With the ease of selling online, it’s easy to forget just how important human connection can be in sales.

Instead of only making purchases over a screen, some prospects are looking for something more personal and hands-on.

That’s why door to door sales is still a vital part of the sales industry.

Door to door selling is an important way to engage customers face-to-face and get your product in their hands. When done right,  D2D sales is still one of the most effective ways to grow a customer base, build relationships that last, and sell all kinds of products.

But, it’s not as simple as just showing up to a house and ringing the doorbell. The top door to door salesman uses specific sales strategies to connect with their prospects and close deals time and time again.

We’ve compiled a list of 10 proven strategies and tips on how to sell door to door.  With these strategies, you’re sure to surpass your quotas and maximize your performance.

Door-to-door sales is a method in which a salesperson sells products or services directly to potential customers at their home.  

In D2D sales, salespeople usually have to knock on the doors of prospective customers without knowing who they are going to speak to, which can make it a challenging form of selling. It can be difficult to build trust with people who often don’t like to be disturbed in their homes.

They also have to deal with changing consumer behaviors as with the internet gaining more prevalence with each passing year, and the lasting psychological effects of Covd-19 still lingering, door-to-door selling has begun to fall out of favor with many companies in favor of other, more risk-aversive selling strategies. 

However, the US direct selling market size is expected to reach USD 392.6 Billion by 2032, so there is clearly still a lot to be gained from this sales technique. 

Door to door selling has multiple benefits as it can provide the customer with a more personal buying experience, where they can discuss their needs, desires, and fears with their salesperson in an open and honest manner.  

For salespeople it can be great to get out into the field and listen to what their customers are really saying. In-person feedback can be hugely beneficial as it allows reps the chance to really get a feel for what their customers are telling them, instead of relying on surveys and data sets to get a sense of the market.

1. Know Your Product

As a salesperson, it’s your responsibility to know the product inside and out. Your customer usually isn’t very familiar with the product, and they depend on you for information. Make sure your door to door sales training prepares you to have answers to all their questions. 

To be convincing, it’s important to understand the features, benefits, and even the limitations of your product. Being confident with this information will help you steer the conversation and highlight the appeal of what you’re selling. 

Bonus: It will also help you earn your customer’s vote of confidence. After all, they are talking to an expert. One study by the Dr. Marshall Fisher of the Wharton School of Business found that 73% of customers said that product knowledge is what they need most from their sales rep. Customers not only want you to be knowledgeable about what you’re selling them, they expect it.

If customers do have questions about your product, it shows they’re interested in what you’re selling. Be prepared to discuss  the in-depth features that matter most and explain how they can improve your prospect’s situation.

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Listen to this Outside Sales Talk podcast episode with world class sales trainer John Barrows to discover the top questions you should ask every prospect!

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2. Perfect Your Pitch

Door to door selling is all about presentation.

As the expert, you should be prepared to showcase the product’s features and exhibit credibility. Make a great impression by presenting your product in a way that connects it to the prospect. 

If you can effectively present your product as a solution to specific pain points that your customers experience, or explain how your product can make their lives easier, your chances of landing the sale go through the roof.

Check out this Training Tuesday video with Badger Maps CEO Steve Benson to learn how to deliver a successful sales pitch!

Establishing your credibility and building trust with the prospect are very important to close sales deals. The average person is wary of door to door salespeople because they fear being sweet-talked out of their money or even scammed. 

By having a knowledgeable but human-level door to door sales pitch, you ease their worries and earn their trust. 

What’s the secret? Don’t be impatient and try to close the deal too aggressively. Sometimes it’s best to plant the seeds for an extended relationship follow-up later, and let your prospects buy when they’re ready. This will help your prospect not feel any unwanted pressure to purchase and will build their trust for a lasting relationship.

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3. Use Effective Prospecting

A misconception surrounding door to door sales companies is that salespeople wander neighborhoods aimlessly, knock on doors at random, and leave it up to chance that the person at the door will make a purchase. Not exactly the most efficient method of selling.

One of the best door to door salesman tips is to zero in on the most promising prospects.  Focus your time and energy on prospects who are more likely to benefit from what you’re offering.

