On Saturday morning, a young man knocked at our door. He wanted to sell us new windows. Kris tried to brush him aside gently, but he was persistent. He didn’t leave until he’d scheduled an appointment to give us an hour-long in-home presentation about his company’s product.
“We do need storm windows,” Kris told me after he’d gone.
“That’s true,” I said. “But I don’t like buying from door-to-door salesmen.”
The worst job I ever had was selling insurance door-to-door to little old ladies in rural Oregon. I know the tricks and techniques these folks use to get into your home and make the sale. Sometimes knowledge isn’t enough. Kris and I have purchased our share of stupid things from door-to-door salesmen over the years, including:
- A set of encyclopedias. We bought these in 1995, on the cusp of the digital age. They never saw much use. (Look for more about this on April Fool’s Day.)
- A freezer full of chicken, most of which went to waste after a power outage.
- A Kirby vacuum cleaner, which now sits unused because we have no carpeting.
- Membership in a “consumers club”. We paid something like $1500 to join this organization, and then $70 a year thereafter to remain members. In theory, membership allowed us to buy furniture and electronics for cheap. In reality, we barely used it.
Kris and I are smart people. You’d think we’d know better than to buy this stuff. But we’re also nice people, and sometimes that niceness overpowers the intelligence. 
Most of the time I’m able to stand strong and to turn people away at the door, but sometimes I’m weak, and I feel sorry for the salesman. That momentary weakness is all it takes to end up spending $500 on encyclopedias I’ll never use.
I used to have a rule that I’d always buy stuff from kids who knocked on the door. But in 2001, I let some college kids cajole me into purchasing several magazine subscriptions. Several over-priced magazine subscriptions. Canceling these was a nightmare.
Since then, I’ve adopted a rule of thumb that has served me well: I never buy anything if I did not initiate the transaction. I don’t buy anything from flyers in the mail, from telemarketers, from e-mail ads, and, especially, from door-to-door salesmen. Why not?
- They’re trained to sell. You are not trained to resist. During my time with the insurance company, I learned how to handle a variety of objections, and how to present my information in such a way that the customer almost sold herself. I wasn’t very good — some of my colleagues were. They could have sold ice to eskimos.
- They create need where none exists. If you really need something, you already know it. You can do the research on your own. If you allow yourself to be pitched, the salesmen will create a need you didn’t know you had. He’ll make it seem sensible to spend thousands of dollars on a smoke alarm.
- They prey on fear and ignorance. They want you to feel sorry for them. They want you to feel like you’re keeping up with the Joneses. They want you to feel like you’re protecting your family. A salesman wants you to make an emotional decision.
- They use high-pressure tactics. They try to create a sense of urgency: “I only have one left”, “This offer ends today”, “We’re only in town for this week”. Don’t let the perceived scarcity influence you. And don’t feel guilty if a salesman berates you for wasting his time. Stand strong.
It’s all well and good to know how the salesman works, but what can you do to resist? Here are some effective techniques for handling door-to-door salesmen.
- Don’t answer the door. The best way to resist any form of marketing is to avoid it altogether. Don’t watch television ads, don’t read junk mail, don’t engage telemarketers. And don’t open the door to a traveling salesman.
- Don’t let him inside. If you do open the door to find a salesman, don’t let him in your home. Once he’s in, he has the advantage. Good salespeople know this. Some people feel it’s rude not to ask a salesman inside, but that’s not true. The salesman isn’t concerned with etiquette (and, in fact, takes advantage of social conventions by using them against you). The salesman just wants inside your home so he can make his pitch. Keep him outside.
- Don’t listen to the presentation. Most sales pitches are constructed to get you answering questions (usually with a “yes”) as soon as possible. Don’t fall for it. Again, nobody wants to be rude, but which would you rather do: interrupt the pitch or buy an overpriced set of steak knives? I’d rather interrupt the pitch.
- Be courteous but firm. The salesman is just doing his job. Yes, it’s a shitty job, and he ought to be doing something else, but ultimately it’s still just a way for him to put food on the table for his family. Stand firm, but don’t be a jerk.
- Get a big dog. “No soliciting” signs don’t work. Salesmen ignore them or pretend not to see them. (They’re like a red flag: “I’m no good at resisting sales pitches, so please don’t call.”) But it’s difficult to ignore a large, snarling animal. When I was selling insurance, I avoided any home with a large dog. I wasn’t the only one.
Ultimately, your best defense is to just say “no” and shut the door. I’ve done this many times before, and though I sometimes felt guilty for about thirty seconds, this soon passes.
