Today’s Rule of Law Brief is a little different from my usual political and legal commentary. Sometimes a legal lesson simply walks up to your front door.
While I was at my wife’s house outside Nashville, a door-to-door roofing solicitor stopped by offering a free inspection for storm damage. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. Small businesses need customers, salespeople need leads, and I have considerable sympathy for anyone hustling to build a business.
But the old sales maxim “don’t take no for an answer” has limits.
When you are standing on someone else’s property, and the homeowner makes clear that the conversation is over and wants you to leave, the situation is fundamentally different from a pitch on neutral ground. Continuing to press the sale can potentially create legal consequences—including, depending on the circumstances and applicable state or local law, criminal trespass.
The lesson is simple: hustle. Make the pitch. Ask for the business. But know when the answer is no.
Persistence is a sales technique. Remaining on someone else’s property after you have been told to leave can become a legal problem.
This video is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice.
“Don’t take no for an answer” can be decent sales advice—right up until you’re standing on someone else’s property. Here’s where persistence can cross the line from salesmanship into a legal problem.
