DOOR TO DOOR - Bootstrapping

[millionaireby25]

Hi all,

Door to door is a great way to bootstrap to cover your expenses, raise funds for a project or just earn some quick cash. My door to door story started when I was 20 years old. I began selling Aeration (holes in the ground) and Driveway sealing in residential neighbourhoods. I've sold other things as well B2B (which still was door to door). I had a knack for it and became my cities top salesman for the year and 3rd overall for the province. I earned 35k in 5.5 months doing this my first year. I became a sales coach the following year in Toronto and continued for a second year in 2011. After realizing this was a slowlane approach to wealth, I decided I would exit the field.

That being said, it's a GREAT way to earn some quick cash.

Here's what you need to get started
1. A product
OR
2. A service
3. A golf shirt or something presentable at the door.

Might be a good idea to get a small business license for under $100 before going if you're selling your own stuff.

**Note - I've heard some bad stories about door-to-door in certain areas in the US so I would check and make sure companies are doing it in your City. If not, then that's probably a sign that there are strict bylaws.

You need to decide if you want to work for a company or go independently. I recommend getting started with a company just for a week to get the basics down. It won't take long because they will hire anybody and you learn on the field (while getting paid). You will most likely be paid as a contractor, which is good because you can invest those earnings into your fastlane business right away pretax.

There are basic systems that you will want to implement, however they slightly differ depending on what you are selling.

Don't neglect this distribution method even if you have a product. it's a great way to get feedback on what you are doing in the field.

You can sell anything door-to-door. I've sold lawn care, window washing, property maintenance, discount cards, CDS. The good thing is, once you learn the systems of selling effectively, you can put them to work on something else.


I'll leave it at this for now. If this is something you want to try, think of a product or service and post it in here and I will help you develop a strategy to be successful as fast as possible.

 

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[miked_d]

Speed +

I'm glad you made a new thread for this.

 

[Mike39]

Quick question, how much was a signup wort? Oh, oh and what commission did they pay you for each one?

 

[millionaireby25]

Quick question, how much was a signup wort? Oh, oh and what commission did they pay you for each one?

Most services were done on the spot with no sign-up. For aeration and driveway sealing, you got 36% commission on weekdays and 32% commission on weekends. You had to sell and perform the service for that pay though.

Lawn care would be 10% of the amount received at the door up front for the subscription. Setting up contracts for later was 10% across the board.

You had the freedom to set the prices, but there was a bare minimum. Once you got good, however, you would charge premium prices because you believe that's what the product/service is worth and you want to get paid what you feel your worth.

 

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[millionaireby25]

I'd say it's the most immediate way of getting a customer for your business. It's also a great way to get feedback on your biz.

 

[BrucetonGuy]

In one of my prior jobs, I worked for an "investment" company as a licensed Financial Advisor. The "newbies" were sent to training for a week. While at the training, we spent two days learning how to go door-to-door. They taught us everything from what to say, to where to stand (if they had chairs on a front porch we were to stand beside them as it looks more inviting to sit down and chat...), to how to knock (no more than 4 knocks). It was quite eye opening that they had analyzed this process so in-depth. However, after listening and utilizing everything that they had taught us, I was not able to gain one client or make a single sale by going door-to-door. It may work for some products or services, but knocking on a complete strangers door and asking them to divulge their financial status to you....didn't really work for me.

 

[PatrickP]

I am still amazed that my friends son-in-law has a very profitable business with door to door sales.

He owns the company. His manager takes 10 or so 18 to 22 year olds to a neighborhood and drops them off for 8 - 10 hours to sell, basically trinkets door to door. They are paid commission only. BUT the cost of their food and hotel is taken out first. They stay in one city for a couple weeks.

They then drive these kids to the next big city and do the same thing. They move across the country like nomads. When a kid wants to go home the VP says ok goodbye and leave them in whatever town they happen to be in. If they don't make enough sales that day they sleep in the van and get no food or minimal food.

So of course the kids are desperate to make sales so they can eat and have a bed to sleep in.

The owner supposedly clears 30K+ a month. If true what a horrible way to make money.