When Kris told me about the window salesman yesterday, I did some research. I knew that he’d caught her in a weak moment, and I was worried that her pride might make it difficult for her to cancel the sales appointment. I found several sites online with complaints about the company and its tactics. I compiled the information and went upstairs to tell Kris what I’d learned. I was going to volunteer to call the salesman myself.
“We don’t want to do this,” I told her. “The company does a hard-sell. The ‘one hour appointment’ generally lasts four hours. They don’t take no for an answer. Their windows are much more expensive than normal windows.” I sighed. “We need to cancel the appointment.”
“No problem,” Kris said, smiling. “I already did.”
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It’s funny thinking that you ended up with a Kirby. Those guys are mercenary when it comes to sales! I remember a friend of mine once worked for them and he had a routine down that was almost like a hunter stalking his prey.
It’s not my page, but Rob Cockerham over at Cockeyed/Fat Wallet has a funny page about his distaste for Kirby sales men. See “Kirby Vaccum Cleaners will suck the life out of you and your marriage” at http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/kirby/kirby_techniques_2007.shtml and http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/kirby/kirby.html
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@No Solicitation Signs
I’ve done some flyering for myself, and always obeyed these. Some of us care.
@Door-to-Door
If they come by regularly (I have a basketball couch who comes by 2-4 times a year selling a single coupon sheet for $3), the first time, I say ‘no’ politely. If they say thank you and move along, the next time they come by, I actually consider the offer (in the basketball case, I donate immediately and never use the coupons).
BASICALLY, if you don’t try and SELL it, I’ll listen.
To get rid of people I KNOW are selling (magazine kids are the worst), I grab my house phone and as I open the door I tell the ‘person’ on the phone to “hold on.” After the seller’s first sentence, I tell them I am on the phone and put it back to my ear. Moments later, I close the door and they leave. They never comeback because it is a single loop/trip always.
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“No” and “Not interested, sorry” usually work for me. If they persist I say “Look, I’m not going to buy anything, so why don’t we both save some time and move on”.
When I was a kid (around 1998) our dorm “4 people shared kitchen”-plexes had a funny incident with an encyclopedia sales man. After having been told “no thanks, don’t want it, don’t need it” a couple of times he goes on with he sales pitch: “…. and consider the Gulf War, it was only some years about but you probably already forgot when it started – this is why it’s good to own an encyclopedia”. Little did he know that he had just wandered into the home of the two of the dorm’s trivial pursuit sharks. “January 17th, 1991, 5 in the morning local time”, I offered … “That was a Thursday by the way”, my friend said. After that the poor sales guy was out of ammo and he left.
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@Maria
The Watchtower is not sold, voluntary donations are accepted (it costs money to print) and sometimes mentioned, but you are free to keep whatever is offered without donating if you wish. Nothing is sold.
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The way I handle JW’s is to say “Oh, gee, the orgy doesn’t start for another hour, but please, come in, come in!”
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My policy? Confuse them. “I don’t own this place, so I don’t get to make any decisions. Nope, no one who’s here gets to make those decisions. Have a nice day. Buh-bye.”
There’s always the snarling dog and the guy with the katana, though… (no, I’m kidding; I don’t really advocate threatening door-to-door salespeople).
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@Anthony
That would also work to persuade them to move along.
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If im in the right mood, i like salesmen..on the phone or in person. The reason being is i like to waste their time! haha. If im not doing anything at the time and i get a sales phone call, i will go through all the motions including bargaining and an interested tone of voice and at the end, i tell them im not interested! haha. they hate that! One example: i had a phone call trying to sell me magazines for 3.84$ for one month. I acted interested because they said they would give me a diamond watch and an entry in a cash grand prize. It turns out that at the end of the conversation he told me that i would owe like 70 bucks for 2 magazines that were supposed to be free! I laughed and told him he wasted 15 minutes of his time and made my boring hour very amusing!
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I always say no.
Even to the girl scouts–I tell them I am on a diet (which actually I’m not on–but you’d be surprised how many kids sell candy/cookies in my neighborhood).
I also have 2 large dogs.
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Man, some of you people are incredibly paranoid. I can understand the ‘I do not want to endure a hard sell’ aspect, but the ‘any stranger who knocks on your door will rape you, abduct your children, beat your dog with a tire iron, and then stomp all over your carpets without cleaning their boots’?
It must be scary to live in a world where everyone you aren’t on a first name basis with is a murderous Nazi because your friend Mabel saw something on Dateline or it happened to that kid two counties over one time (really! My friend’s cousin’s boyfriend was their neighbor and he found the bodies!).
