Door to Door Sales

bobbytables

The purpose of this thread is to hold an honest discussion on the efficacy and respect for this age-old sales approach, which will hopefully assist anyone considering or conducting door to door sales as part of their sales strategy.

What follows next is my own opinion on the subject as a consumer to get the ball rolling:

It's generally not well received, is a polite way of putting it. There are many alternative methods for promoting products / services that don't annoy people off the bat. By annoying people you have further to push them to convert. The problem with door-to-door is that it's invasive by nature & generally aggressive. More invasive than any other approach I have been subjected to. I live in city suburbs and I work from home a lot, so I've had my fair share of daytime and early evening callers. Every single person that has come to my door promotes stuff that I already know about, because door-to-door is just one of the many approaches they use. I have no misconceptions that the person calling to my door will try to convert me for a service or product that I already know about and have already formed an opinion on. I wouldn't imagine that people in general (not just me) need to rely on people calling to their door to enlighten them as to what is available beyond their residence. They already know and if there is a chance they they need clarification regarding some potential benefits they will inquire in their own time. In fact I am personally insulted every time I tell someone at my door I am not interested and they become even more aggressive in their approach. All it tells me is that they have no respect for my opinion or decision, while they continue to waste my time in my own home. You can see it in their face that they are just exercising an aspect of their training that deals with initial rejection, instead of accepting the truth that the customer just isn't interested or that they simply didn't want to be interrupted in their own home in the first place. IMO a lousy sales strategy for a great product/service at the right price would put me right off and in search of the competition. E.g. If you were approached in a shop and asked if you wanted help deciding what you could purchase, and the assistant wouldn't leave you alone, you'd probably leave. Except this time you are in your own home, what choice do you have "to leave" other than telling the person to go away. Then they give you a face like you've robbed them of any good in their life, only to move on to next door with same chirpiness that didn't work on me, seconds later.

So given this truth that many already know, why is it still done. Psychological sales tactics that could ideally be only achieved face-to-face, and not through the web / TV / print media / radio, etc. I try to be polite to to callers that I know will attempt to use this opportunity to the best of their ability. At the end of the day they are just making a living like I'm trying to and they'll get a kicking by their superiors unless they succeed. They are not bad people, but I often question the decisions being made further up their hierarchy.

What really annoyed me between yesterday and today is the number of callers I've had. The bell has been ringing constantly. Why?, because I completed my census forms on Sunday night and I'm supposed to be expecting collection. So they use this knowledge as an opportunity to get me to answer the door to see who it is. Like they know already I wouldn't want to answer otherwise speaks volumes. In fact today's callers have stepped up their game by wearing the same colours as the census form collectors. Do you honestly think the nation is that stupid or that is going to impress anyone. I didn't have any callers last week. It's funny that

At the end of the day it's a way too aggressive & underhanded sales tactic. Instead of spending the money trying to convert me at my doorstep, re-invest it in giving me a real reason to buy from you in the first place. Statistics have shown that most people under 60 in Ireland will use the web as a first port of call to find out about products and services. It's relatively cheap to advertise on, and you can updated it as often as you like. When I need something I check there first, because I know that everything I need to know to make my decision can be presented there. It doesn't interrupt me, it doesn't waste any more time than I allow, and it doesn't require me to become a person I don't want to become in order to walk away.

It's 2011, people expect not only products/services to be inline with their needs, but also Sales & Marketing!!. My advice would be to find out how your market would like to be approached and then use that. I have massive respect for all the businesses I willingly pay, that I was able to find out about on my own and that swayed my decision to buy purely based on the accessible nature of their value proposition. Door-to-door sales is the complete opposite and akin to old catholic Ireland where the sellers are encouraged to transcend personal boundaries, dictate & assume authority in order to meet the agenda of the campaigns they represent. Stuff can & does sell fine without that approach in my opinion.

I suppose what I am interested in finding out here is how effective is it for businesses in Ireland, the general thinking on it, etc. Do you think it's old fashioned and that there are much better ways of attracting business these days?

mikefm

Hi Bobby,

Even these days (& even more so in these times), I think this can be an effective Sales approach. People buy from people. It certainly depends on the customer, product or service but Cobra/Appco have built up a multi-million dollar business using this very effective Sales approach.

maxer68

post is far too long to be read.

If you're looking for advice on dor to door selling. Don't do it. It gives a negative feeling to your product / service.