 

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[millionaireby25]

I am still amazed that my friends son-in-law has a very profitable business with door to door sales.

He owns the company. His manager takes 10 or so 18 to 22 year olds to a neighborhood and drops them off for 8 - 10 hours to sell, basically trinkets door to door. They are paid commission only. BUT the cost of their food and hotel is taken out first. They stay in one city for a couple weeks.


They then drive these kids to the next big city and do the same thing. They move across the country like nomads. When a kid wants to go home the VP says ok goodbye and leave them in whatever town they happen to be in. If they don't make enough sales that day they sleep in the van and get no food or minimal food.

So of course the kids are desperate to make sales so they can eat and have a bed to sleep in.

The owner supposedly clears 30K+ a month. If true what a horrible way to make money.

That sounds horrible. Each location generated 1-2.5 million in revenue within 6-7 months (the in-season). The owner is now up to around 10 locations and opens 2-4 more each year. The company provides pick-up points for workers in the morning (shuttle service) and also at night.

We had "road-trips" where we would take workers to locations out of reach for 3-14 days and the company covered the hotel costs. Food was paid by the workers.

It was straight commission as well.

 

[Silverhawk851]

Great write up.

After gaining experience in the door-to-door selling industry for a few months, I realise this is one of the most rewarding and necessary experiences one can gain at a young age.

What Door-to-door sales has taught me is entirely priceless. How to comminucate, resolve any inner issues stopping you from gaining confidence, work ethic, keeping calm while everyone panics, conquering unfamiliar territory, and meeting a diverse portfolio of people realizing how different yet similar people can be are just a minute portion of what knowledge you can acquire doing this.

The number one thing is the sense of self-reliance. Where I worked, we were given special housing in an apartment and all we did was work and sleep. Play came on the weekends of course. Regular 12 hour shifts, one meal a day and non-stop walking in the heat in a completely foreign area.

And all I can say is I miss it. Alot. Despite the meticulous hard work, I would not trade the world for the experience, it was amazing to realize what you are capable of.

Irreplaceable and truly priceless gems you can learn from this profession.

To any Fastlaner-to-be who don't know where to start, This is it. Do it.

You only learn when you abandon your comfort zone, and venture out into the unknown where your skills are tested.

The quote I heard that was perfectly descriptive of the required mindset was along the lines of :

"To attain something you have not attained, you must do things you have not done."

 

[JAJT]

What you're talking about sounds like something I almost got into.

The "interview" was basically shadowing other reps for a day - they dropped us all off in the middle of some neighborhood and we went door to door shadowing guys selling cable packages. The guy I was with was salivating every time he saw a satellite dish - kept saying "those dishes are money, every one of them".

The promise was of course that after a year of experience you can start your own location, hire your own guys and do the same thing. All anyone talked about was how much the owner made with the business and how he started after 9 months experience at a different location.

The whole thing smelled fishy to me but I was willing to give it a try since it was a known service and legit sales but I got a solid office job offer just days later so never took them up on it.

There is absolutely money to be made door to door though. The art of the sale is magic to watch happen in front of your eyes. You always assume nobody buys like this because YOU don't buy like that but watching a master at his craft change the minds of people within seconds of conversation is always awe-inspiring.

 

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[PatrickP]

Great write up.

After gaining experience in the door-to-door selling industry for a few months, I realise this is one of the most rewarding and necessary experiences one can gain at a young age.

What Door-to-door sales has taught me is entirely priceless. How to comminucate, resolve any inner issues stopping you from gaining confidence, work ethic, keeping calm while everyone panics, conquering unfamiliar territory, and meeting a diverse portfolio of people realizing how different yet similar people can be are just a minute portion of what knowledge you can acquire doing this.

The number one thing is the sense of self-reliance. Where I worked, we were given special housing in an apartment and all we did was work and sleep. Play came on the weekends of course. Regular 12 hour shifts, one meal a day and non-stop walking in the heat in a completely foreign area.

And all I can say is I miss it. Alot. Despite the meticulous hard work, I would not trade the world for the experience, it was amazing to realize what you are capable of.

