Ask anyone who has become a top producer using one of the many canvassing approaches (door-to-door) and you will hear them say that early on, the most challenging part was the repeated experience of having lack of success at the door. That’s it! That was the most difficult part of the learning curve.
The best strategy for success is to understand that it’s a numbers game and having a repeatable, predictable formula for success.
Start by figuring out what the formula is. Track the number of door pitches that you give to a qualified homeowner daily. It’s interesting how some people track the number of doors they knock, regardless of whether anyone answers or not. The problem with this approach is that we can fool ourselves into thinking we’re working hard.
The work activity that matters is being face-to-face with a qualified homeowner. If you are new, make sure you get a large enough sample set when calculating your formula. It’s not unusual for a new representative to have to give between 25 and 50 door pitches to get a sale. Track your door pitches and when you reach 500, you should be able to get a reasonably accurate formula by dividing that number by the number of sales you achieved.
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s suppose you make 10 sales out of your first 500 door pitches. That means your formula is 1 sale per 50 door pitches. That may seem like a lot but don’t worry. You will quickly improve on that formula as you perfect your craft. Perfecting your craft occurs at the intersection of study, practice, and having sufficient amounts of work. The answer to the question of getting better always involves “more doors”.
Let’s assume you average approximately $300 per sale. That means each door pitch is worth $6. Most people assume that only the sale is worth $300. Thinking about it that way, any time you go to a door that does not result in a sale, (which happens most of the time) you think you made $0. How long will most people work making $0?
If we flip it and look at every door as being worth $6, that changes things! In my earlier days, I would get my sales team to visualize that behind every door that opened, thumbtacked to the inside of the door, was a crisp $5 bill and a $1 bill. I wanted them to understand that if the door opened, regardless of what the outcome was, they would get to take the money with them. Imagine how that changes things when you visualize it this way. How much more work would you do daily if you knew that you would collect $6 behind every door you got opened?
There are many ways to program your mind, but not all will give you the results you seek. Stop getting paid $0 at the door and just pick up your $6 every time!