Now for something different.......Door-to-door selling is where I started my sales career - Fellow TSE Skip Anderson recently published this advice for all you door knockers....... Local election hopefuls should also pay attention

Btb Guest Author

Skip Anderson

Spring is finally upon us here in Minnesota (at least I think spring is here; sometimes it's hard to know for sure in Minnesota). I saw one sign of spring earlier this week: I had a door-to-door canvasser ring our doorbell at our home.

I admire door-to-door canvassers; they experience massive amounts of rejection, and yet they still get out there, walking the streets and by-ways of the community, to identify prospects to whom they can sell. For most, it's not an easy job, but it can pay big dividends, especially if you know what you're doing.

So I admire the guy who came to our home the other night. He had a pleasant and sincere smile, and he was working hard. But he could have done a much more effective job.

Here's what he said when I answered the door: "Hi, I'm with _____________ Painting, and I'm wondering if you have any painting projects planned in the next year."

I said, "No."

He then gave me a door-hanger and asked him to call him if I decided we needed any interior or exterior painting. The was the end of the interaction.

What follows are some suggestions that, if implemented, would improve this salesperson's success rate.

1. Stand back from the door 6-8 feet after you ring the doorbell. Many people feel a twinge of uneasiness when somebody they don't know is at their door. That feeling of uneasiness is magnified when the unknown person at the door has their mug mere inches from it. Give the homeowner some breathing room.

2. Wear a large ID badge attached to your clothing or hang it around your neck. It should show your company's name and your name in large letters, and it should have a picture of you on it. When you introduce yourself to the prospect, left up the id badge to call attention to it. This helps the suspect feel at ease.

3. Rarely, if ever, should a door-to-door salesperson start with a closed question (one that can be answered with yes or no, or a multiple choice question. Start with an open-ended question. A perfect open-ended question for the gentleman who visited us the other night would have been, "I couldn't help but noticing the patch of rotting siding on the side of your house. It made me curious; What happened?"

It's a long story about why we have a patch of rotting wood siding on the side of our house, so I won't go there, but we certainly need to have some siding replaced, and after it's replaced, it will need to be repainted. So why did I tell the salesperson that I didn't have any painting projects planned in the next year?

Like a lot of customers, I took the easy route. His closed question made it too easy for me to say "no." But if he would have engaged me in a more effective manner, I probably would have shared this information with him. I've also been avoiding thinking about the rotting siding; so my psyche is in denial mode. He question let me continue in denial mode.

The key is customer engagement. Closed questions are notoriously poor engagement instruments. Open-ended questions, on the other hand, are fabulous for this purpose.

4. Ask for referrals after a suspect shuts you down.

"You know the people in your neighborhood much better than I do. Who would be the 2 or 3 people that you think it would be most important for me to talk to?" Some people will refuse to answer your question, but some people will give you some neighborhood intelligence that may be helpful in finding viable prospects to talk to.

Even if they shut you down again, follow up with another question: "I would love it if you would give me the names of two or three people you know who might possibly want to talk to me about painting...even if they don't live in your neighborhood."

Hand the prospect a referral sheet and a pen and see what happens. You'll definitely get some referrals if you utilize this approach consistently.

Happy canvassing!

Skip Anderson is a recognized authority on consumer selling, and is Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a sales training and consulting company. Skip is a frequent speaker on sales topics to companies and individuals who are passionate about maximizing their sales effectiveness.

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