Door to door is a tough gig- whether residential or commercial. The old "fear of rejection" rears its ugly head and you always find "something else to do" instead of knocking on doors. (Chuck Violand always says, "The toughest door to make it through is your own!")

That being said, door to door is the fastest, most effective and certainly the cheapest way to jump start your business. True, it is tough to stick with it but it sure beats sitting and staring at the phone willing it to ring while your bills keep mounting up. Desperation was always a tremendous motivator for me!

Here are a few guidelines on doing residential carpet cleaning sales. (If you want some great ideas on selling to the business sector just e-mail me at stoburen@homefrontsuccess.com for my "How to Sell Commercial Cleaning" ideas. The Report is free. All I ask is that you read it.)

1. Pick the neighborhood/time. Middle/upper income homes and Saturday afternoon is what I suggest.

2. Dress in a starched and pressed uniform, shined shoes and have your company photo ID clearly visible. Be sure to be freshly shaved, hair combed, teeth brushed, just like you're going on a first date ... because you are!

3. Have a hook. You need something to catch the interest of the home owner when they first open the door instead of just blurting out "I wanna clean your carpets." If you are in a really fertile area I suggest 8 ounce spotter bottles with your logo silk-screened on them and the phrase "Free Spotter for Life". These are available in quanitity for about a buck a bottle and the investment should be well worth it in the right neighborhood.

4. Get your script together. When the home owner opens the door look them inthe eye, hand them the "Free Spotter for Life" bottle and say, "Hi, my name is Steve Toburen with Jon-Don Cleaning. (Actually I would suggest using your name but you can use mine if you wish!) We've worked for your neighbors and are giving everyone this free lifetime supply of spotter. It works great and when you run out just let me know and I'll drop more by." Many times the home owner will reply, "You know, I was just thinking of getting my carpets cleaned. How much do you charge?"

5. Inspect the home. You then say, "That depends on carpet type, wear and construction. If you have five minutes now I can do a complete inspection and give you an exact written price sheet." Then do a professional inspection and yes, if you want our official SFS Inspection Script all you need to do is e-mail me at stoburen@homefrontsuccess.com and ask for it. No charge.

Steve Toburen
Director of Training and proponent of low cost, rapid feedback direct marketing methods.
Jon-Don's Strategies for Success

PS At the very worst the home owner will say thank you and then you offer them your flyer explaining your services and thenk them for their time. At a buck a bottle if you hit 100 homes you are out 100 bucks or so plus your time plus I guarantee if you "don't have fork marks all over your face" (in the immortal words of Mack Clark) you will book four or five jobs during this long afternoon. Beats sitting around and complaining on the internet discussion forums how bad the economy is or bragging about how much you charge! (Even though you haven't done a job in two weeks.)

NOTE: Check local laws on leaving things on the doorstep plus if you do leave your flyer and spotter bottle make sure it is out of signt from the street.

When I lost my job in 1985 I went door to door offering to fix people vacuum cleaners. I had worked in the vacuum cleaner business for about 10 years and had a wife and new child. Went from 35k a year to zero in one day. So I set out door to door to help my family survive. After a week or so someone asked me to clean their carpets. I said sure, took a Kirby vacuum and cleaned it. The rest was history. 23 years later a multi-trucking successful truck mounted company.
So when all is said and done, much gets done when you get off the sofa and go door to door!

Rob Allen.

at the start ... Yes I did .. I enjoyed it and made me great $$ .. I miss it a little and as far as more com work I'll go out again door to door in a few weeks

I want the new TM paid off the sooner the better :-)

It doesnt always have to be face to face. Our rule is 5-up 5-down. Leave a door hanger or brochure at 5 houses to the left and to the right of your stop. Preferably before you start the TM up. When they come out and see what all the racket is they have their answer and a good reason to call you.