D2D Sales … More Money, More Free Time
Those of us blessed with a sense of initiative, and even just a modest amount of ambition will flourish far more in a door-to-door sales environment than in the cramped confines of an office. Desk and call centre jobs are becoming less and less rewarding year on year – in part due to increasingly intrusive human resources practices, along with the creeping casualisation of working hours and the slow erosion of what used to be decent rates of pay.
Door to door sales may seem a precarious existence at first to the newcomer, however if it is approached in the right way, the rewards can be immense: no glass ceiling to your income as you earn on a commission or incentivised basis; no ‘big brother’ supervisor monitoring your every move; no bullies bearing down on you during your working day, but instead a diversity of customers from different age groups and backgrounds – most of whom are vastly more pleasant to deal with than some of the passive-aggressive characters that populate company offices the world over, making many people’s jobs a dreary and underpaid chore.
In my e-book ‘The Joy of Sales’ I illustrate clearly and simply how to tap into, and get established in the personally liberating and financially rewarding business of door to door selling. Enjoy!
The Best D2D Sales Tip Of All
The old maxim ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ holds true in the world of sales as much as anywhere else. There’s nothing like selling a product or service you know is the best in its class, and this is the first piece of advice I would give to aspiring sales-men and women. Ask yourself: ‘In this particular market where I am intending to work, what is the product I myself would buy?’
Whether it’s a cellphone subscription, a waste collection service or an energy supply contract, you probably know the answer you would give in each of those areas. See if you can align yourself with a product which is clearly the best in its class, and then power towards your sales targets using some of the following techniques…
Some Famous D2D Sales Reps
What do jeans magnate Levi Strauss, Texas Governor Rick Perry and actor George Clooney all have in common? They once worked in door to door sales!
Arriving in New York in 1847 from Franconia the young Strauss sold household goods, and later became the inventor of denim jeans, along with Jacob Davis. Texas Governor Rick Perry once worked as a Bible salesman in his younger days, and actor George Clooney worked as a door to door seller of insurance.
The history of D2D selling however goes back a long way, in fact – to the ‘institores’ of ancient Rome and the itinerant pedlars of Song Dynasty China. Read on..
Readers’ Reactions
‘Enjoyed your book thoroughly. Arousing and sustaining customer interest and curiosity during the interaction is something you have dealt with quite well …What you say about eye contact and proxemics is (apart from the actual content of the sales pitch) indeed crucial to a successful close of sale. As my old boss would say: ‘Good job!’
Allen J Hoekstra – Wilmington DE (US)
‘What I really loved about ‘Joy of Sales’ is the way you covered in Chapter IV the less discussed but hugely important topic of sales maximisation: following up all the residual stuff like ‘not-ins’, chasing up after-sales, getting referrals, sales retention / recovery… this in particular has given me a real pay-off in terms of increased sales..‘
Nigella Dixon – Caloundra (QLD), Australia