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I get so many door to door solicitors I don’t even answer the doorbell anymore. And I don’t care. It’s rude of them to assume we have nothing better to do than stand there and waste our time listening to their spiel. I finally convinced my fiance that he doesn’t even need to listen to the sales pitch either. Also there are so many home invasions and such around here, I think it would be just plain stupid to let a stranger in my house unless it’s someone coming to fix something and planned, by ME, in advance.
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Mos wrote: “Considering some of them face drawn weapons at times doing the non-paid, volunteer work that Jesus commanded his followers to do and trying to honestly help people, I’m sure a rude Catholic wasn’t anything new. Way to be Christian though. You can simply politely say you’re not interested if you really aren’t.”
Actually, I’m not Christian, I’m Agnostic, and the rude one was my younger brother – my parents just usually say “no thanks”. And perhaps I should have also stated that these JW’s were wandering around selling their religion in an almost Catholic-only town (which, just so we’re clear here, Catholics ARE Christians). Am kind of curious how a “rude Catholic isn’t anything new”, but that’s probably a discussion best saved for cooler heads.
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A gate, a sign, and a dog tend to combine to equal no salespeople showing up. I dislike the religious solicitors more, though.
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Dear god! DON’T OPEN THE DOOR TO STRANGERS! Ever. Period.
We have had three vicious home invasions in our neighborhood, two of them perpetrated by groups of thugs who had an innocent-looking woman ring the doorbell, claim her car was broken down, and ask to use the phone.
A friend of mine lives in an apartment complex where her two kids play with the neighbor kids all the time. Some guy came to the door — expecting a friend, one of the kids opened the door. First he tried to give a magazine pitch; when the mom told him no, he tried to force his way in. A Salvadoran farm girl, she’s surprisingly strong, thanks to a lifetime of hard work. She put up a fight and ended up physically kicking him outside and slamming the door behind him. Lucky for her: within the previous week he had raped two other women in front of their children.
When I was young and pretty, a man came to my front door. I was expecting someone and had opened the door but kept the chain lock on it. Coincidentally, I happened to have been sharpening the kitchen knives when he showed up. He could see the two German shepherds at my side and he could see I had a butcher knife in my hand, and he STILL tried to force his way in.
No stranger who comes to your door, whether to sell you something or for other reasons, means you any good. People who try to proselytize you have no respect for your beliefs; assuming they’re right and you’re benighted, they don’t mean you any more good than does any other intruder. Sorry it doesn’t sound very friendly…but it’s life in the big city.
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Here in the Netherlands we don’t have that many door-to-door salesmen. Most of the time it are unsollicited phonecalls. With both I find it very easy to answer with a quick, “No thanks” and end the conversation (I don’t listen to them anymore). The reason I find this so easy is because I know they work on commission and they would be wasting their time on me.
In the past I would say my wife just happened to work in their area of expertise so we already have insurance, a nice car, loads of books or whatever they tried to sell but nowadays I don’t even bother to listen what they are trying to sell.
The only exception are the charities which come here door to door. They all get some (very small) amount. If somebody takes the trouble to go door to door for some good cause they deserve a reward. And if they aren’t for real, the amount is so small it wouldn’t be worthwile.
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My son just speaks longingly of how he’s been meaning to get one of those (whatever they are selling)now that he’s out of prison. This works especially well for credit card offers.
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I actually love it when these guys come. I keep the gate to my porch locked, and my dogs are the alerters. I go outside to meet the soliciter, but make no attempt to quite the dogs. I frequently ask him to repeat what he said, I couldn’t hear, the dogs are barking! Eventually he leaves, frustrated… and I smile and give my dogs a treat for being great watch dogs.
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I didn’t even know door-to-door salesmen still existed. I’ve never gotten one that wasn’t part of a religious group.
Also, I have a pitbull.
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@Kjell, agreed.
I answer the door holding onto the collar of my big Lab. Usually the conversation is very short.
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Probably a dead thread, it’s been a few days.
But I’d like to add my $0.02. I’ve maybe mentioned this before, but when I was a salesman, the thing that always bothered me the most, and the thing I use the most now, is to say “No” or “No, Thanks”, if I’m feeling especially polite.
The important thing is to say nothing else after that. The system of not taking no for an answer is based on you giving an excuse.
Person: My wife will never let me buy those.
Salesman: Why don’t you try it out, and then show your wife, if she doesn’t like it, then you can cancel.
or
Person: No, thanks, I can’t afford it.
Salesperson: Think about how much money you will save by buying this TV instead of going to the movies! Just finance it, we will give you a great finance offer.
The “No” with an awkward pause takes some getting used to. And the really sly salesman will ask you why, then you have to say something like “Not interested” or “Have a good day” and shut the door. The best case scenario is when they keep pitching things, and you just keep saying “No”. After three times, you will feel no social responsibility to keep the door open, they have broken the rules.
