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

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