Why Are There Still Door to Door Sales People and Tele sales jobs?

[Leigh 87]

Why are there still companies thinking they should just call people in their homes and try to sell them things?

 

Why do people think that door to door sales is a good idea?

 

I don't get it, most people despise it.

 

However, charities contract out call centres to make donations for them! So it MUST work, or else charities wouldn't pay good money for the company to fundraise!

 

Who actually makes a success out of themselves by being a door to door salesman?

 

The turnover rate is so high for a reason: no one can make sales with people who don't want to be contacted and who don't want to buy things from people who call their homes.

 

It seems like something desperate backpackers do for money to extend their trip in Australia!

 

A nice girl I spoke with was in a good legal secretary role in the UK. She gets here and all she can get is telemarketing interviews.

 

I would be interested to learn about people who did well in said industries!

 

My great uncle was an award winning salesmen but I am not sure in what capacity, he would have started at the bottom though I am presuming.

 

 

 

Discus.

[carhill]

Sales are still a numbers game and cold calls are a part of that, whether they be in person or via phone.

 

In my area, both have decreased, largely due to the increases in fuel (can't walk my neighborhood as houses are 1/4 mile apart) and more people not having landlines anymore. I still get a few telemarketer calls since I have a landline and fax for my business. Do I buy anything from cold calls? No. That doesn't mean that other people don't. It was the same when I was busy building my business. Cold calls were a huge part of that. In my case, selling machine work and fabrication is a personal type thing where customers need to sense the person they're dealing with, simply because of the numbers involved. It's not like selling a fifty dollar widget. One builds relationships, and that often starts with a cold call.

 

For the widget sellers, it's the same thing, though it's a lot tougher these days since many households are empty during the day with no stay at home spouse/parent. Hence they switch to weekends and different hours, like after-school.

[pink_sugar]

I don't see many people doing door to door anymore, except scammers (high schoolers asking for money to buy their newspapers for college). However, my dad does door to door for his real estate business in attempt to reel in more customers. I still see a lot of telemarketing though. I do think people are more receptive to online marketing and ads though.

Edited September 23, 2014 by pink_sugar

[Leigh 87]

The truth is, most people live paycheck to paycheck and they don't want to be contacted in the evening.

[Leigh 87]

People who don't get jobs easily like me, often see those adds for sales companies that cite " no experience necessary!!!!!! "

 

 

They are always outbound sales roles or door to door, or street walking companies.

 

I'm too embarrassed to walk the streets getting donations. I'd rather remain on welfare, afford food, and rigorously look for more work.

 

They don't kick you off welfare here for not wanting to do commission only jobs or those jobs where they force you to walk the streets selling stuff lol. We get welfare if we actively looking for work.

 

 

 

I'm so glad I haven't been forced into a disgusting sales role. It would be degrading and embarrassing to walk through the Sydney CBD and try to talk to people and get their money.

 

I honestly think that a company must be desperate to resort to shamelessly selling on the streets.

 

Successful companies don't have to resort to taking to the streets to ask for people's money.

[pink_sugar]

People who don't get jobs easily like me, often see those adds for sales companies that cite " no experience necessary!!!!!! "

 

 

They are always outbound sales roles or door to door, or street walking companies.

 

I'm too embarrassed to walk the streets getting donations. I'd rather remain on welfare, afford food, and rigorously look for more work.

 

They don't kick you off welfare here for not wanting to do commission only jobs or those jobs where they force you to walk the streets selling stuff lol. We get welfare if we actively looking for work.

 

 

 

I'm so glad I haven't been forced into a disgusting sales role. It would be degrading and embarrassing to walk through the Sydney CBD and try to talk to people and get their money.

 

I honestly think that a company must be desperate to resort to shamelessly selling on the streets.

 

Successful companies don't have to resort to taking to the streets to ask for people's money.

 

I always avoid ads that say NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. Pretty evident that they are either sales or MLM schemes.

