I once knocked on the wrong door and made over $5,000.!

> Along with Auto Detailing, which I did...

> here's another quick cash maker especially
> this time of year.

> You need a carpet cleaner...and you can RENT
> THESE if you need them...I have the Dirt
> Devil model and it works great.

> You make up a flyer, knock on doors...charge
> that 49 bucks for a HOLIDAY TOUCH UP...and
> you can easily do the 2 in the morning/2 in
> afternoon.

> YOU are not a carpet cleaning service, you
> are doing a touch-up...if you spell it out
> right you can do it easily.

> About Auto-Detailing.

> This came about as I was selling a product
> called DYNA-GLAZE one product I had quite a
> bit of success with.

> From selling this car "wax" I got
> a call from a Doctor who wanted his car
> "waxed" at his office because he
> had an event he was attending that night and
> didn't have time to take it
> out...(CONVENIENCE)

> this led to a nice little side business and
> here is how I got customers:

> I sent Doctors and Dentists a POSTCARD...a
> PICTURE postcard (Akron,OH) in my own
> handwriting that read:

> Hi Doc Jones,

> Wish I was there. The forecast in Akron is
> for rain and mud. This means your car is
> going to need a good cleaning and polishing,
> which I happen to do well. All you need to
> provide is a faucet I can hook my hose up
> to, and I'll make your car shine like a
> diamond. I use DYNAGLAZE, which will cause
> the rain to bead and fall harmlessly off
> your car. Dr. Jones, call today for your
> appointment. I cater to busy professionals
> like you, and your friends and fellow
> Doctors are grabbing up the time slots
> quickly, they must have seen the forecast
> too.
> Call Jay Alexander at 216-555-5555

> This was one variation...I often would get a
> referral from one Dentist right on the spot
> and it was not uncommon to do EXACTLY what
> Don said, stay in one place and work your
> butt off and walk away with a few hundred
> dollars.

> Thanks Don for the reminder.
> DYNA-GLAZE, Victory Miracle Polishing Cloth
> and DEFENDER OF WOMEN put more than one meal
> on the old table for me.

> But, I did have to leave the house and talk
> to people.

> On the other hand, just the other day a
> complete STRANGER sent me an email asking
> about me doing a little work for
> them...creating a tag line/USP/catchy
> headline...

> and I'd bet there are a lot more jobs out
> there too.

> For QUICK and FAST profits, NOTHING beats
> knocking on doors and SELLING something.

> It is the oldest profession in the world.

> Gordon Alexander

Gordon and Don,

As always you are right. There are so many ways to make a quick buck, yet most people just won't get off their duff.

Many years ago I went to visit a potential landscape customer that called in response to a flyer I put on their mailbox, but I forgot to bring the phone message with the address.

So as I'm driving down the street I'm trying to remember the phone conversation thinking I might be able to find the house without an address. I remembered the guy telling me it was the last Ashphalt driveway on the left, so that's the house I went to.

When the lady came to the door I told her why I was there, and even though she seemed a little puzzled she took me around the house showing me everything they wanted done.

I left and told her I would call back with a firm price.

By the time I got back home her husband was on the phone and not at all a happy camper, and as I looked at the phone message still laying on the desk I knew why, I was on the wrong street!

I went to the wrong house!

This guy was hot! He was certain I was a scam artist. I explained what happened and apologized, and finally he said, "Well, we do need the work done, go ahead and call back with a price."

These people owned two businesses and some rental property. For the next five years I worked for them over and over landscaping and plowing snow.

They were excellent customers.

I never did sell the house I was supposed to go to.

Yes, you can make money knocking on doors, just don't lie to the people about why you're there!


"The Crazy Idea that Brought in $20,000!"

> just don't lie to the people about why
> you're there!

In the words of Ben Suarez (I think)...

"Tell me quick and tell me true, or else my love, to hell with you."

Ring ring.

Me: Hello?

Stranger: Do you have a few minutes to talk - or - I'm SoandSoFromSuchAndSuchDoYouHaveAFewMinutesToTalk

Me: {Thinking - if I was too busy to talk I wouldn't have answered th phone) WHO are you? You said it too fast.

