s tips here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2009/08/06/easy-ways-build-wholesale-buyers-list/
You’ll see what she puts on her bandit signs to find buyers.
I learned a lot from that post by Steph. 🙂
I’ve always heard that simple is better. Remember, for the most part the people who are going to see your sign are driving past them or at a light for less then a minute. We buy Houses, Any Condition, Any Where. 555-555-5555. Yellow with black letters or White with Blue Letters seem to work best.
Scott, you’ve got to get in touch with your inner-gangster when putting out those signs. Let’s face it…it is illegal. One, you’ll need to place them under the cover of night for two reasons. You less likely get spotted. And you’ll also have to worry less about traffic. I park my car in the street and throw the hazards on. When I post signs, I do it a couple of hours before dawn. So, I’m talking about leaving the house at about 3:30am.
And when you do get caught. Just have the confidence that you’re not doing anything wrong. Take it from someone who has been questioned by the police on three separate occasions in about the last year or so.
And also, who said that you could’nt have taken those political signs down? I mean they’re obsolete after yesterday anyway. And you could’ve “recycled” them with some spray paint anyway.
@ Justin…Your Inner Gangster though? LoL! Wow, I do have the bandit sign blues too. They work so well, but I feel so illegal when I do them, like I’m breaking and entering or something. Driving slow, in the middle of the night, parking on the side of the road, getting out with my hood or cap on, dressed in dark colors, rushing to put them up and scurrying back to the car…… uugghhh!!!! My next strategy is to make a deal with small business owners who will give me permission to post them on their property for a weekend for a fee or trade-off. Gas Stations, mom & pop shops, bail bondsmen, etc.
I like your thinking, Angela!
I like your thinking, Angela!
We have been using and placing bandit signs for years. Here are seven tips for anyone new to bandit signs, or someone thinking of using signs.
#1 If you are using H frames Assemble your signs Before you leave. It will save you lots of time!!
#2 Take a hammer and a screwdriver. If the ground is too hard to push the sign in make a pilot hole with your screwdriver and hammer.
#3 Wooden Stakes and signs with Vertical flutes are great for windy places.
#4 If you are going to post them on telephone poles or wooden stakes, use roofing nails with the round plastic cap. (Roofing nails have ridges that make them harder to remove)
#5 If you are tight on cash go to your local print shop and ask them if they have misprints. You can buy misprints real cheap and hand write on the back of the sign.
#6 Most importantly Make your message as simple and as clear as possible. Dont waste your time and money putting too much info on a sign. And do NOT put a website on your bandit signs. (It makes it easier for the city to track you and the purpose of the signs is to get your phone ringing!!)
#7 Google Voice is a free service that gives you a different number than your own. Its a great way to track how many call you are getting from your signs. You can even get a vanity number for FREE!!
Feel free to connect with us on Facebook or Twitter for more tips and tricks when it comes to bandit sign marketing. If you are in the Phoenix are check out our site http://www.TogetherWeGrowPhx.com for great deals on signs and placement.
It’s always good to hear some tips from experienced people. I’ll be sure to use some of these when I put out some more signs.
It’s always good to hear some tips from experienced people. I’ll be sure to use some of these when I put out some more signs.
This is a great story. I read it just before I went out on my first bandit sign-hanging excursion today. I didn’t have a plan mapped out, but I ended up hanging 22 signs in about two hours. I was nervous at first, even tho it was 3:30 a.m. and there was literally no one on the road. I hung 4 in the first hour and thought I was going to have bad luck like you. But I grew some nerves and ended up hanging the last 10 or so in great spots at busy intersections. I appreciate everyone’s posts. Definitely gave me some confidence.