Winning Formula – Door to Door Salesman

So, we are now past all the holidays, the hustle and bustle and people are starting to settle back into their normal routines.

Let me say that I decided to watch the movie Door to Door based on Bill Porter (William H. Macy), a man born with cerebral palsy from birth. Bill used his sense of humor, determination, persistence and his genuine compassion to win the hearts of his clients.

Was it easy? Absolutely not. Working as a door-to-door salesman is a difficult job for the best of people, but Bill had many challenges that most could not relate to. First, he had difficulties walking and he spoke with a speech impediment.

From the very beginning Bill was challenged to get a job and be productive. His mother was his greatest support. His father had died, but his mother spoke of how great of a salesman his father was.

Bill was made fun of because of his disabilities, but his mother supported him and stood up for him. She did not allow people to bully him without repercussion. Through trial and error, and persistence Bill learned to use his sense of humor to win the hearts of everyone that he knew.

When he was turned down for a position with Watkins, a supplier of household items and baking products, Bill left the interview.

When he arrived downstairs and saw his mother standing waiting for him, after being turned down what appeared to be several times from other interviews and many other potential employers, he turned around.

He got the courage to go straight back up to the potential employer and challenge the employer to give him a chance at their worst neighbourhood for sales volume, telling the employer he didn’t have a salesman for the district and that he had nothing to lose.

With persuasion Bill negotiated to work for Watkins under a trial basis, but it took strength, confidence and courage. This was something he had not done before but he was determined.

As we learn in Master Key Experience about the law of growth, what we focus on grows. Bill demonstrated that he did not dwell on what others said or did but was determined to succeed, and he did succeed, but not immediately.

It was slow and it was a lot of hard work, but he persisted. He had many days with no sales and was threatened to be fired. But he persevered and finally made his first sale, when he finally asked the lady if she wanted to purchase 1 or 2 of a particular item. He seemed genuinely shocked that he made his first sale.

So, lets’ look at the formula for success and see how it was demonstrated in the movie then.

First, he had a burning desire to succeed. He didn’t have the skills initially, but he kept trying until he finally had a rapport with one of the women who seemed lonely, and he took the time and was patient with her.

Second, when he was threatened to be fired, he decided to go back to the home, where the women complained that he scared her child. This time he used a puppet and engaged the child. He was creative in his approach with people.

He made them feel comfortable by listening to them. One of the most important skills in sales is learning to listen well to the client. Listen to what they say and what they don’t say. Ask questions so you don’t waste their time or waste your time.

Know thy customer which was evident that Bill knew his customers. They were like family to him.

He also asked initially for the client to help him write up the sales order for him. Although he was challenged, he succeeded, by making improvements slowly but steadily.

He saw the interaction between people and was compassionate towards their circumstances, getting along with everyone.

He demonstrated patience, persistence and compassion.

Over the decades the neighbourhood (his clientele) seemed to see him as a steady reliable fixture, part of the family.

Near the end of his career, he was the salesman of the year for the entire company.
He demonstrated that he had a positive mental attitude.

Although he initially did not have a clear plan, he developed a plan, and created his own system, to write the orders, follow up with his customers and deliver the products to his customers.

It was very difficult for him to deliver his products with his disabilities and not able to drive. After his mother became ill, he had to adapt and hire an assistant to help him with his deliveries.

What you notice is that everyone he interacted with became close friends. He treated them like family but was very professional.

What was noticeable was that he learned how to communicate effectively with his clients, show compassion and patience. He also demonstrated that he knew his product lines very well. So, he educated himself to be of service to his customers.

In the end, when one of his customers had passed away and there was a scene with Bill talking with the family, they took him into the client’s spare room and there was a room full of unopened packages.Bill had been delivering product to his first customer for decades.

It was clear in the movie that Bill was a fixture in many of his customers lives. He knew them well, understood their personalities and genuinely cared for their well being.

He gave his time, patience and compassion freely and he was rewarded for his efforts. He demonstrated give more, get more without the expectation of reciprocity. People liked him and trusted him.

There are many qualities that Bill demonstrated that I can reflect back on my own life as a Real Estate broker for over 21 years. I decided to focus my career on quality relationships and sell unique properties for several reasons.

Initially at the age of 19 years old I started out in the commercial real estate market and specifically in the retail gasoline market. I became skilled very quickly at finding and negotiating retail gasoline sites for a small independent retailer that did not have the funds to compete against the major oil companies.

Therefore, I needed to be well prepared in finding and negotiating the purchase of the lands for gasoline stations or identifying high volume retail locations that were not under contract with the major oil companies or that had contracts that were to expire.

This was not an easy task because 40 years ago most sites were owned by the major oil companies or under long term contracts (up to 99-year leases).

There was a lot of research involved in finding suitable locations. My father would drive around looking for sites. There was a lot of wasted time, energy and gasoline.

I decided to develop my own system (being a red – color code) efficiency for me was very important. I decided to get the phone book back then, check the tax rolls at every city or municipality within 100 miles of Toronto and create my own data base.

Once I had my data base of privately owned stations, I then went to the land registry office and poured over the books to read all the contracts and information on every site that was not owned by the major oil companies.

It was a lot of work but overall, it was much more efficient than driving around and around trying to locate a site that was not privately owned and that would be available in the near future.

Late in my career I adapted the direction of my real estate business several times to meet the demand of my family, very quickly I had 5 children in 6 years, so I needed to create the income but with less time available, I had to be creative.

I later began selling high end custom homes as this was an easy progression for me. My father had been a custom builder when I was growing up so I could easily adapt to this market as it was innate within me.

Growing up watching my father build custom homes and helping as a young child I already had the knowledge and confidence to deal in this market.

So, going back to Master Key Experience and week 14, there is a greater hand in the progression of one’s life, but also knowing that we are a culmination of the knowledge and experience of our ancestor and our personal experiences. That our thoughts create our reality and certainly when I was younger whatever I put my mind to I would accomplish.

For me looking at life in general, early on, I was very successful, but by my mid 30’s I was struggling more and more with my health. I experienced some very difficult times after facing an abusive marriage and filling for divorce, which was 18 years in court.

I feel that much of what I have gone through after attending MKE is from the subconscious programs which I developed while growing up in fear from an abusive father as well as the programs I inherited from my ancestors.

I also have always felt that at a soul level I chose my life circumstances, so that I could help others in similar situations. If I was to be of service in this area, how could I relate if I didn’t go through it myself?

Regardless of my past, what I am excited about is that I now have a blueprint to change my life’s circumstances and the tools to implement those changes. It is all about changing my thoughts, reprogramming my subconscious and creating positive habits.

It is a process and as it is stated in week 14

“If you enter into the discipline necessary to bring about a radical change in your life, you must do so deliberately, after giving the matter careful thought and full consideration, and then you must allow nothing to interfere with your decision.” “If you wish harmonious conditions in your life, you must develop a harmonious mental attitude”.

— Charles Haanel, The Master Key System, Lesson 14

I will end this week’s blog with my favourite statement from Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World ,

“I am nature’s greatest miracle. And nature knows not defeat. Eventually, she emerges victorious and so will I, and with each victory the next struggle becomes less difficult. I will win, and I will become the great salesman, for I am unique. I am nature’s greatest miracle.”

— Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

See more about my Master Key Experience journey here.