Irreplaceable and truly priceless gems you can learn from this profession.

To any Fastlaner-to-be who don't know where to start, This is it. Do it.

You only learn when you abandon your comfort zone, and venture out into the unknown where your skills are tested.

The quote I heard that was perfectly descriptive of the required mindset was along the lines of :

"To attain something you have not attained, you must do things you have not done."

What do you do now?

It sounds like you have a passion for this sort of work. Why not start a company that has people like you sell products door to door?


Side question to those who were/are successful with this. Would other people, when describing you, say that you make friends easily?

 

[theBiz]

Its funny... im sure many people are thinking your an amateur because your headline says DOOR to DOOR instead of PAY PER CLICK !!!!!! AHHHHH!! AUTOMATION!!!! but at the end of the day, verizon reps are knocking door to door and they are a much bigger company than some "startup" making 150k per year, as long as that CostPerAquisition make sense ...keep expanding, whatever it takes. My only problem is the cost of acquiring a new door to door salesmen.

Tell your old boss to go donate 5k to a local college and tell the schools job placement department to send him kids that are looking for work every month.

Id rather have salesmen selling B2B services/products to businesses than B2C services/products to consumers... if you have a product that can save a business money and keep them on reoccurring billing or resending them the same product i think these guys could help you build a real strong, healthy, long term business. Getting small businesses to sign up for credit card processing is pretty much that i guess. If this guy could lower your businesses costs, he would have you at hello.


HIRED..


[video=youtube;LAo-DmzdvK0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAo-DmzdvK0[/video]

 

[Mr.Dietsch]

To the OP: Awesome post first of all, I think this is how I am going to start my business to see if I even have a market. Do you think you can share your top five tactics to pursue a new door-to-door customer? I am thinking having a pamphlet I can hand to the busy I don't want to talk to you crowd. Really interested to hear some of your methods of selling door-to-door.

 

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[millionaireby25]

To the OP: Awesome post first of all, I think this is how I am going to start my business to see if I even have a market. Do you think you can share your top five tactics to pursue a new door-to-door customer? I am thinking having a pamphlet I can hand to the busy I don't want to talk to you crowd. Really interested to hear some of your methods of selling door-to-door.

Awesome. What is your intention with door to door? Awareness of your business or are you going to try and push a product or service then and there?

There's a big difference. Also, are you looking to use door to door as a distribution method and scale it to where you have sales reps, or are you just trying to see if there's a market for your product.

What you have to understand with door to door is that it's a numbers game: plain and simple. If you're selling a large subscription, then you're going to want to spend time with someone at the door. In my opinion, the highest success rate at the door is with something that can be sold quickly and on the spot. Your script should be no longer 30-45 seconds and you should rarely spend more then 3-4 minutes at each door for something like that. If it's a big subscription, then you should try and pique their interest and get them to agree to a demo in-house where you can do a presentation for them or book a time when you can later. some companies have reps who go and book demos and then other reps come in to present and close the potential customer.

It's a really unique art-form and it's HUGELY transferrable. you're trying to win someone over in 60 seconds. it's exciting and when you make a sale, it is very, very addictive. There's no other feeling like it.

Once you share more about your intentions and your business I'll be able to give you the systems to use and a basic script.

 

[millionaireby25]

Its funny... im sure many people are thinking your an amateur because your headline says DOOR to DOOR instead of PAY PER CLICK !!!!!! AHHHHH!! AUTOMATION!!!! but at the end of the day, verizon reps are knocking door to door and they are a much bigger company than some "startup" making 150k per year, as long as that CostPerAquisition make sense ...keep expanding, whatever it takes. My only problem is the cost of acquiring a new door to door salesmen.

Tell your old boss to go donate 5k to a local college and tell the schools job placement department to send him kids that are looking for work every month.

Id rather have salesmen selling B2B services/products to businesses than B2C services/products to consumers... if you have a product that can save a business money and keep them on reoccurring billing or resending them the same product i think these guys could help you build a real strong, healthy, long term business. Getting small businesses to sign up for credit card processing is pretty much that i guess. If this guy could lower your businesses costs, he would have you at hello.


