Why do some door-to-door sales reps have a knack for getting the cops called on them while others rarely happen upon law enforcement officials?
Last week a team of 4 door-to-door sales reps began working in the same city and after the first day one of the sales reps prompted a person he spoke with to write a negative review about the company he represented because door-to-door solicitation was prohibited in the city. Then, just a few days later this same sales rep was escorted out of a neighborhood by a police officer after one of his contacts called the police about a solicitor in the area. Conversely, in the same time frame and same area, the other 3 members of the team hadn’t experienced any complaints and in fact, had been consistently making sales.
I was able to observe this team in action and noticed quickly the difference in approaches by the 3 who were making sales versus the 1 who was getting bombarded with bad experiences. Most of the homes in the city were adorned with ‘No Soliciting’ signs which made it blatantly obvious that door-to-door solicitors had worn out the welcome mat of these residents. Thus, it became imperative to come across as a messenger of good news rather than a solicitor of goods.
I was impressed with one of the sales reps who, after introducing himself, name dropping and explaining why he was there, said, “I really like this neighborhood, everybody is so friendly here.” This statement almost forced his contacts to be friendly and join the bandwagon of neighbors who were welcoming him to their homes.
In Chapter 9 of Door-to-Door Millionaire a section titled “No Soliciting Signs” shares 4 suggestions for approaching potential customers in areas where door-to-door solicitation is frowned upon. In fact, sales reps can’t go wrong by using these techniques in any area. These steps are critical in order to lessen the likelihood of irritating residents to the point of them calling the police and/or posting negative reviews about the company you represent.
As I have indicated in my book, “You can be asked to leave a neighborhood several times, but you can only be kicked out once.” By following my suggestions you will come across less of a salesperson and more of a messenger, which in turn will keep you in neighborhoods longer and minimize your encounters with the police.
Happy knocking!