Also, Glengarry Glen Ross was a great insight into sales and human interaction in general.
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In highschool, my friends and I had a running gag about how we were going to make some extra cash:
We were going to to door-to-door selling “No Soliciting” signs!! Sometimes, I actually thought we were going to go through with it. We were going to knock during dinner time, and as the person opened the door, we were going to say “Are you tired of being interrupted by salesmen while you eat…”
The plan kept expanding to the point where we were going to knock on doors with existing “No Soliciting” signs and say: “Tired of people ignoring your sign? How about an ‘ABSOLUTELY NO SOLICITING’ upgrade for only $5.00?”
Laughter ensued.
Now that I read this post I’m saying. “Hmmm” Maybe I should have kept our genius idea to myself!
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[...] over at Get Rich Slowly posted a piece on Effective techniques to handle door-to-door salesmen. Here are some of the tips shared with the readers, please go and check it out, very nice post [...]
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Please take a look at our website that is dedicated to the problem of magazine sales people. When magazine sales kids come to your door, don’t let them in, but ask them if they’d like to have the Parent Watch telephone number in case they want to go home (they’re driven all over the country in vans and live out of motels). On occasion one of these sales people will commit a crime against a homeowner, since the itinerant lifestyle appeals especially to youths who have hopped onto a crew as a way to avoid arrest where they live. The great majority, however, are just slaves. Don’t let them in because you never know, but hand out our website info and telephone number. 917.579.4641.
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I tell the sales people/solicitor/church person that I charge a rate for advertising on my property, which includes my front yard, sidewalk, and doorway.
The rate is $75 an hour, min 1 hours. Then I ask them if they would like to purchase advertisement time.
This usually stops them in their tracks.
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Whats up with the drama ?
Why bother with creative excuses ? Why be dishonest and lie ? Why the complaints of “he was persistent” ? How hard can you make it ?
“No thank you, I’m not interested” works with 99% of all salesmen. After that you can just close the door. End of story. No creativity or lies needed.
Here’s a clue: You need to grow a backbone. If NOT buying simply for the reason that some person wants you to buy is a problem for you, you’re ALWAYS going to be wasting your money. Door-to-door salesmen is just one of a million examples of situations where you need the ability to simply say “no”, and mean it.
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Eivind is right about just saying no, but this thread wouldn’t exist if that were easy. Even when one is successful at saying “no,” and closing the door, the emotional discomfort of the home owner is considerable. The reason for this is that we are trained to be hospitable in our own homes to those who ask for our attention. The sales person knows how to manipulate one’s innate sociability. Outside the home one responds very differently to sales people and is actually annoyed if accosted on the street or the supermarket by a sales person. It’s easy to say no. It helps to remember that you feel uncomfortable saying “no” in your home because you were well trained by your parents to be polite to guests. Remind yourself that these people are not guests; they are hoping they can manipulate you into thinking they are guests, and then get under your well-socialized skin. As I said before, offer the magazine sales kids the phone, while remaining outside, and give them the Parent Watch number. They’re just slaves. Otherwise, it really is best to ignore your inner “helpful” impulses and close the door firmly. The most successful deterrent of all, which people just can’t bring themselves to do, is place a small No Trespassing sign on the lawn. Then anyone who comes into the yard is committing a criminal offense.
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This is all true. My point is, inventing more or less clever lies have no advantage over simply stating the truth.
We may be socialized to be polite to guests, but one would hope we’re -ALSO- socialized to not lie.
Furthermore, saying YES is harmful even if the offer was actually good (which it never is). In encouraging more visits.
If more people would siumply say “no” and shut the door more often, it’d be less profitable to do door-to-door sales, which would over time tend to lower the frequency, which is win-win.
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Well, good morning there, Eivind! It’s kind of a shame that this particular thread isn’t out there on the net in a more conspicuous place. People obviously have a lot to say about door-to-door sales.
And I love everyone’s inventiveness when it comes to handling an “on the spot” uncomfortable situation–especially the kid up a tree. Which reminds me: I once saw a large novelty door knocker in a catalog. It was a life-sized version of a particular part of male anatomy. It might drive the Witnesses away, but touching it would probably be irresistible for everybody else!
In all seriousness, go to http://www.parentwatch.com and take a look at the real life difficulties of some of these sales people. We can be a good samaritan here and offer them the option of a cell phone call (out on the porch) to us at 917.579.4641 so they can get out of their situation and be safe.
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Morning. Actually it’s afternoon in my timezone.
I -do- have a funny one for handling telemarketers.
As soon as I recognize them, I tend to say: “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a phone”.
I’m not sure if it amuses anyone but me, but it’s fun to count how many seconds they need to regain their composure and continue on with their script. At which point I just hang up.