HIRED..


[video=youtube;LAo-DmzdvK0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAo-DmzdvK0[/video]

I love that video. His intention was clearly to get his name out there as a comedian though, not so much to sell the product. A+ for promoting himself, but C+ for sales. Funny as hell, but I would have closed that sale after 2 minutes and then been off to the next couple of sales by the time he was done talking. Door to door is all about being efficient, and making quick relationships with people but keeping it strictly business. One of the biggest challenges people face when going door to door is getting into long-term relationships (lol). They'll meet with old miss daisy and be stuck in a conversation completely unrelated to the sale for up to an hour sometimes.

 

[millionaireby25]

What do you do now?

It sounds like you have a passion for this sort of work. Why not start a company that has people like you sell products door to door?


Side question to those who were/are successful with this. Would other people, when describing you, say that you make friends easily?

yes Patrick, they would say that about me however (and this is a big however), that does not mean it's a prerequisite for success in door to door. I've trained, and watch other managers/the CEO train people who are completely Type B personality introverts. The top overall salesman at that company couldn't speak English and trembled when he had to speak in front of 10 guys to practice.

It's really an acquired skill that anyone can learn. Having a good personality only helps with the small talk.

 

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[theBiz]

One of the biggest challenges people face when going door to door is getting into long-term relationships (lol). They'll meet with old miss daisy and be stuck in a conversation completely unrelated to the sale for up to an hour sometimes.

No..... this is almost all salesmen and their biggest problem haha. Talking to someone about their 67 camaro outside for 20 minutes is going to make you lose the sale, not get it, talking on the phone to a prospect for 20 minutes about that same resort you went to in cancun is going to make you lose the sale, not get it. Its so frustrating to see people sell and become a "friend" not a salesmen, its all a game and strategy. You ever try to pick up a girl by talking to her for 20 minutes about her interest? FRIEND ZONE..... case in point... do not get friend zoned by the prospect.

1)Intro...2)build trust.....3)prove your social value......4)display product benefits...5)justify price 6)ask for money.....get told no....reloop numbers 4, 5, and 6 again, get it or move on to next ahaha.

 

[millionaireby25]

No..... this is almost all salesmen and their biggest problem haha. Talking to someone about their 67 camaro outside for 20 minutes is going to make you lose the sale, not get it, talking on the phone to a prospect for 20 minutes about that same resort you went to in cancun is going to make you lose the sale, not get it. Its so frustrating to see people sell and become a "friend" not a salesmen, its all a game and strategy. You ever try to pick up a girl by talking to her for 20 minutes about her interest? FRIEND ZONE..... case in point... do not get friend zoned by the prospect.

1)Intro...2)build trust.....3)prove your social value......4)display product benefits...5)justify price 6)ask for money.....get told no....reloop numbers 4, 5, and 6 again, get it or move on to next ahaha.

You got it lol. I like you theBiz. You call it straight.

 

[Silverhawk851]

I'm in the initial phases of starting the company, but I need to figure out a solution for the revolving employee base. They come and go, and once you have a major contract, you need to be making the sales targets no matter what, or you can kiss your contact good-bye.


To the people who have had success with this, it's always to be remembered that this is a means-to-an-end. Otherwise your just working a tough job for a little more cash (usually).

Has anyone else had a job like this where it has had a major impact their skillset in terms of Sales or Management?

I'm almost obsessively eager to get something like this going again.

Fastlane I'm coming CHYEAAAAA!

 

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[Mr.Dietsch]

Well I want to deliver groceries to people. I will have them online, and want to build the site but do not want to invest the time if I cannot get people to even go to the website. I am thinking a homepage for now with a sign up, coming soon. I will be trying to get people to sign into a yearly subscription. I want to deliver either weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or I will also deliver randomly as well. I would target $200,000+ neighborhoods at the beginning, and I thought of the idea to just follow shwanns trucks and go to the houses they are delivering too, lol. We have no grocery delivery around here besides shwanns, and peapod is expanding like crazy across the nation. I plan on doing around 15% increase on whatever people buy and a $10 delivery fee. Of course members would get it cheaper as I know they are going to use me more. I know I can turn this fastlane if I can prove the market exsists, which I highly believe it does.

