Door-to-door sales can be a challenging profession. It requires a particular disposition and a certain set of skills to succeed. But for those with the passion, dedication and tenacity, there is great money and a hugely enjoyable and rewarding career to be found.
Door-to-Door Sales Can Help You Become a Better You
A career in door-to-door sales allows you to be in control of your own income while helping you gain valuable skills that can benefit you in every facet of your personal and professional life.
At a minimum, becoming a door-to-door sales professional will help you to develop good habits, thick skin, persistence and outstanding people skills. Those skills alone will help you move closer towards your life goals.
But, during a career “pounding pavement,” you’ll also become great at working with others. You’ll become a virtuoso of the “first impression.” You’ll be able to feel at ease with strangers quickly, as well as learn how to convince or persuade them to move towards pre-established outcomes.
Again, really important skills for life, in general.
Learning to be Comfortable around Strangers
We can all be nervous around new people. They’re an unknown commodity. But after a little while going door-to-door, you’ll never feel uncomfortable around strangers again. You’ll quickly learn to read rooms full of strangers. You’ll be able to pick up on little cues like facial expressions and body language to see who, in any room, is at the top and the bottom of the space’s pecking order. You’ll learn how to open a conversation and actively listen to others. You’ll learn how to pick up on the intricacies of non-verbal communication.
Most of all, knocking on hundreds of doors day after day will teach you to be supremely comfortable around strangers.
Persistence
Persistence is an important life skill. It prevents the minor upsets and inconveniences of life that can get in our way from bringing us down completely. It can help us to maintain a clear focus on our goals and brush past the obstacles we encounter to pursue them.
When you work door-to-door, you can’t afford to take an extended lunch break. You can’t afford to rest on your laurels after a great close. You need to keep soldiering on. Your pay is determined by your results and you set the pace to achieve those results.
You need to keep pushing yourself so that you can look back on your day and say “I accomplished something.”
Overcoming failure
Remember that song from the ‘90s? “I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down!”.
Make that chorus your mantra.
We live in a world of participation trophies and baselines. This is the age of “Meh, good enough!” We have become comfortable with mediocrity. But there’s no room for mediocrity in the door-to-door game. This means you need to be able to get back up stronger each and every time your self-esteem takes a hit.
You will face rejection. It’s the nature of the beast. You will perceive interactions as failures. But you won’t settle for them. You won’t resign yourself to them. You’ll see rejection as an opportunity to raise your game and learn from your mistake. Remember that those who get the most “nos” also get the most “yes”es.
You’ll learn the numbers game
In sales, there’s only one law. The law of averages. The more doors you knock on, the more opportunities you have to close. You can apply that simple principle to all kinds of facets of your day to day life.
The more miles you walk or run per se, the more pounds you’ll lose. The more meals you cook rather than ordering takeout, the more money you’ll save. The more calls you make to friends, the better chance you have of keeping that friendship alive and well.
Eventually, you’ll learn to see your life differently. You’ll start to gamify your goals and you’ll actually achieve them where for years you fell short.
Ultimately, only you know if direct sales is right for you. But, with focus & dedication, a career in door-to-door sales can help to make you a more confident, well-rounded, goal oriented and empathetic person who’s a pleasure for all to interact with.
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