xWZdBPFTHOQWhen most folks think of sales and marketing, their minds envision someone who runs around peddling goods and services. You’ve seen the stereotype on TV, like the door-to-door salesman trying to convince housewives to buy his “Vacuum Deluxo-Rama.” This sales model works. I read a report that companies made $28B last year in door-to-door marketing. There is nothing as effective as selling a product face-to-face. . . Or is there?

The benefit of selling door-to-door is that the salesman can adjust his marketing message according to the cues that his prospect gives him. I don’t have exact numbers but I suspect that the response rate is about 10%-15% for a trained salesman. I based this number on my personal experience having sold door-to-door when I was a teenager. For the sake of simplicity, I’m using the word “him” to signify both he and she sellers. The reality is that most door-to-door marketers today are females selling MLM types of products.

If you compare the response rate of selling this way versus selling by email blasts (0%-0.3%) or direct mail (0-0.7%) or radio or TV (1%-10%), the peddler method wins hands down. But there are three major downsides — selling door-to-door or peddling has limited reach. A salesman can only knock on so many doors per day. The other downside is that this is an expensive marketing channel for the product owner. They have to pay a hefty commission to the salesman for each sale. Some product owners also cover the salesman’s expenses as part of the cost-of-sales. The third major downside is “cold-call burnout.” This is when the salesman cannot take another rejection. They simply cannot get out of bed in the morning anymore to knock on another door of a total stranger. Cold-call burnout also afflicts telemarketers. Imagine being mandated to make at least 50 cold-calls a day, only to be rejected by 49+ people. When this happens, the product owner needs to hire and train a new salesman.

Alas, there is a better way. Instead of peddling, where you are constantly chasing a prospect, you might want to consider have the prospect come to you. Yes, it is easier said than done. But consider this: How much did that last referral cost you in marketing dollars? How hard was it to close on that prospect? Not very hard at all, was it?

How do you get more prospects to call you? Besides building a network of referrals because you become know as the provider of quality products in your niche, you might consider how you established that reputation in the first place. Let’s get to the point: You built yourself up as the expert in your niche. Nowadays with the Internet, it is easier than ever to build yourself as the expert. When you get recognized as the expert, prospects will come to you. Even better, they will refer other prospects to you. Now isn’t that easier than being a peddler and chasing all the time? I thought so.

Instead of going door-to-door trying to sell the “Vacuum Deluxo-Rama”, seek to become the recognized expert in high-end vacuums, the ones used in fine hotels like Ramada. Seek to become the Oreck of the high-end vacuum niche. When you want an Oreck, you’ll have to call or go to his web site.