33 replies to this topic

[Woody]

Regardless of all your technologies, would you still go door to door to make a sale? Yes or No and Why.

[royster13]

No.....Too much time would be spent on tracking down the right folks and and traveling from Point A to Point B....Plus in my area folks are so used to expecting 4Imprint prices the margins i could get would not support the expense of door to door work....

[Chris Miller]

Nah... not physically door to door. People are too busy these days to be bugged like that. If asked to drop in, that's one thing but that's not all that common anymore.

In short, I would do whatever necessary to "stay alive" but there are much better alternatives to beating down doors. That seems almost counterproductive to me.

[jimknecht]

I will not talk with anyone who just shows up at my door and I will not give you an appointment, even on the phone, if I know nothing about you. Now if you have been referred by someone I know & trust, then I will talk & listen to what you have to say.

With all the dishonest folks around & all the scams, I doubt I am that different than other business owners. So I say concentrate on getting referrals.

[EagleMountain]

Not me. Jim K nailed it. Besides, I read that Chris is handing out "no solicitor" signs with his logo on it . :D

[admar7]

All points made previous are excellent, and ones that i agree with.

I personally would, just to challenge myself and stay fresh.

I'd certainly do my homework previous to going out, as opposed to just a spray-n-pray tactic. But thats juts me wanting to have as much information on hand before i can even qualify and/or pitch a prospect.

[cathydoe]

But....what about....someone such as me....who lives in a smaller community.

People know who I am (because of my husband) and if I did it more in tune with "Hey, how ya doing blah blah blah" and to keep my face in their face kinda sorta thing?

Just curious...I haven't ever done it...but thought about it...comments anyone?

[jimknecht]

Cathy, in that situation you are actually operating from a referral... the people know your husband. Point is, you are not an unknown; not someone who is gonna scam anyone. In that situation, I would talk to you all day. I love chatting with my friends' wives. :D

[3Koi Maui]

For the type of client we seek, door to door is out. I think people would view our unannounced, uninvited visit as an interruption, less professional, and disrespectful of their time.

I think door to door would work if I were approaching retail or service industries where they have customers also stopping by, but I would time my visit to make sure I was minimizing any interference with their work.

[mgraham]

i am new to this industry but am sitting here in disbelief that nobody goes door to door anymore! what are new guys without an account base supposed to do if they cant knock on doors? sit & email all day? or is telemarketing the accepted method? or is set appts only acceptable? referrals are great but i cant see someone new making a living this way without an account base. we dont want to compete with 4imprint.com but then how are we different if we are relying on technology? i guess mailers might be an option but that can be an expensive way to get accounts. maybe not. havent tried yet.

maybe i am the exception here but so far at least i havent found door to door being a problem. with promotional prod. ive found prospects VERY warm. who doesnt like to talk about ways to increase sales? its a simple short q & a. if your qualifying, how is this a spray & pray method ? i am not approaching this as a high pressure thing either. i say sorry i didnt have an appointment but if XX has a few minutes i d like to talk about marketing. no biggie. if that person isnt in then i leave a flyer. secretaries share all types of info if your personable. much of this info i dont think i would get with telemarketing or emails. some buyers will agree to an appointment over the phone which i would PREFER also but if i cant get it i am NOT going to sit here waiting for my phone to ring.

since nobody knocks on doors, i am curious what methods ARE being used to land new business? obviously those with an acccount base can rely on referrals & emails but i dont think thats going to make a new rep much $$ gettting started ...

[jimknecht]

Mike, I am just giving my perspective, as a business owner. Now just because I will not talk with folks I don't know, weren't given a referral or didn't initially contact first, does not mean all business owners act the same.

I don't doubt there is some business to be had by cold calling, door to door. However, this industry is founded on relationships... relationships between you & your clients & relationships between you & your vendors. So I think you also need to do things that build relationships with potential clients. That may entail joining organizations such as your local chamber & volunteering at events. Then as you meet folks & get to know them, explain what you do & always ask for a referral. Keep in mind, you can receive referrals from all sorts of folks... they don't have to be existing clients.

[Wimco123]

'Back in the Day' as they say I sold for a major distributorship and had 6 counties in Northern Illinois. I hit the road cold-calling and got quite a few customers that way. Keep in mind that I now do my selling part-time and have kept many of my customers. I even have 3 customers I have never met face-to-face but have bought from me for years.

Now I usually contact through phone and email, getting too old to 'hit the road' like the old days. Wes

[3Koi Maui]

Hi Mike,

It's a big wide world, and there are many opportunities. It is great to hear that door to door is working for you. I just doesn't happen to be what we do, with the type of client we seek. Our clients mainly came from people we knew, by our asking for the business, or from referrals.

Door to door is just asking people for some of their time, so that you can present yourself and your business. Door to door means doing that in person, and generally is taken as dropping by a business unannounced. For the larger corporate client, that just isn't usually received very well these days. I do think it works very well for many other types of prospects, but we haven't taken that approach.

Also bear in mind there is a big gap between putting on your shoes and looking for local clients, to sitting around waiting for the phone to ring! Some distributors work mainly online, some prospect with mailers, email blasts, cold calling... there are a lot of ways to present yourself and your business to the world.