Happens seldom though, there’s a “do-not-call” list that actually WORKS in Norway, so we get like perhaps 2 calls a year.
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I’m going to do the “I don’t have a phone one.” Very funny. This is off subject, but it’s irresistible to think about all the ways sales people try to get at us. You know those offers you get in the mail for a product and all you have to do is return the post card, postage paid? My sister went through a spell where she glued several of those post cards to a deck of playing cards and sent them back, “return to sender.” Postage, even return postage, is charged by weight. haha
I’d love to see Norway before I die.
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I don’t see what is so terrible about door to door salesman. I know that these guys are trained to “sell” me but the fact remains that you still have to be the one to say yes. YOU are the one who has to sign an agreement. YOU are the one that provides your billing information. Yeah, it is annoying to have someone bug you when you weren’t expecting it. And if a product is so wonderful, you would initiate the sale yourself. But it’s like the article said….these guys are just trying to put food on their family dinner table. I actually made my first ever transaction with a door to door guy a few weeks ago. I signed up for a new security system. We were using ADT. My monitoring rate was 42.99 a month. And when we bought the system we paid over $500 just to get it installed and we signed up for 2 year contract. Since the time we signed up, our rate slowly increased. That was about five years ago. A few weeks ago a young man from ICON showed up at my door. ICON is a much smaller security company that does most of it’s marketing door to door. He explained that they would upgrade my system for free if I would switch from ADT. I put up my dukes like I always do and told him I wasn’t interested and that ours worked just fine. But if he had any literature I would be happy to look it over. He left me his company’s website, his phone number as well as his I.D. number so I could verify his standing with his company on the website or from the toll free number. He also took advantage of the few seconds he had before he left to let me know I could have smoke alarms hooked with my security system so the fire department would be dispatched if I there was a fire and I wasn’t home to call or verify that there was actual emergency. Then I sent him on his way. He was polite, professional and respectful. The next day I called him up and asked him to come back after I did some research online through the company’s website as well as the BBR(which he recommended I do.) Now….after telling that long story….I made the decision to take him up on his offer to install a new system for free and change my monitoring service. Before he left after all the paperwork was filled out I asked him why he goes door to door and doesn’t just advertise in the paper or on tv. He explained that his company believes they get more business from word of mouth and from the little signs they place in customers yards. So, financially it makes more sense to go door to door and give people better prices, rather than spend money on more expensive advertising. Now, I am not suggesting that all door to door salesmen are worth your time. But I am suggesting that it might be worth a look. And when it comes right down to it, YOU are the one who decides to buy. I’ve lived in my house for over 30 years and now the score is George:5,342 Solicitors:1. And in all that time I’ve never once felt like I needed to be rude or belittle someone for doing his or her job. Remember that nothing in this world was ever bought that was not on some level sold.
Oh! I should mention that I am still pleased with my new security system.
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This is both funny and poignant. I think my parents have fallen victim to every one of the same pitches you have.
We’ve got a nice problem too.
Thanks for the tips!
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I own an aerating business and find that I can’t advertise like most business owners because the majority of people out there don’t have a clue what aerating is. So I go door to door to sell my services. Its a good service , affordable and my clients are extremely satisfied with the results. I do get a lot of rude home owners though.
Its difficult to keep a good attitude when you know someone is lying to your face or comes up with some kind of deceitful way of telling you no, especially when you know they are lying. Its insulting. And they have such smug faces , like , look how clever I am for coming up with this sneaky way of telling this salesman no. Its obvious and it more ill mannered than just saying No firmly. I am not a little boy, you are not going to hurt my feelings for rejecting my services, but for goodness sake don’t lie to my face and act as if you’re so clever. You are not.
I would rather hear from the guy or gal who firmly says I don’t need that right now than some pompous ass treat my like an idiot.
I have never had a problem not buying something I don’t want. Obviously I don’t buy it because I don’t want it.
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Marty,
I save that type of treatment for those who choose to ignore my prominently displayed “No Soliciting” sign.
“Oh, I’m not soliciting, I’m offering a service…Oh, I didn’t see that large, bright, and reflective sign that is right in front of my face…Um, what does ‘soliciting’ mean?” etc.
If they want to play dumb, then I will treat them as such.
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I’m not a sales person, I work for an auto repair shop and am going door to door to sell our coupon cards ($600 worth the work for $69.50). I’ve noticed a lot of people automatically say no because of past sales people I’m sure. Does anyone have any advice on how to get through to people that this is a really good deal and I’m not a sales person, I’m the office manager? I don’t have that “sales person attitude”…maybe thats why I dont much luck…I don’t argue and I do obey no soliciting signs. Does anyone have any advice? THanks!