Stranger: So And So.

Me: And WHO are you with?

Stranger: Such and Such.

Me: Are you trying to sell me something... BE HONEST!

Stranger: No.

Me: Okay, what do you want to talk about?

Stranger: We have this new thing available and it will only cost you[cut off in mid-sentence by me]

Me: You ARE trying to sell me something. I asked you to be honest. I'm not interested. Good bye. Hang up.

I run this little series EVERY TIME one of these people calls. You can hear them squirm on the other end when I ask them if they are selling something and to be honest. The honest ones... the ones who say they are selling something... I speak with.

I told the last one they didn't push any of my hot buttons after they were done.

What were they selling?

DON, ARE YOU READY?

AD SPACE on the inside & outside covers of homework books which would be given to the children so they could do their homework in them.

Told me I could have the space on the back with the Cancer Fund ad and the Say No To Drugs ad.

Michael Ross.

telemarketing is horrendous here. i've worked for
a lot of companies and its mandatory that you lie.
in fact, some of my bosses, every time i shook
hands with them, i'd count my fingers afterwards.

true, i think training would help some. but more
important, i think coming up with products and
services that were honest and really useful would
be better. so much crap is being sold today.

but a side effect of that is that it makes it harder for an honest salesman to stand out from
the crowd...but when he does, he's made a friend
for life. i've found recently, now that i've become more focused on what i want to do and concentrating on customer service that the marketing pretty much takes care of itself. referrals, etc. because my customers know that i
have their best interest at heart. but 99% of the
telemarketers its the money or simply a job they
go to to get a paycheck..."how long can i keep this job before i get fired?"...just my pennies
worth...

Good stories...

So I'll toss in one of my "secrets" that increased my business by 20% in my first year or so.... It's a lot like McGroarty's. But was intentional on my part.

My first couple of years selling Home and Auto insurance were very competitive. It was a 'Soft Market", meaning companies were competing on price and almost anyone who knew your pricing could beat it.

Add to that, the company I represented held a TON of contests!!!! Offer a #2 wooden pencil as a prize and there were at least a dozen of us eyeballing each other like a one-eyed dog in a meat market to get that pencil!

So I would cold-call on the phone until I came across a homeowner who would meet with me. We would meet at his house and I would close him.

Part of my requirements were to measure the home, to be certain the amount of coverage would rebuild his home at a particular square footage. So this would require me to "step off" the circumference of the house, one step = three feet, and require me to walk around his yard.

Here's my "trick"...

Before stepping off the home, I would go to each house that surrounded his, and knock on their doors.

If they were home and answered the door I would say, "Hi I'm Mike Rodman and I'm taking care of the homeowner insurance for your neighbor Bob next door. So I just wanted to let you know I would be walking around his yard and house taking measurements, and didn't want you to be calling the cops on me!!!!" Then we'd both have a little laugh about that...

After a bit of small talk, very little mind you - I'm not a Professional Visitor - I would hand them my business card and give them my close...

"Would you do me a favor Mary??? Here's my card and I've written my home telephone number on it... If you do happen to see something going on over there, like kids hanging around or smoke or something... Would you call me for Bob??? So I could take care of him???

(Who wouldn't call for their neighbor, right?) "Yeah I would", they'd respond...

"Thanks alot I appreciate that... Hey Mary??? I have no idea who has your coverage or who you're guy is, but would you have any objections if I were to give you a price on my services???

Closed!!!

You guessed it... I would then repeat the same scenario with the neighbors on the other side of her, and in back of her, and across the street from her!

While my buddies were going to ONE house and coming back to the office to make MORE cold-calls... I was going to ONE house and maybe writing up three or four in a morning!

(A variation of "Endorsed Mailings"??? You betcha it is!!!)

It's the simple things which can separate you from mediocrity.

Incidentally, it wasn't a #2 pencil we were actually competing for, but it might as well have been... It was a Brass Cube about 2" square!!! Worth maybe $10.00. We would actually make the company thousands of dollars in sales a week, falling all over ourselves trying to win a $10.00 brass knick-knack!!!!

Ahhhhh... The Good Ol' Days...

Success and Regards... Mike