How a Door to Door Sales Job Changed My Life

As a teenager with minimal work experience, opportunities for summer jobs were slim. I ended up taking up a job that required no prior work experience or education: door to door sales. I joined a company called Red Rocket at Yonge and Bloor where we were sent out to various territories to sell $5-10 knick knacks including calculators, children’s books, cheap manicure sets, etc. I knew the job would be tough and my parents were certain I would quit within a couple weeks. The job ended up being much more challenging than I ever imagined. Consider facing 98 rejections for every 100 people you approach, and in fact rude rejections. I was sworn at, told to leave immediately, and escorted out by security in commercial buildings. During the first few days on the job, I don’t think I sold more than $100 of merchandise while I watched other salespeople “ring the bell” selling over 100 items grossing $500-1,000 a day.

I was demoralized and ready to quit. However, I really wanted to prove my parents wrong, but more than that, I wanted to prove to myself that I could overcome this challenge. I started working with the top salespeople to figure out sales strategies. I complained that nobody needed the stuff we were selling. They laughed and said “of course, nobody needs this crap.” It was explained to me that I should not be out there selling products, but I should be out there selling myself. It took a while for this message to sink in, but I decided to give it a try. I went back out with a smile and started joking around with people. Customers gave me the usual response: “I don’t need this crap.” But this time my response changed, “I know. Nobody needs this crap. But my crap is the cheapest and your purchase comes with a free smile.” All of a sudden, sales started happening. Customers started buying product because they I made them laugh and brightened their day. I even actually started to enjoy myself in a job that most people typically hate. After a month in, I started selling out of my merchandise and ringing the bell daily, and I stuck it out for the entire summer.

While this particular job seems like a lifetime ago and does not appear on my LinkedIn profile, this was one of the most pivotal jobs that changed my life. There are a few lessons learned here:

1. I learned to shrug off rejection like water off a duck’s back. If the worst-case scenario was a “no”, that really wasn’t much of a consequence at all. We all face rejection everyday more often than we care to admit, and it is part of the natural process to get to a “yes”. Far too often, people are missing opportunities because they are too afraid of the “no”. I got my first summer job at a bank by walking into branches with no appointments, asking to see the manager, despite many of them telling me I should apply through the proper channels (back then it was by faxing resumes, yes, a lifetime ago).
2. Be positive, even if you don’t feel it inside. In my first couple weeks when sales weren’t going well, it was all over in my face, emotions, and body language. People don’t want to be around you when you have negative attitude. Just putting on a smile made my job far more pleasant with better interaction.
3. Building a relationship is vital in the sales process, even for a transaction as simple as a $5 knick knack. Nobody needed anything I was selling. However, when I had the opportunity to get into a personal conversation with a potential customer and we laughed, the chances of a sale went up significantly.
4. The fourth lesson coincides with the third, but it has carried forward to my career today. People make decisions based on emotions and justify it with logic. When customers liked me, they convinced themselves that it couldn’t hurt to have an extra calculator at home. In my career today, I have learned that it not just about credentials and the most qualified people don't always get the sale.

Being unafraid of rejection is liberating and opens so many doors. Nothing prepares you for rejection more than taking over 500 per day. Since I am no longer peddling crap and now offer value added services that I am extremely proud of, my rejection rate at this stage of my career is much lower than when I was doing door to door sales. However, it still happens and sometimes when I thought I had a great chance of winning the client.  Learning to deal with rejection is vital for my business success and my mental stability. At the age of 23, I secured $30,000 of sponsorship from RBC and Ogilvy Renault (now Norton Rose Fulbright) for a young professional organization I launched because I was unafraid to ask despite everyone telling me RBC only supports large charities like the United Way. I have surprised myself landing certain clients when I thought I had no chance but decided to give it a shot.

The other important lesson is the importance of relationship building in the sales process. While I was able to close a $5 sale within a few minutes, selling capital raising and CFO services has a long sales cycle that requires building trust. This does not happen overnight and often takes a few onsite visits over the span of a few months. There are a lot of service providers out there with solid credentials, but I believe I win business with my personality, building trust and going the extra mile on customer service. I quite often hear small business owners saying they only see their accountants once or twice a year.

In this digital age, I find the concept of building personal relationships in business slowly going away. Virtual companies are popping up everywhere, where all business is conducted through email and Skype. There is no substitute for a face to face meeting or a conversation in an informal setting whether it is a lunch or coffee. Although I would never do door to door sales again, I am so thankful that I went through that experience and have reaped the benefits of the lessons learned.