Why Knock?

This morning, I was upstairs in my office working, when suddenly I heard the dogs barking. I knew this meant either someone was at the door or one of the neighborhood dogs was walking outside past our house.

Sure enough, someone was ringing the doorbell.

I came downstairs and noticed a white van had pulled across the street from our house. (There’s a 20-acre forest across the street — no homes.) Presumably, the guy outside my doorway — casually dressed in neatly pressed jeans and a medium-length green waistcoat — was the driver.

He introduced himself and said he was an arborist and a tree-trimmer and that he had a job that got cancelled in the area and he wanted to fill the slot. Also, since it was off season (which it is, for tree-trimmers) and he was slow, his prices were 50% off and would I want to take care of my trees and get a good deal on it.

He began talking about the one tree near the side of my house and how he could get rid of it and all, and that if I let him around the back, he’d fix the place up.

We’d just had a few trees removed, and some trimming done recently, so I knew exactly what he did and how much it cost, so unfortunately I wasn’t a prospect for this fellow, but I went along with him just to hear his pitch.

There were a bunch of smart things this guy did.

First of all, he came to a qualified prospect: we have loads of trees and in this area, especially during this time of year; the place is very messy and “feels” like it needs tidying up.

He made me an offer: 50% off. Doesn’t matter if it’s real, just matters if I THINK it’s real.

He gave me specifics about what he does.

He also told me a very believable story and presented it very matter-of-factly. He did get a little pushy with me so this compromised his story somewhat. Remember, especially with strangers, be consistent or else your credibility and how much they trust you, is blown.

If he’d have shown a little more scarcity, maybe saying something like, “You have cypress trees. I have the top cypress tree expert here in Hillsborough County on my staff, but he’s really booked. Not sure if he can get out here…”

This would have IMMEDIATELY increased my demand for his services (assuming I was interested in the first place.) Remember, you always want more of what’s not easily available.

If you think door-to-door sales is for amateurs, that you’re “too good” to do this, then you are the fool. Here’s why:

I have two clients in my Mentoring Group – http://www.kingofcopy.com/mastermind – who are leading experts in their field and who’ve been VERY successful at this. Patrick Precourt, from Connecticut does this and his average transaction value is $27,000 a pop. Robert Brown from Maryland has done over 2,000 door-knocks, and his average transaction value is a little lower at $20,000.

After hearing this, and after spending some time with Pat and Robert, another member of the group, Tom Keill, said he’s going to start using this technique right away.

Cool, huh? Nothing really left to say after this, except…

“Ding-dong.”

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. “How To Get Your Prospects To Buy, Without Selling!” Discover for yourself on page 6 of this month’s Seductive Selling OFFLINE Newsletter, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE gifts, while this offer’s still available: http://kingofcopy.com/ssnl

About the Author

Craig GarberAuthor of "How To Make Maximum Money With Minimum Customers, " and publisher of Seductive Selling - an offline marketing newsletter currently read in 15 countries, world-wide. In a nutshell, I do two things: 1. I show you how to attract a reliable, steady stream of pre-qualified leads who are ready to do business with you NOW... 2. And I increase your net profits and cash-flow, by increasing your customer, client, or patient value -- often, dramatically. How do I do this? By developing, and helping you implement, unique, personalized lead generation and marketing strategies... using compelling sales messages that push your customers emotional buy-buttons. I've worked with over 300 clients in more than 104 different industries, since March of 2000, and I really enjoy what I do. I'm a stable, reliable, happily married family guy with three kids who loves life and always follows through on my commitments and promises. I love to listen to music, workout, read, travel with my family, take pictures, and go bass fishing. I always say "Yes," when it comes to good cigars, good books, and good coffee :-)

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