The longer I’ve been in business, the more I’ve learned to treasure valuable business relationships.

In a day and age when making connections has been simplified, the result of this, in my opinion, has made it more challenging to develop meaningful relationships. The onslaught of friend and connection requests, followed by a blitz of cut & paste messages, makes it nearly impossible to vet every new connection, or even have the time to find out if these relationships could hold value.

In my experience, a meaningful business relationship is one where both parties benefit from the connection. A perfect example of this is the relationship I’ve built with Paul Giannamore and Patrick Baldwin, who recently interviewed me on their podcast, The Boardroom Buzz (link below).

By the way, for those in the pest control industry, The Boardroom Buzz is a must listen!

For nearly a decade, I’ve interacted with these men in ways that have been beneficial to all of us. Whether it’s a simple phone call, lunch meeting to bounce questions and ideas off of each other, or the opportunity to introduce one another’s services and expertise to colleagues, the pendulum of value has been swinging both ways for a long time.

I’m certainly not a relationship guru, but from my experiences, if you desire connections and relationships, be as willing to add value to the relationship as you are to receive value. The best business relationships include elements of giving and taking.

Unprecedented decisions are being made by business owners and door-to-door sales reps on how to knock doors (if at all) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Companies are sending sales teams packing from states that are still observing stay at home orders, to markets where stay at home orders have been lifted. What does this mean? It means that states with stay at home orders in place are making it difficult for sales reps to knock doors as paranoid homeowners call the police to get sales reps removed from their neighborhoods, and city and state offices are closed, making it impossible to issue solicitors licenses.
It also means that states where stay at home orders have been lifted are being flooded with door-to-door sales teams. Earlier this week, a sales rep told me a potential customer told him he was the 4th pest control company to knock on his door within a week! And it’s only May!!!
These concerns just scratch the surface. I won’t even get into the impact of sales reps knocking doors in masks, observing social distancing guidelines on the doors, and negative online reviews from those who adamantly oppose uninvited guests showing up on their doorstep.
Interesting times for sure!

Unprecedented decisions are being made by business owners and door-to-door sales reps on how to knock doors (if at all) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies are sending sales teams packing from states that are still observing stay at home orders, to markets where stay at home orders have been lifted. What does this mean? It means that states with stay at home orders in place are making it difficult for sales reps to knock doors as paranoid homeowners call the police to get sales reps removed from their neighborhoods, and city and state offices are closed, making it impossible to issue solicitors licenses.

It also means that states where stay at home orders have been lifted are being flooded with door-to-door sales teams. Earlier this week, a sales rep told me a potential customer told him he was the 4th pest control company to knock on his door within a week! And it’s only May!!!

These concerns just scratch the surface. I won’t even get into the impact of sales reps knocking doors in masks, observing social distancing guidelines on the doors, and negative online reviews from those who adamantly oppose uninvited guests showing up on their doorstep.

Interesting times for sure!

Follow these 3 principles to calm your nerves while knocking doors.

Even with over 20 years of experience knocking doors, I must admit, I still get a little bit nervous right before a prospect opens their door.

“Will I omit a step in my initial approach?”

“Will I forget to use a creative icebreaker?”

“Will my words get jumbled and not come out clearly?”

These are just a few of the questions that can race through my mind before I utter my first words, and from my experiences knocking doors with hundreds of sales reps, questions like these race through most sales reps’ minds.

For me, what I’ve found to be the most helpful techniques to calm my nerves and give me confidence are:

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE VIDEO

1. Focus on the person in front of me.
2. Don’t try to make the sale during the initial approach.
3. Take the experience from each interaction as an opportunity to learn.

First, by focusing on the person in front of me, I only concern myself with one person at a time. Thus, I don’t get caught up thinking about the hundreds of other interactions I’ll be having in the coming days. The only impression that matters at that moment is the impression I make on the person who answers the door. By focusing on that person and controlling my interaction with him or her, I don’t allow the previous or upcoming interactions to distract me.

Second, sales are rarely made during the first 30 – 45 seconds of an interaction, however, sales are lost during this time. People must like you before they’ll buy something from you, thus your first impression needs to be impeccable in order to earn more time with each potential customer. Learn to make a good impression on people by using creative ice breakers and showing genuine interest. By doing so, you will earn more of their time, which will progress you closer to the sale.

Finally, remember that even the best sales reps have been rejected more often than they’ve made sales. Thus, take each denial as an opportunity to learn something that will assist you during your next sales opportunity. Lessons learned from a loss are way more powerful than lessons learned after a win. Improvement comes more quickly to those who apply what they learn from each experience.

Is nervousness about knocking normal?

Yes!

Regardless, by following the principles above, you can negate your nerves and focus on controlling what is in your direct control. And remember, the next “no” you receive, is getting you one step closer to making your next sale.

It was an honor to be invited, once again, to speak at D2D Con. This time around I wasn’t out of the country so I was glad to do it!

As advertised, the room was packed with eager door-to-door sales reps. I suspect somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 – 250 people filled the room.

I was impressed with those who volunteered to role-play, especially a rookie rep who had never knocked a door! I was equally impressed with the questions that were asked during and after the workshop.

When I asked the group who had read my book, I was surprised to see most hands in the audience raised.

Being able to sign copies of my book and take pictures with attendees was fun too!

Here’s the cliff notes version of what I discussed:

I – Be prepared to have your best day on the door every time you go out to knock. I shared a personal experience from 2002 when I came up 2 sales shy of having my best sales day. In contrast to my best ever day of 23 sales on July 4, 2000, on August 28, 2002 I didn’t start knocking until later in the morning, I took a break for lunch and I was wearing flip-flops all day! 🤣 I ended the day selling 21 accounts with lots of regret.

II – Win every door with: pre-knock observations, authenticity, and a flawless initial approach. Pre-knock observations help to eliminate generic ice breakers and they set you apart from the typical sales rep. People can spot a fake from miles away, so being your authentic-self will assist in building rapport with your potential customers. You cannot make mistakes during your initial approach (the first 30 – 45 seconds of an interaction). Bruce Lee said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced 1 kick 10,000 times.” Your initial approach is your “1 kick.”

III – Why I wrote Door-to-Door Millionaire: Secrets of Making the Sale. First, to shed some light on a mysterious industry. Second, to prove high producers can sell with integrity. Third, nobody else had done it!

IV – Life is about more than making money. The big picture of success includes: Humility – being willing to share what you’ve learned and learning from others. Inspiration – seek direction from a higher power to become the best version of yourself. Your thoughts should be marinated not microwaved. Giving – the more you give, the more you appreciate what you have. There are so many people in the world with basic needs, by giving you find a greater purpose for what you do.