Also, just because several answers here have been NO - that doesn't mean that door to door isn't being widely practiced. It just means that those who do it are out there walking around and having meetings, instead of reading & posting in this forum! :)

[ScottH]

I've got to agree with Mike.
I started in this business (16 years ago) in August in Charleston, SC. 22 years old & nervous as hell. Now, let me tell you a little about Charleston in August. It's hot. And humid. And miserable. I went door to door calling on businesses, hitting 25-30 a day. I'd have to go home and change my shirt (we wore suits back then!) at least twice a day.

Good news is that I only had to do that for a few months before I had enough business and referrals to keep me going.

I've often thought about going out now, with my industry knowledge and targeting abilities, I think it would be pretty easy to pick up new customers / set appointments.

I've got an intern right now. He's having a rough time of it, but he doesn't get the #'s it takes. 4 or 5 cold calls & he's done for the day-I can't get him to understand that (a) it takes a lot more than that and (b) you can learn & tweak from each one.

[CBuerki]

I still enjoy door-to-door cold calling, and yes there are lots of folks out there who won't talk to me, but there are folks who will, and over the years I've spent lots of $ and time honing my cold calling skills.

It becomes a sport, much like playing golf or fishing, except the reward comes as a commission check.

Don't discount the process even if you don't agree with it because it still works for me.

Chuck

[mgraham]

isa-i am to new to this industry so i cant say that door knocking works. unfortunetely its the only way i can get new accounts. i just dont know what else would replace it. i hire outside supply reps for my other business and NOBODY wants to knock on doors. one VERY seasoned rep said my method of knocking on doors is old fashioned. his method was networking, lots of it. i told him if he has luck then by all means give it a shot. well after about 2 weeks without 1 new account he gave up. i am sure the selling process might be slightly differently with promo. vs. supplies but doesnt it all come down to numbers? i mean if you can network with 30 accounts then thats the same as knocking on 30 doors. my problem with networking is all you have is a bunch of reps who are also there to sell something so whenever i go to networking meetings it feels like i am being sold too the entire time. i dont find that fun!

again i am not putting anyone down here. i am just VERY curious what if any other method works better FOR a new rep with NO accounts. where do you begin because i personally would rather do anything other than cold calling myself but honestly i have not found a better method unless you want to dump $$ into ie SEO or mailers. even groups like bni cost a bundle with no guarantee of anything.

[3Koi Maui]

I wholeheartedly encourage people to try whatever works. And of course since you don't know what will work until after you try it, try anything!

I have found it works to call people I know and ask for the business. My client base started from former co-workers and current friends. I called and emailed to let them know what I was now doing, and asked them to consider allowing me to quote/present. Surprisingly, it has worked into a nice business. The same method has worked for my sales agents. They ask for the business from people they know, who are in their circle as former co-workers, friends, social groups, etc.

We encourage referrals by running incentives programs with our current clients.

Isn't it all really about just asking for the business? Some do it in person, some ask electronically, some call on the phone. But you have to ask, in whichever way works best for you.

Not everyone inclined to be a salesperson. It isn't just because of "too much work", it could be they are just not the type to want to ask for business. They might be super great workers who do the job they are handed. So if you find someone who asks you for work, ask them if they are willing to do that same thing several times a day, to strangers.

How do you qualify your sales people? On what basis, or what questions do you ask before you hire them? Do you take them out on rounds with you? Of course it can easily turn out that someone doesn't work out. But if a lot of people one hires turn out not to want to go sell, then something is wrong with the hiring process.

[pjpromotions]

All of the sizable office complexes in our area have no solicitation notices and are very serious about enforcing this policy. The only time we've ever made door to door stops is as a follow-up from a show where we were exhibitors. We used to stop by with a promo box filled with information, self promos and candies. In those cases, we had a specific contact. We received many thank you calls, but don't think any ever ended with a sale. As a result, we stopped that practice - we loved doing it but it just didn't get the results we were hopeing for.

[PRINTALL]

I have to say, I was surprised at others not going door to door as well. That's all I did.....between 20 to 60 doors a day for the first couple of months when I first started. It paid off big time! 90% of my business today comes from those customers that I acquired then. I must say, knocking on doors isn't for everyone but it worked for me. Most of them I would consider my friends. But we all know what that means, friends like to buy from friends. I like to try and do a couple knocks a month even now, It's fun and keeps you good on your feet.

[lisasads]

I am also new to the business, but am working for someone with an established company (although in a different part of our community). I love cold-calling; but then, I am an extrovert. I enjoy the rush of adrenaline that comes from accomplishing an introduction! I can find out very quickly if there is any interest, leave them my card and a self-promotional item, and try to set up an initial meeting to LISTEN TO THEM. I have also done cold-calling on the phone~~and ended up with some very large (for me) accounts, because I happened to call "just when they needed something". If there is no interest, I have lost nothing in my mind, because I am getting to know my community better anyway.

In a few years, maybe I will be so successful that I won't have time or the need to do this~~but I think it would be something I would miss!

Lisa