Ask yourself: Does the prospect work in an industry that can use your product? And does your product fulfill their unique needs? After all, you probably wouldn’t try to sell lawnmowers to someone who lives in a condo on the fifteenth floor. 

Another way to find leads is to ask your satisfied customers for referrals. There’s no better way to meet with new leads than to be introduced by a mutual connection. You won’t have to sell — your happy customer will do it for you!

Badger Maps CEO Steve Benson had this to say about this technique - 

“The ‘land and expand strategy’ is when one person at a company uses your product, and because you make them successful, their coworkers and management finds out about you and it spreads around the organization. 

Some of your biggest customers can be acquired this way. Maybe one manager sees the success of your product and wants it for the rest of his or her team, then the regional manager sees that one manager’s team is doing well, so then all the regions get it, then the division, etc.”

Discovery calls are a great way to feel out the likelihood of a prospect being interested in your product. Using your company’s sales-enabling technology is the best way to identify these leads. 

Nowadays, there are many great door to door sales software options available that help you find prospects as well.

One such tool is Badger Maps, a map routing software for salespeople.

Badger Maps is a great prospecting tool for anyone in door to door sales. With an interactive map interface that helps you find, understand, and organize prospects, maximizing your sales potential has never been easier.

With other important sales features such as route optimization, customer data visualization, check-ins, and follow-ups, sales reps save an average of 8 hours a week from better planning and driving more efficient routes.

The time saved on the road can be used on productive sales activities, which has resulted in the average team of 10 Reps selling $936k more the year they start using Badger Maps.

Badger Maps streamlines the entire sales process and on average, sales teams who use Badger Maps sell 22% more and drive 20% less.

With Badger Maps, D2D salespeople can also mobilize their CRM, providing instant access to important customer information directly from the field. 

Badger Maps also enables a two-way, real-time native integration with the most popular CRMs such as HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Insightly, and many more. 

Additionally, field sales teams increase their CRM usage by 50% when using Badger Maps.

Using Badger Maps will eliminate the tedious aspects of your job and save you time and money. 

Badger Maps reduces sales reps’ average drive time by 20% and frees up an average of 8 hours a week.  

Sign up for a free trial today or schedule a demo to see for yourself!

Combine these great door to door sales tips with the best field sales app:

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4. Use Rejection as an Opportunity

Rejection is part of the door to door sales job. In fact, let’s not sugarcoat things — it’s a big part.

Door to door sales is not an industry for the weak-spirited and easily-discouraged. It takes true tenacity to have a high door to door sales success rate and a willingness to endure the occasional door being slammed in your face.

The key is to understand that it’s not personal. Some people either don’t have an urgent need for your product or aren’t in a position to spend money. 

There are a thousand reasons why a customer might not be interested in what you’re selling, but most of them have nothing to do with you. You can only control those that do.

Take each rejection as motivation to better your door to door sales technique and learn what works and what doesn’t. Each rejection is a learning experience that helps you improve your sales skills, thicken your skin, and strengthen your resolve. 

Every successful D2D salesperson has experienced hundreds, if not thousands, of rejections. Take it in stride, learn from each encounter, and grow as a sales professional.

Fearful of rejection when speaking with prospects? Check out this Outside Sales Talk podcast episode with Go For No! Co-author Andrea Waltz to overcome those fears!

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5. Get to Know Your Prospect’s Pain Points

Nothing motivates a customer more than the need to fix a nagging problem. Sometimes these same customers don’t know that they have a problem in the first place, or that the problem is fixable.

How can you help? Use an effective door to door sales script to find out what problems they want or need to be fixed. From there, let them know that your product is exactly what they need to improve their situation.

A major part of understanding your product is understanding exactly what function it serves, and what those who don’t use it are lacking. Whether it’s for professional or personal use, consider what factors go into enticing customers to see that your product is the answer to their problems.

• Will your product help them save money? 
• Does it save valuable time that can be better spent in other ways? 
• Does it add security in some way?
• Is it dependable where competitors are not?
• Is there a feature unique to your product that can be a potential game-changer for your prospect?

