Here's why good ideas are lousy ideas...

Originally Posted by -TW

That's why I seriously DOUBT claims from certain 'entrepreneurs' I keep hearing about. ESPECIALLY ones that claim they get results from GOING DOOR TO DOOR (b2b). Do you have ANY idea what the 'slam-the-door-in-your-f'ing-face' quotient is? (given the above stats).

Face to face marketing in a local market is the best method. But you don't do this expecting to make a sale every time, you do this to build a relationship. From what I've read of your posts it seems that the people you contact must be "in" or they're "out" -- and I daresay you've slamming the door on your way out. You mentioned in one post, that you even got a little rude with one woman on the phone, when you couldn't talk to her husband.

That's a no, no. You never slam a door -- always leave it open.

Years ago when I started my Used Car website, I visited some of the the local dealers numerous times before I got the order. Once they had gotten to know me, I'd drop by with coffee and donuts during their slower times when they didn't have much to do. We would chew the fat about the business in general. Once in a while they would ask about "so-and-so" down the road 'cause they had heard it through the grapevine that "so-and-so" had signed up with me. Well... local marketing... everyone knows everyone in the same niche, so you can't make up stories... even if you wanted to.

So you'd say "Well, Mr. Smith made an extra $3,000 last month from sales generated by the website.Hey that's pretty good isn't it? Considering it only cost him $150. He's pretty savvy!"

Now this guy had said "no" four or five times before, so I didn't even make him an offer. Through relationship building I had simply steered the conversation in the direction I wanted to go. I had made my point, so I looked at my watch and told them I would have to go as I had an appointment elsewhere.

This is taken right out of "How to win friends and influence people" where you don't sell... you assist the prospect in making the decision to buy. As I'm going out the door, they thank me for the coffee and donuts, and ask when I can drop by with more donuts. We all chuckle, and I leave.

See... it isn't always about the product or service you're trying to sell. Yes... they want to make more money (everyone does), but they also want to do business with people they know and like. If the KNOW you and they LIKE you, then all you need to do is make it EASY for them to work with you.

I had a call from these guys about a week later and they said they were thinking about signing up. I went to their dealership with more coffee and donuts. They were concerned about contracts and stuff...

I said it wasn't any problem. I'd put 8 of their cars on the website for one month at no charge to them just so they could test the waters. A month later they had sold three of them and were begging for me to take their money and put more of the cars on the site.

"Do you want to live like a pig? Or... buy a Filter Queen?"

That kind of attitude either gets you a sale, or you're out the door and you won't be invited back. Trust me... I've been down that road too ;-)

Best Regards,
Steve MacLellan