Door-to-door sales is challenging, yet rewarding career. For young people, it can seem crazy that anyone still does door-to-door sales (anyone remember the Fuller brush man? Yeah, thought not…)
Despite how ‘crazy’ it may seem, you can make real money in direct sales. Once you get past the learning curve. These 3 tips can help you to be successful in your first door-to-door sales role.
Tip #1: Show Up And Commit
Showing up to any sales job is necessary for success. But it’s not sufficient. To succeed in the sales industry, you need to show up emotionally too; ready to go with a passion. Just going in with the idea that you’ll “try it on and see if it fits” won’t work. Sales is hard work and, for most people, becoming a sales representative takes a commitment and drive to make it happen.
For the first 90 days, forget whether you’re enjoying the role or not (or even if you’re any good at it), and commit everything you have to becoming more skilled in the position. You might not feel comfortable initially, but finding out whether you have selling skills is a process of discovery: you’re unlikely to unlock them all immediately. Give it some time, see how it goes with 100 percent effort, and then evaluate your performance after three months or so.
Whether you ultimately stick with door-to-door sales or not, by committing to the process you’ll gain valuable life skills.
Tip #2: Be Coachable
Sometimes we like to believe that we have all the answers. But the truth is that most of us aren’t natural salespeople; we have to learn from the instruction of others.
Our advice is to find a person in your organization who is already successful in their sales role and get under their wing. Rather than challenge them, take it as an opportunity to learn from them. Ask questions for clarification and avoid confrontation. Humble yourself so that you can emerge a stronger with fresh knowledge.
Learning the pitch for your product is essential. Go to the most successful person in your organization and find out how they deliver the pitch to customers. Then go away and practice it by yourself or with colleagues (not customers) until you’ve mastered it.
After that, go out into the “real world” sales environment and start tracking results. Keeping a log will help you figure out where you’re lagging compared to more experienced and successful colleagues.
Tip #3: Find Ways To Stay Motivated
Becoming a sales rep to gain experience is part of the story, but it won’t lead to success. To succeed in a sales role, you have to be motivated. Motivation is what will drive you to achieve better sales performance over the long term.
Motivation can come in two forms: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is where you want to succeed based on internal factors (such as having a passion for sales). Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of yourself (such as wanting enough money for a new car or being worried about being told off by your boss).
The way to succeed in sales is to figure out where your motivation comes from and then apply it to the sales context. Making sales is not easy; each customer is different, so sales representatives need to know what motivates them to stay on track.
Remember, nothing is more satisfying than developing skills that can help you make money. The better your skills, the more confident you’ll become and the better you’ll be able to make sales. Once you’ve learned the skills, they will stay with you for life.