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Here’s how I deal with door-to-door salespeople: I don’t.
The house I live in has a [locked and] gated walk way. There is no doorbell out there. Beyond that, there is the front door with a locked security screen. Even if someone goofs and leaves the gate unlocked, there’s still the security screen. You’d be surprised how little room for negotiation or wheedling someone has when they’re standing outside a locked screen like that. Beyond that…. well, I have more than a golf club for dealing with the 0.001% of idiots that would try to get into the house. My current setup keeps 99.9% of salespeople away from the house.
For those of you that have the means, you should look into getting one of those security screens for your front door; it works like a charm. All you have to do is say “No” and then shut the main door.
One of the best things I ever learned was that people have no right to my time and that I didn’t owe my time to anyone. Pushy mall kiosk salespeople and door-to-door salespeople get a “No” or “No thanks” if I’m feeling exceptionally polite. No hard feelings, they’re just trying to make a living (unless they get REALLY pushy; then I stop being polite).
“No” works. Learn it. All of the fancy gates and doors I mentioned above just make it easier to say “No”.
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Sometimes people at the door are not selling anything, they’re just trying to get your opinion about something or build a business relationship.
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Bill,
No one is “just trying to get your opinion.” It is a set up for a sales pitch or some other self serving purpose. Also, “build[ing] a business relationship” IS precisely soliciting! See Eric’s statement above yours. He says he learned “people have no right to my time, and that I didn’t owe my time to anyone.” Very true. With a “No Soliciting” sign on my door, the only violators who won’t get a tongue lashing are those performing a genuine community service (e.g. notice of pending City Council action, neighborhood activities, and children who may be soliciting, but genuinely don’t understand the sign, etc). When I require the solicitor’s service, I’ll try to build a business relationship with him. He doesn’t need to knock on my door.
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[...] How to handle a door-to-door salesman [...]
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If someone is trying to sell you anything related with repairs to your home just tell them you rent, they will hang up or leave you alone. Renters can’t make those kind of decisions.
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I don’t like to buy things from door-to-door salesmen either; if I want to buy something I go shopping!
But what I don’t understand in US is the mentality:
Buy from little kids!
Kids are encouraged/forced to sell door-to-door; some of you say you hated it … then why don’t we stop it!????
You say is dangerous for an adult to open the door to someone. How dangerous is then for a child to walk into someone’s house? How easy is it to say “come in for a moment, I’ll just get my wallet …here, take a glass of water (or something).
And the worst part: this society teaches children that it is ok to go door-to-door selling staff; but when they grow up, it’s not ok any more… ow about making up our mind! Is it ok or not? If it’s not ok, then why are we accepting/encouraging/tolerating it?
What’s the logic behind: “I hate door-to-door salesmen but I don’t mind my children going door-to-door”?
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A says: It must be scary to live in a world where everyone you aren’t on a first name basis with is a murderous Nazi because your friend Mabel saw something on Dateline or it happened to that kid two counties over one time (really! My friend’s cousin’s boyfriend was their neighbor and he found the bodies!).
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Wow. What a cynical person. So I take it no one in your life, ever, has been victimized, burgled, assaulted, threatened, or otherwise intimidated? Must be nice to live in a world where nothing happens to you, EVER. Lucky you!
*eye roll*
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These comments are great (most of them.)
You all should see the movie, “Boiler Room,” for three reasons:
1. There’s a really funny scene where the main character teaches a telemarketer how to sell and then still says “no” to the sale. Really funny.
2. It’s a great story about how buying something from someone who calls YOU can really mess up your life and that it’s ALWAYS better to buy on your own terms.
3. It shows how crappily sales people are (or can be) treated by their employers and how much pressure they are often under–another reason I don’t support these kinds of activities–I believe the employees deserve better.
It’s also just a really good movie.
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We have a policy of just not opening the door at all if we are not expecting anyone, unless it is clear that it is the police or fire and rescue. (They will announce themselves as such.)
This is not out of paranoia. We have had “incidents” where I live, and there were “incidents” in previous places I lived, so there IS a measure of safety concern. There are also a number of known scams going around right now. One of them is the “utility bill” scam. It’s a way to mine for people’s information and can lead to identity theft.
My primary reason for not tolerating soliciting of any kind is I hate it when people waste my time, and I don’t want to waste anyone else’s tiem. I also loathe the sales-type industries, because of things like a couple of people mentioned about the treatment of workers (Kirby, magazine kids.) I don’t wish to support slavery in any form, and I feel commission sales is not far off from that. Sorry, I just do.