 

[Mr.Dietsch]

1)Intro...2)build trust.....3)prove your social value......4)display product benefits...5)justify price 6)ask for money.....get told no....reloop numbers 4, 5, and 6 again, get it or move on to next ahaha.

Can you explain 2 and 3 in better detail? How exactly do you quickly build trust and prove your social value? Dress nice?

 

[theBiz]

Sounds like millionaire could give you a better answer that me... i would say a great way to hit both of those off the bat is letting the customer know that you just got a job from their neighbor..... Yeah i just Mrs. Burnsteins house and shes going to move forward with the driveway....... you have to remember, YOU are going to the PROSPECT........ your not in the power position, you are the "desperate" one, if its seen for one second your done. You have to believe and act as if you are doing them a favor. Why, well most guys that seal driveways screw people, so we want to help out the local community with a trusted company....... I may start thinking well maybe this guy isnt some desperate sales person, maybe hes right because i remember Janice had huge problems when she did her driveway last year.


As far as attire... id wear a tux... yeahhhhh a tux, no one can say no to someone in a tux. I would show up with a beautiful tray and knock on the door......... Mam could i offer you some hors d'oeuvres? Your welcome Mam, Mam by the way.... i noticed your driveway..........hahah

 

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[millionaireby25]

Well I want to deliver groceries to people. I will have them online, and want to build the site but do not want to invest the time if I cannot get people to even go to the website. I am thinking a homepage for now with a sign up, coming soon. I will be trying to get people to sign into a yearly subscription. I want to deliver either weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or I will also deliver randomly as well. I would target $200,000+ neighborhoods at the beginning, and I thought of the idea to just follow shwanns trucks and go to the houses they are delivering too, lol. We have no grocery delivery around here besides shwanns, and peapod is expanding like crazy across the nation. I plan on doing around 15% increase on whatever people buy and a $10 delivery fee. Of course members would get it cheaper as I know they are going to use me more. I know I can turn this fastlane if I can prove the market exsists, which I highly believe it does.

Okay. First thing you'll want to do is go out for a day and just get comfortable talking to strangers.

Approach the door and do the happy knock "doo-do-do-loo-doo... doo-doo" (Hopefully that makes sense. if not, watch nardwuar interview celebrities. he always gets them to say it at the end of the interviews lol.) this is actually key because it'll dictate their mood when they come to the door. if you bang or knock blandly, they will know it's either the cops or a stranger. the happy knock is comforting and friendly and is usually by people they know

Here's the basic script:

You: Hi there

Home owner: Hi

You: My name is ____ and I'm actually in your neighbourhood today talking to some of your neighbours about providing an easier way of getting their weekly/monthly groceries.

Home owner: Okay..?

You: I'm sure you're busy but I just wanted to ask you a quick question: have you ever had your groceries delivered to you before?

Home owner: yes, no

**I would pull out your smartphone and have a note that tallies the responses in the neighbourhood.



That's your test for day one. If the home owner feels comfortable and wants to chat about what you have to offer, go for it. Your intention should be just getting a feel for your market. Get comfortable approaching a door, interrupting people. Just make sure you're to the point, throw in a compliment here and there and DO NOT bring a clipboard to the door or a briefcase. People will avoid the door. Have a golf shirt on, look presentable but active. If I was you, I'd try and look like someone working at a Nike store. Young, hip, offering a cool new way of getting a mundane task done.


Don't worry about systems yet. Just go out with that basic script, get used to it. 3-4 hours should be enough. Let me know how it goes and then I'll give you systems for the next time you go out. Commit to a week though.

Hope that helps.

 

[Kak]

Okay. First thing you'll want to do is go out for a day and just get comfortable talking to strangers.