[Leigh 87]

Yeah I figured I should take whatever I could get so I did apply for NO EXPERIENXCE NECESSARY jobs haha, like the call centre place that represents charities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just don't feel I need to resort to taking to the streets selling things - I mean, I get retail interviews weekly and there are plenty of other jobs on offer; I send off and apply in person who enough jobs as it is and don't feel the need to resort to the " shameless sales" roles.

 

 

 

I would hate to make outbound calls in a call centre, plain and simple, but at least I did try for a good month with those types of roles - I attended group interviews for outbound call centres. I got through two interviews but in the end they could tell I was uncomfortable cold calling people ( their words).

 

 

 

I only looked because I though there were always plenty of call centre jobs on offer. If I cannot get a retail or admin job in a year from now, I will look for call centre roles again to do in my Uni breaks and then just quit them once Uni starts again.

 

 

 

Not QUIET desperate enough yet for these " no experience necessary" roles lol.

 

 

Quiet honestly, I would have to be literally starving for me to be a door to door sales person.

[MidwestUSA]

The truth is, most people live paycheck to paycheck and they don't want to be contacted in the evening.

 

 

 

Most people don't want to be bothered in the evening. That's why we hang up 'No Solicitors' signs.

 

 

What on earth does living paycheck to paycheck have to do with it?

[Leigh 87]

Most people don't want to be bothered in the evening. That's why we hang up 'No Solicitors' signs.

 

 

What on earth does living paycheck to paycheck have to do with it?

 

 

 

No one actually has the money for donations when they can literally barely feed themselves.

[yajiuma]

I really am not a phone person so I always let the call go to answering machine before deciding to pick up- phone sales never a leave message.

 

People where I live in rural Japan tend to be intensely private and distrustful of strangers, so it takes a special kind of charisma to be a successful door to door sales person. Mostly young guys do this type of work.

 

However in recent years door-to-door calls have really dropped off,now just the occasional futon sales man or someone asking me to sell any gold jewelry I don't need(LOL!) The most frequent offenders are not even paid- Jehovah's Witnesses come every two-three months trying to sell me their brand of salvation.

 

Most sales now is focussed on reeling people in through online ads/e-mail spam-it's a huge industry as a lot of young people don't watch TV but are glued to their phones.

[MidwestUSA]

No one actually has the money for donations when they can literally barely feed themselves.

 

You were talking about door to door salesmen, not charities.

 

 

No matter how much expendable money one has, just say no. QUIET simple, really.

[pink_sugar]

Also, not to mention the fact those people trying to sell stuff on streets may not even make any money most of the time since those are pyramid schemes. Those are usually a big waste of time.

[Leigh 87]

Also, not to mention the fact those people trying to sell stuff on streets may not even make any money most of the time since those are pyramid schemes. Those are usually a big waste of time.

 

Yeah commission only schemes should be banned in my opinion!

 

I tried it 10 years ago and I lasted a day, as a door to door sales person... I sold a couple of things after trying all day! And rather than make some of the 70 or so dollars of products I sold, I ended up paying the driver about five dollars for gas money, and I received 15 dollars!

 

It's wrong to spend all day doing something and only earn 10 dollars in my opinion. That's just shameless marketing of products where the company gets to keep the profit and the people selling get virtually nothing unless they become REALLY good!

 

I actually had an interview for a sales company about two months ago! It was to promote products at events and it was a scheme where you could move up the ranks fast....

 

To my surprise, there were about 60 people lined up in reception, all in business attire. The candidates looked of a high calibre appearance wise.....

 

I didn't get the call back thankfully. I remember thinking " well, I wanted a real job " lol.

 

Look, I do know that the rare few excel in sales but they are really the exception. Most people are like me- I am good at selling in store retail products but that's not commission based.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Leigh 87

[carhill]

The other side of commissioned sales is there is the potential for unlimited income. It all depends on how hard and how smart the person wants to work.

 

I am aware of a couple friend's businesses where their best sales people earn more than the owner does, and we're talking about corps that gross 15-20MM a year. Are they envious of that? Absolutely not. They are eternally grateful for all the business those people bring in the door from their cold calls and all the food they put on the employee's tables.