I have a plaque above my door that says: “Who comes to me I keep. Who goes from me I set free. But always I stand against those who carry not my key.” I would post it outside, if we were allowed (HOA, pain in the ass.) I would also post a No Trespassing sign if I was allowed, but we are not. Our only option is to not open the door.
Funny story about religious solicitors. First, for the record, I want to say that the few times I’ve been approached, they’ve been very polite and pleasant–as have I–and they have always accepted “No thank you. I am (RELIGION), and I am very happy with my path. Good luck to you.”
The funny story is that way, long ago, a couple of Mormon gentlemen (young men–about our age range) came to my and my then boyfriend’s door. We were feeling mischievous, so we asked them in and gave them each a soda (they accepted, everyone was very friendly.) We then proceeded to give THEM an hour lecture on OUR religious beliefs!
Believe it or not, they thanked us for our time and the new information before they left! LOL! That’s the only time I’ve ever done anything like that. It was fun, and no one’s feelings were hurt.
Great post, great comments!
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I really hate door-to-door Salesmen. Especially after today. My parents helped me buy a house so I could stay in college by not renting from another roommate who has loud dogs. Along comes a Kirby Vaccum salesman that won’t take no for an answer and keeps mentioning he’s close to a free trip to Vegas. On the other end of this, my mother keeps mentioning they’re having to help me through college and recently made a large investment today. I had to leave the room and stay in my old bedroom otherwise I’d take a swing at this guy. But trust me, I could hiear them in the living room. I more or less paced for the entire time, and cradled an aluminum baseball bat weighing the pros and cons of taking a swing. To add to my irritation, it’s the same guy who came by a few months earlier with his partner. Who, get this, parked outside or patrol the street the entire time the salesman was in the house.
In the end my parents ende dup spending 1,200 they probably can’t afford to spend.
I know the guy’s doing his job but man I wanted to split his head open!
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I think that everyone needs to take a step back and realize that yes there are bad things happening in the world today. Does this mean we should be more careful? Yes! Does it mean that we should treat people we don’t even know with mockery and contempt? NO! I know everyone has been scammed some way or another and we have all had terrible things happen to people close to us or people we know. I want you all to know that I agree that a lot of sales people are annoying, pushy, and sometimes downright rude but not all of them are. That being said, I’ll tell you that I am a salesman. I have been selling this summer for about two weeks and in those two weeks I’ve witnessed every single one of your techniques at getting rid of a salesman. Now let me also tell you that I have been brought to tears more than once because of how some of those things made me feel. I am selling home security systems and I am based in Charlotte, North Carolina for the summer. In Charlotte right now there is a break-in occuring every 12 seconds day and night. EVERY 12 SECONDS! I’ve talked with so many people in these two weeks and not all but I would say 90% of them have had their home broken into or know someone (a friend or a neighbor) who has had their home broken into. These people are scared. The kids are talking about break-ins as if it’s just something that happens every day. I’ll be honest, when I came out here all I cared about was me and how much money I was going to make. But, as I’ve heard these peoples stories and seen their fear I’ve come to really care for them. People who don’t have an alarm system are in danger out here and a lot of them that do have an older system that can’t protect them anymore. My friend who is out here with me set up an older woman woman last week who didn’t have an alarm system and because she couldn’t walk very well she was on life alert. She was paying $50.00 a month for her life alert service. The new alarm systems have a life alert built into them. Now what my company does is anyone who signs up through the “door-to-door” salesmen gets the entire system free no equipment costs, no installation costs, and no activation fee. So she got the alarm system completely free with the built in life alert. She AND her home are now protected for $35.00 a month. I did something similar only the lady I set up had an ancient alarm system and no life alert because she couldn’t afford both and the alarm system was more important to her. She now has both and she and her family are now very happy. One of the big things we are trying to educate people on is that their old alarm systems are not safe any more. They run through a phone line to the monitoring station. The people breaking into their homes are cutting their phone lines that are easily accessible on the side of their house and then going right in. The monitering station has no clue. That is why we are trying to upgrade peoples alarm systems to the new cellular technology that uses a cell radio rather than the phone line. If you haven’t heard about this call your alarm company and ask if they offer it and if they don’t find one that does. My point is not all salespeople are there to hoodwink you into buying something you will regret later. I’m not one that can handle being lied to and being looked at with disgust. It really hurts me especially when I am there trying to help them. Like I said there have been a couple times where I just sat on a curb and cried. Now I’m not perfect just like none of you are perfect I know there have been times where I cared more about the money I was making than the benfits that the customer was getting and I don’t want you to think that I think I’m better than anyone else. Please, just realize that sometimes the things you say and the looks you give and the actions you take toward someone can have bigger effects on them than you could possibly imagine. I hope you realize that I was sincere in this post and that I’m not looking down on anyone for the choices they have made and the rules they live by. It’s just something to think about. If I offended anyone in this post please accept my apology and know that I did not mean to do so. Thank You