Approach the door and do the happy knock "doo-do-do-loo-doo... doo-doo" (Hopefully that makes sense. if not, watch nardwuar interview celebrities. he always gets them to say it at the end of the interviews lol.) this is actually key because it'll dictate their mood when they come to the door. if you bang or knock blandly, they will know it's either the cops or a stranger. the happy knock is comforting and friendly and is usually by people they know

Here's the basic script:

You: Hi there

Home owner: Hi

You: My name is ____ and I'm actually in your neighbourhood today talking to some of your neighbours about providing an easier way of getting their weekly/monthly groceries.

Home owner: Okay..?

You: I'm sure you're busy but I just wanted to ask you a quick question: have you ever had your groceries delivered to you before?

Home owner: yes, no

**I would pull out your smartphone and have a note that tallies the responses in the neighbourhood.



That's your test for day one. If the home owner feels comfortable and wants to chat about what you have to offer, go for it. Your intention should be just getting a feel for your market. Get comfortable approaching a door, interrupting people. Just make sure you're to the point, throw in a compliment here and there and DO NOT bring a clipboard to the door or a briefcase. People will avoid the door. Have a golf shirt on, look presentable but active. If I was you, I'd try and look like someone working at a Nike store. Young, hip, offering a cool new way of getting a mundane task done.


Don't worry about systems yet. Just go out with that basic script, get used to it. 3-4 hours should be enough. Let me know how it goes and then I'll give you systems for the next time you go out. Commit to a week though.

Hope that helps.

Agreed. I always will default to D2D for bootstrapping. I can work one day a week at at and if I close 3-4 customers im set. This simply is why Ill never have another job again.

 

[JAJT]

The only D2D guys who ever get me to consider saying "yes" are:

- Little kids with Candy.
- Professionals who have already quoted me on work and are asking if I'd like to say "yes" to the work.

Those roof/driveway guys are great at this. They knock on the door with a paper in hand and say "We'll be on this street on Tuesday and are offering a better deal since we're in the area already. I see 3 driveway cracks and no sealing - we'll fix it all for $245. If you had to call us out here on a different day, it would be $300. Here's the quote..." and then hand you the hand-written and signed bit of paper and ask if you are interested.

If it's work I'm already considering and they just made it as easy as saying "yes", they are a LOT more likely to get the deal. Even if I can't make the call right then, that bit of paper sits around until I show my wife and ask her opinion so I can choose to call them back or not.

Conversely, if you show up and have a 3 minute introduction with a clipboard full of questions and need to sit down with me for any reason I can guarantee you "I'm busy".

 

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[Kak]

The only D2D guys who ever get me to consider saying "yes" are:

- Little kids with Candy.
- Professionals who have already quoted me on work and are asking if I'd like to say "yes" to the work.

Those roof/driveway guys are great at this. They knock on the door with a paper in hand and say "We'll be on this street on Tuesday and are offering a better deal since we're in the area already. I see 3 driveway cracks and no sealing - we'll fix it all for $245. If you had to call us out here on a different day, it would be $300. Here's the quote..." and then hand you the hand-written and signed bit of paper and ask if you are interested.

If it's work I'm already considering and they just made it as easy as saying "yes", they are a LOT more likely to get the deal. Even if I can't make the call right then, that bit of paper sits around until I show my wife and ask her opinion so I can choose to call them back or not.

Conversely, if you show up and have a 3 minute introduction with a clipboard full of questions and need to sit down with me for any reason I can guarantee you "I'm busy".

See, with all due respect it isn't about you when in D2D. It is 100% about the numbers. You will likely be the person no one closes, that is OK because one of your neighbors will. They go out completely knowing that they will only land a small percentage.

 

[JAJT]

See, with all due respect it isn't about you when in D2D. It is 100% about the numbers. You will likely be the person no one closes, that is OK because one of your neighbors will. They go out completely knowing that they will only land a small percentage.

You are 100% correct.

My point though was just to say that if you can make it very, very easy for someone to say "yes", you will close more.

 

[jon.a]

and I thought of the idea to just follow shwanns trucks and go to the houses they are delivering too, lol. We have no grocery delivery around here besides shwanns

Funny I was a "Schwan's Guy" (later a field supervisor) for a while, PM me or start a new thread if you have questions.

jon

 

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