 

My dad did a version of this when I was young, selling the then relatively new concept of mutual funds through cold calls, back then in person. He'd hit up friends, bowling league partners, social club folks, any social network he had, in addition to random strangers, to earn a commission. He did well enough to send me to private school and never had to touch a lawn mower or shovel. Lucky him!

[dreamingoftigers]

Like most things in life, it depends on how you do it.....

 

Sex: you can lie there and practically play corpse or you can get enthusiatic, interested and stimulate every pleasure point of your partner's body.

 

Sales: you can work for an MLM and go door to door with a canned script, poor appearance, awkwardness and interrupt people's dinner for crap they don't want or need.

 

OR you can do what I do: find a way that works for you and a potential conquest.

 

I do door-to-door sales. In fact, I rock them!

In June I was sick to death working at a job hauling around heavy stuff to make another ahole even wealthier. I was working for my Dad. Had been for awhile. He pays well but he's unpredictable and insufferable.

 

I had some door-to-door when I owned my cleaning business. If I had one house on a street, I would try to talk to the neighbours and see if we could book another on that same street. It worked okay. It wasn't as awful and awkward as most would think. Most people in the areas I was in used cleaning service to save time and maintain their home.

 

Going to someone's door, being friendly and personable to offer them something they actually may be interested in is hardly criminal. "No" is not a death sentence. In fact it's

a timesaver. I am one step closer to my next yes without having to deal with someone who isn't interested in listening anyhow.

[dreamingoftigers]

Why did I choose D2D?

 

Lots of reasons:

 

1. I do it independently. I don't look for jobs from fly-by-night companies using people as fodder for long distance packages. I am MY OWN BOSS.

 

I seek out small businesses with decent reputations but not a huge budget for exposure.

One of the businesses I go out for is a Carpet-cleaning business. I go to communities where the kid demographic is high and the incomes are high with a decent square footage.

 

People want and need their carpets cleaned. But it may not be on the top of their mind. Generally before I approach their door I try to notice what iis on the outside of their home. Do they keep it maintained? Do they garden? Are there kids things? What do they display? Are there company vehicles? Feng shui mirrors? Religious phrases?

 

Long before I start announcing what I am selling and firing off sixteen reasons they should by from me......

[dreamingoftigers]

......I try to get an idea of who they are and be interested in them as a person I am going to trytsell to, not just a "sales target" or "number I want to get to."

 

I generally ask them where they got an interesting item or if their kids are out talk about that because I have a daughter too.

 

I like people. I like meeting them. I buy from their kid's lemonade stands, I peruse their garage sales. When I look at a community map I wonder who I will meet there when I go to do my selling.

 

Then when they feel comfortable with me not being a pressure-salesman, I tell them who I am and what I sell. Often I'll just ask, "when's the last time you've had your carpets done?"

"We're having a special on now.... company is <local family-owned reputable truckmount portable this type of wand that type of chemical eco-friendly kid safe tough on stains whateer>" so I am just letting them know about it etc. If they just had the carpets done I givebthem a fridge magnet for next time and make a note to come back in six months.

[pink_sugar]

Yeah commission only schemes should be banned in my opinion!

 

I tried it 10 years ago and I lasted a day, as a door to door sales person... I sold a couple of things after trying all day! And rather than make some of the 70 or so dollars of products I sold, I ended up paying the driver about five dollars for gas money, and I received 15 dollars!

 

It's wrong to spend all day doing something and only earn 10 dollars in my opinion. That's just shameless marketing of products where the company gets to keep the profit and the people selling get virtually nothing unless they become REALLY good!

 

I agree. I remember my husband spent one 40 hour week basically trying to sell perfume and made nothing at all. Seemed like free labor to me.

[dreamingoftigers]

I get to set my own hours, my own goals and my own rate.

 

The carpet cleaning one for instance I charge $25 per appointment or 10% of the total final bill, whatever is larger.