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Ya’ll are all f**kin rediculous! This country was founded on door to door sales w/o it we would never know what was out there now givin’ that these days have changed and money is tight in certain areas but keep in mind if you cant have the balls to just say no w/ as ya’ll say “niceness” then you all deserve to be slammed!! Oh ya I”m a salesman for the past 16yrs…and when i see s**t like this bein’ posted it makes me strive more to gettin over on ppl like yall! When i see yall conspirin on this blog about tactics on turnin us sales ppl away I LAUGH! it wont work cuz ill get ya one way or another lol rather it be you or your kids away in college or your sweet grannys, ill get ya! On another note I despise the salesmen that are in it to rob ya blind like check fraud or sellin you something that isnt there that only makes it harder for me but not for long cuz i wipe it off my shoulder and find another area to sale in lol. ill always succeed in what i do! and no solicitin sign wont scare me nor big dogs like COD talks about in his blog cuz if he charges me ill just stab him in the eye w/ my sharp pen or run him over when i back out your drive way! lol oh and to the fruit cake bloggin about hittin the salesmen over the head w/ a bat lol try me i’d burn your car down out front lol ya see the problem w/ this BLOG site is its alot of s**t talkin towards salesmen and they cant defend themselves but arent you glad im here now…when i find these sites i go to work the next mournin tellin all my sales guys lets go take it out on some ppl 2day like who i’d read about…no worries i dont know who you are except for ppl like COD well i dont know him but why leve pictures of yourself lol yall should go look at him he is a prime target we sales ppl look for and why would he put he’s ugly mug on facebook lol ill slam his wife one day or somebody will hopefully the salesman puts them n2 a finacial debt well I HOPE THEY PUT YOU ALL IN SOME KINDA DEBT!!! sincerley YOUR salesman…
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I’ll play along with Illgetya.
It’s obvious that you lack the requisite intellect and social skills to get a real job. Have you no sense of propriety, man? Have you no respect for decorum?
If you continue to gallavant about the land taking advantage of sweet grannies, swindling the disadvantaged, and leaving a wake of arson and hate in the driveways of America, then rest assured your time will come. Your time will come when you’ve finally been chased like a dog to the edge of the abyss. At that point, exhausted, a shell of your former self, and with your soul depleted to a tragic nothingness, you will turn to “all [your] sales guys” and say “Keep going Thelma.”
As you plummet to your demise, the Crying Indian shall shed a single tear to mark the littering of our treasured lands with your carcass and wares.
Give a hoot, don’t pollute blogs with your silliness.
People start door-to-door sales. People can stop it.
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Last year I made the mistake of opening a door to a stranger, and experienced an occasion where “No thanks, I’m not interested” was not effective – in fact, it made the solicitor step up his pitch and stand in my doorway to prevent me from closing the door. So I told him, “Get off my property, NOW”. He still didn’t leave. He just kept saying things like, “I’m not trying to sell anything. All you have to do is ask me how you can get a free trip to Mexico. Don’t you want to ask?” I had to get in his face and force him out of the way so I could slam my door shut.
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I found this page by researching how to sell door to door. I wanted to know if it is legal. I’ve been unemployed for 6 mths now. I was layed off and had just purchased a bigger place because we had another child. I haven’t been able to find work and we are going to be homeless this month. 2 children under 2yrs. and one 10 yr. old girl. I sold alot of things to buy a trailer and some lawn equipment to try and earn while I look for work. I made flyers and business cards with all the work I’m certified or have real professional experience doing. I came up with a product for your lawn that is handmade, really nice and should last you atleast 10-20 yrs. I made them and am making them now. I don’t have money for anything but food and gas. Door to Door came to my mind. We are desperate and I think door to door and the flea market is our only options. I figure if you see them on your lawn you’ll like it. Made in America by an American. I can’t afford to put my product in Walmart because I don’t own a sweat shop in China. So, what do I do if all you guys are paranoid? I suppose if this doesn’t work I have to rob a bank or move to a homeless shelter because we don’t have any other family and the only time people are Christian is when they are in their little church for an hour.
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I make between 500-2500 per week selling Directv door to door. You have to get used to meeting all kinds of people, some will thank you for your time, some will be angry because they feel theirs has been wasted. You have to have a thick skin, don’t ever lose heart over another persons poor character.
P.S. Research the following terms & practice in mirror:
Assumed Sale
Choice Close
Rebutal
ABC-Always Be Closing!!!
THIS PRICE IS FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY
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