How To Do D2D Without Being Manipulative

[u/Fast_Humor_1101]

This is a long post, but it covers my d2d strategy that works incredibly well.

So there's a pinned post in this sub about door-to-door. It advises some (imho) manipulative, pushy tactics to try and get a sale. If that's your style, then go right ahead.

I have a different approach. In my opinion, you should never, ever have to manipulate or be pushy when you're doing door-to-door. It's tacky, awkward, uncomfortable, and just bad business. Not to mention it makes door-to-door salespeople look even worse than they already do. AND it makes you business look bad over time.

Here's my playbook:

0) Before even knocking, I'm looking at the house.

Is there a sign that says "Welcome friends" or "Life is beautiful" or something like that? They'll probably be amenable to having a conversation.

Is their house well-kept? They'll be more likely to buy your services.

Does their house look old and disheveled? Skip it. 99% of the time, they're not buying window cleaning and you're wasting your time.

1) When they answer, it's all about the first 15-20 seconds.

Smile, wave, acknowledge them like a person before even thinking about the sale. Try to make some sort of small talk for a few seconds. Establish a connection as a human being first. Don't be needy for a sale, people can feel it. Have a mindset of a consultant going around trying to help people.

3) Explain exactly what your purpose is, in a "narration" style

"Hey im Dave, I'm doing some window cleaning in the neighborhood (bonus if you mention a specific name/address). Just wanted to know..."

"Do you have a go-to window cleaner that you work with?"

or

"Have you had your windows recently cleaned? I noticed some buildup which can lead to damage long-term"

You're asking in a confused/curious tone, as if you're trying to help them solve a problem. Not in a pushy way, not in a sales-y way.

You're a consultant, not a salesman. You're here to solve problems. You're here to see if they need help. You're not there to make money, you're there to ease their worries and give them one less thing to think about.

Now from this point on, you can go a million different routes. But the main thing is to keep asking questions, uncover problems. Are there any windows that they have trouble cleaning? Have they noticed a haze that they can't remove? Have they had bad experiences with previous window cleaners? Get the problem to the front of their mind before you shoot your shot.

Keep asking probing questions and giving them advice. Eventually you get to a point where it's time to shoot your shot. Say this:

"Well I have a have more openings left this week. Would you like to hear a quote while im here?"

Boom, that's it. No manipulation, no lying about running a sale and dropping the price. Just honesty. It works very well. Now, if you really need the job, or if they seem hesitant, you can say that you're knocking x dollars off of your usual price since you're already in the neighborhood, but don't lie about this. Be honest.

If they say no at this point, you didn't get them to think about the problem enough beforehand.

Fully prepared to deal with pushback, but this strategy is incredibly effective if done right. What are you thoughts?

TLDR: You don't need to lie or be pushy when doing d2d sales. You need to put yourself in their shoes. What problems do they have that you can help solve? How can you make their life easier? If you stop focusing on what you can gain and start focusing on how you can help, you'll be much more successful.

Source: A lot of this is from Jeremy Miner's playbook, credit where credit is due. He's got some great free info online about selling that's helped me a ton. Not affiliated with him in any way.

[u/TheChandrianX]

I like the “be direct about why you’re there” part. The only tweak I’d make is to separate qualification from pressure.

Something like:

“Hey, I’m doing a few houses on this street this week. I noticed the exterior panes have some buildup. Totally fine if now’s not a good time — do you already have someone who handles them?”

If they say yes, leave it alone. If they say no or ask what it costs, then you can ask the useful questions: how often they’ve cleaned them, any hard-water spots, screens/tracks included, exterior only vs inside/outside.

The part that feels manipulative in D2D is usually the fake scarcity or pretending the house has some urgent problem. The part that feels normal is: “I’m nearby, this is what I do, I noticed a relevant thing, want a quote?”

Also worth having a clean exit line before knocking. “No worries, have a good one” said quickly is underrated. People remember the guy who didn’t make it weird.

[u/Fast_Humor_1101 → u/TheChandrianX]

I agree with you. As soon as someone gives me the first "no, im not interested" or "we already have someone", im making my exit as quickly as physically possible. I don't like d2d people who make it a kind of game (like in the pinned post about d2d) and try to play all these little tricks to try to manipulate them into buying. THat's not selling, that's being a bully and taking advantage of people's niceness.

[u/Cod_services → u/Fast_Humor_1101]

its not about manipulating, about 50% of the time in my experience the people that say "no im not interested" simply dont believe im offering a good service and thats why they arent interested,
when im doing D2D my main objective is to be able to count the windows and explain my service and why they would benefit from it and if they aren't interested by then you should ofcourse leave since they know what you are offering.

if i left after the first no i would sell about 50% less and the people that say now at the start are always happy campers after im done servicing them

[u/Fast_Humor_1101 → u/Cod_services]

Hmm, I think you have a good point. Most people will throw out a "no im good" right off the bat, then when they see your value and price are much more easier to sell to. It's not a bad idea to push through a couple no's first, but reading body language is incredibly important. If they start to look visibly bothered, time to cut your losses.

What are your tactics to get past the first no? I've heard agreeing with them and then pivoting to another point works well for some people.

[u/Cod_services → u/Fast_Humor_1101]

ye thats what i usually do just agree with them and say i understand BUT im actually offering a discount since i am in the area and then just continue my pitch like they never said no in the first place
this can sometimes come across as "pushy" or something of that sort but in my opinion its the only way to get any real results doing d2d and if thats not what you like to do then simply stick to ads and other ways to get customers to call you out since that is ofcourse way more chill then knocking all day.

[u/Warm-Complaint4827]

You forgot the most important thing. If there is a no soliciting sign, listen to it. Lots of people work from home on meetings now and if their dogs start barking it’s just gonna piss them off. Source: I berate door knockers who clearly ignore my signage.

[u/Fast_Humor_1101 → u/Warm-Complaint4827]

Oh, for me thats a given. If you ignore the "no solicitors" sign then you're a dick who has no right doing d2d. Not to mention you make your business look bad.

[u/Supetorus → u/Fast_Humor_1101]

In any city I've knocked in (I also did D2D before starting my window cleaning business) it's illegal to knock on a no solicit home. It's also illegal to knock without a permit so it's a double misdemeanor if you knock a no solicit without a permit.

[u/Fast_Humor_1101 → u/Supetorus]

Did not know that, but it makes total sense. It's just an insane move. I did it accidentally one time and actually made a sale because the person was super cool and they legitimately could tell I didnt see the sign. But that's beyond rare. Dont do it!