 

So if the carpet bill comes to $300, I get $30.

 

I can usually close three carpet cleaning jobs in about an hour or so of going out. Depending on what time of day I go. So that's $75 minimum in an hour.

 

Plus I get exercise. As much as I want or can handle.

 

I used to panhandle when younger so the weather doesn't bother me. Plus I pick the companies I want to work for. I am not bound to anyone I don't want to work for or find unreasonable.

 

The downside is that it is harder to make sales if you are feeling down about anything else.

I guess knocking on doors doesn't bother me. The vast vast majority of people are friendly. In a couple of hours I usually get 10-12 leads on whatever I am selling. Of course not all close. And some close months down the road.

 

Overall its not bad. I don't actually know anyone else that does it the way that I do.

[Leigh 87]

If you came and knocked on my door to sell your cleaning services, I'd totally buy a cleaning service from you. I hate cleaning and would rather someone do it for me!

 

If I see a door to door sales person who I genuinly believe is a nice person, I do tend to want to help them providing their service or product benefits me.

 

I just don't want to buy toys or other paraphernalia unless it's someone's birthday coming up and I genuinly need a present.

 

I guess I just don't feel comfortable doing it, but a person like you whom I know is genuinly believe to be a person I'd want to listen to, I dunno.

 

What sort of products do you sell and who do you work for?

[dreamingoftigers]

If you came and knocked on my door to sell your cleaning services, I'd totally buy a cleaning service from you. I hate cleaning and would rather someone do it for me!

 

If I see a door to door sales person who I genuinly believe is a nice person, I do tend to want to help them providing their service or product benefits me.

 

I just don't want to buy toys or other paraphernalia unless it's someone's birthday coming up and I genuinly need a present.

 

I guess I just don't feel comfortable doing it, but a person like you whom I know is genuinly believe to be a person I'd want to listen to, I dunno.

 

What sort of products do you sell and who do you work for?

I started D2D for my own cleaning company years ago. No experience, no crazy shouting pitch. Just wrote a nice one-page letter detailing my company, who we are and why we might be a match for the potential clients in the neighbourhood. Complete with the social proof that we are currently a client of one of their neighbours.

 

Later on I folded my business (due to personal reasons).

 

This summer I responded to a "no experience necessary" ad.

It was selling driveway sealant to homeowners with aggregate driveways.

Now, I hadn't even heard of this stuff before abd the guy doing it was an absolutely natural salesman. But something seemed off. He was a total trainwreck business-wise.

 

The first week I got a ton of leads and he didn't follow up on half of them (and he wouldn't let me close my own leads either, it was ridiculous).

 

So when I basically said, "the comission is great and all but if I am doing a 45 minute commute, telling people that you will be back in 48 hours and taking time away from my family I want to know it's going to be followed-up on."

 

So he said to me "well then, don't go out if you don't feel like it." Ewww passive-aggressive boss.

[dreamingoftigers]

So I didn't feel good about that.

I did generate 20 more leads.

 

He followed up on a couple of them.

 

Then this REALLY weird thing happened.

I was looking through some old marketing material I purchased frombthis high-end marketing group here in Calgary when I ran my cleaning company.

 

His name was actually listed in the manual as head of one of these now-defunct networking groups. Which I still had access to because I bought the manual. I mean, i hadn't looked at this thing in probably 3-4 years..... and here I was working for the guy. Too weird.

 

Turns out he was kicked out of the group for some unethical practices.

Then I started looking more into his product etc and his linkedin and everything.

 

He was selling just pure crap and putting in on people's driveways claiming it was "exclusive" etc. His product was maybe $40-50 a driveway and he was dinging people like $400-500 for a small driveway.

So I took my unused leads, found a reputable company and gave them the leads. I sold better product and service during the summer.

I also sold roofs.

Carpet cleaning

Cleaning services.

Some landscape clean-up after all of the trees came down here last month.

Junk removal

A few selected neighbourhoods for a realtor just doing promotional stuff that wasn't dependent on closing anything.

Moving.