Global Door-Knocking

by Danielle Kennedy

Who would believe that Joe Gandolfo (Joe Gandolfo & Associates, Ph.D., ChFC, CLU) ), Judi Sheppard Missett (Jazzercise International, Committee of 200), Lane Nemeth (Discovery Toys, Committee of 200), and Rich Luisi (Electrolux Cleaning Systems)—the sales hall-of-famers—are just a few of our seven-figure door-knockers? Twenty-five years later, the thought of getting hurt by people who made fun of my door-knocking efforts really galls me. Unknowingly, I was performing one of the most brilliant prospecting activities. Even today, sales gurus teach people that door-knocking is a waste of time. May all those who listen to such nonsense, and missed out on the lucrative niche, forgive their ill-advisors.

"The first year my ratios were low, " says Joe Gandolfo, who door-knocked young couples, athletes and students on the Louisiana State University campus. "I'd call on 200 people and maybe get 15 appointments. Each succeeding year my ratios got better and better."

What about rejection?

"So what? I learned to handle rejection on an athletic field. It's part of the game, part of life. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. I was basically spreading the word. Never even discussed insurance on the first go around. 'Hi, I'm Joe Gandolfo, and I just wanted to stop by to see if I could come by next week to discuss a super opportunity with you.' Then I would just leave the rest in God's hands."

Door-knocking was my only option when I launched my sales career. I got plenty of flack from the naysayers—those salespeople in the office I used to call the quicksand crowd, who would moan because the coffee was cold or there wasn't any toner in the copy machine.

They'd whisper in my ear: "Stick around here. Eat a donut. The phones will be ringing off the hook real soon. "

Many salespeople prejudge certain niches and unknowingly cut off opportunities to earn their way to a seven-figure future.

I asked Rich Luisi, the legendary salesperson over at Electrolux, what he thinks about door-knocking.

"Nothing takes the place of hands-on door-knocking. People think it doesn't work anymore. That's fine with me because I have 2,500 salespeople out doing the same thing I did for 25 years, and it's working for them as well as it did for me. I demonstrated over 30,000 cleaning systems by simply knocking on doors. Phones and faxes are fine, but more than ever customers crave human contact."

Door-knocking and cold-calling weren't beneath insurance sales wiz Lin Lam (Pacific Pioneer Insurance Co., Committee of 200) either. "I wrote over a million dollars' worth of policies the first year in the insurance business by door-knocking businesses all day in Chinese neighborhoods. My first prospect, the owner of the Gaslight Motel in Buena Park, Calif., is still an excellent customer."

Lin says salespeople give rejection too much attention. "You have to be courageous and bold. If someone said, ‘Get out,' or ‘No, thanks,' I wanted to know why. I'd say to them, 'Do you have perfect insurance? You don't need anyone to examine your policy to make sure it is the best for you? Did you ever consider I can tell you some things you do not know?'"

Door-knocking was as natural as dancing for Judi Missett, too. "I had my 10-year-old daughter, my nieces and nephews and myself all door-knocking the neighborhood. We placed Jazzercise door hangers on people's front doors. Today we are an international company in over 34 countries, but door-knocking neighborhoods all over the world is one of the ways we have always found the right prospects."

While out door-knocking, Judi continued to find out things about her prospects and found out why some people she talked to were not good candidates for prospects. Child care was becoming a problem, so she began to offer it to her students, and this offering doubled her clientele.

"But if I hadn't been door-knocking, I never would have found out what their objections were. Their objections allowed me to fill a need, and as a result I expanded my market."

Adapted from Seven Figure Selling © 1996 by Danielle Kennedy