In door-to-door sales there is an obvious distinction between putting in the physical hours and logging the mental hours along with the physical hours. In sales, the mental hours must accompany the physical hours in order to maximize success.
Before my introduction to the world of door-to-door sales, I worked in a warehouse earning a meager hourly wage. My daily routine involved pulling, packaging and shipping orders. After a short time in the warehouse I became very familiar with the location of the products and the process of packaging and shipping orders. The monotony of each day was draining and oftentimes my brain would completely shut down. Before I knew it, my shift was over and I had little recollection of what took place the previous 8 hours.
I have observed door-to-door sales reps falling into the trap of mindlessly going from door to door and hoping that somehow sales will fall in their lap. Unfortunately, these types of sales reps are often disappointed with their production…or lack thereof. Sales reps must log mental hours to be successful. What exactly does this mean? It means constantly looking for ways to improve communication with others. It’s not about improving from day to day but it literally means making improvements door to door.
Sales reps who initiate an inner dialogue while walking from door to door can find ways to improve their initial approach, how to overcome customer concerns, closing techniques and a number of other sales skills. The time it takes to walk from one door to another should ultimately be used to make improvements and ensure physical hours are accompanied by mental hours.