Another great way to address your prospect’s pain points is to use the Sandler pain funnel to get to the root of your prospect’s problem, as perfected by Sandler Training:  

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6. Put Yourself in the Prospect’s Shoes

Developing empathy is an important characteristic when making a living as a door to door salesperson. By understanding the feelings and motivations behind your customer’s decisions, you’ll be better able to anticipate their needs and craft your pitch accordingly.

Be mindful of how aggressively you sell, as this can be a turnoff for many. Think of what time you show up to their homes, what day of the week, and any other factor that may make all the difference in how your prospect perceives you.

Pay attention to body language, facial expressions, breathing, and any other physical cues that can clue you into how your pitch affects your prospects. Keep in mind the 55/38/7 formula, developed by body language expert Albert Mehrabian, that found that 55% of communication is about body language, 38% is your tone of voice, and only 7% is the actual words you speak.

At the end of the day, it’s not just about making a sale — it’s about creating a lasting and fruitful relationship for both sides.

7. Connect on a Human Level

People don’t react well to being treated like a number. It’s important to connect with your customers in a meaningful way, so they don’t feel like they’re being used to simply meet a quota.

Make sure you know their name in advance and gain as much relevant information about them as possible without coming across as too intrusive. 

Think of the term, “Show them you know them.” 

If the prospect feels like you understand them as a person, it can lower their guard and open the channel for a sale.

Just as you should pay attention to the prospect’s body language, be mindful of your own as well. It’s important to smile, make and maintain eye contact, and speak slowly and calmly. 

It’s also important to know when to pump the brakes, as well as when someone is receptive to taking the next step in the deal. Remember: it’s more effective to behave like a new friend with good advice, rather than like a stranger pushing a product.

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Listen to this Outside Sales Talk podcast episode with Mark Bowden to learn how you can leverage body language for sales success!

8. Be Direct — But Always Be Tactful

Assertiveness is a vital trait for any salesperson. There’s no reason to beat around the bush or be coy with your prospects. 

But, you should be mindful of how hard you push and how bluntly your pitch comes across. No one likes a bully, and no one buys from a bully.

Selling is like a dance — there's a rhythm to it. It’s important to know when it’s time to lead and when it’s time to be led. Remember to move at the prospect’s pace and be considerate of their half of the bargain.

It’s no secret that you want them to agree to buy what you’re selling. But remember to frame the transaction in such a way that they know you genuinely want your product to help them, regardless of profit.

Again, the goal isn’t necessarily to persuade them to purchase from you right this second, but to purchase from you at some point in the future.

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9. Know How to Overcome Objections

Just like rejection, salespeople deal with objections every day.

Customers will almost always have questions and concerns about a product they’re being offered. Legitimate objections will come up regularly. It’s the door to door salesperson’s job to address and overcome these objections in order to make the sale.

This is where your product knowledge comes into play. By knowing everything about the product you’re selling, you can anticipate these objections and have an answer for any potential roadblock in the way of selling.

In general, objection handling comes down to four simple steps:

1. Listen to the prospect’s objections
2. Let them know you understand their concerns
3. Ask why they feel this way
4. Reply with an empathetic and friendly explanation of your product that might ease their worries and change their mind

When handled correctly, the objection your prospect raises can cue an important detail that seals the deal. Whether it’s handling price objections, overcoming the old "just send me over the information”, or an "I’ll think about it…" you should be prepared to combat objections to have a productive sales conversation.

Check out this video to get expert advice on how to handle more objections:

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10. Always Follow-Up

In D2D sales, you have to think of the big picture- AKA the long term value. This means following up with your customers and building a relationship that will last.

If they already bought the product in your initial encounter, it’s a great way to ensure the customer is satisfied.  Follow-ups create the opportunity to answer any questions that have arisen since your last visit. It’s also a prime opportunity to upsell.

Arrange a follow-up with the clear understanding that you will reconnect to talk about the product. This gives them time to think things through and gives you an opening to follow up without coming across as too aggressive.

It also gives you time to reflect on their objections and have a great counter ready for your follow-up.

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Conclusion

Some people ask: Is door to door sales worth it?

When done right, D2D sales can be a tough yet rewarding line of work that’s not only profitable, but enables you to meet new people and visit new places every day. And it’s certainly never boring!  

By following these door to door sales tips, you can connect with your customers in a natural, human way that’s impossible for online retailers to replicate.

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