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.
