3 Tips for Building Customer Relationships in Door to Door Sales

Selling products door to door is a challenging industry. Coming to someone's home to potentially sell them a product can be nerve wracking and it takes a skilled and professional salesman to make it a lucrative strategy. Whether you're a salesman looking to up your game, or a business owner hoping to train a sales force, these tips will help you develop good customer relationships.

1. The Perfect Pitch

While it's not the best idea to cut and paste the exact same pitch for every sales opportunity, having something memorized will help you to feel more prepared and less nervous while you're selling. If you can make a pitch that's compelling, descriptive, and even entertaining, you've already got your foot in the door, and are on your way to having great sales skills. The customer is more likely to continue the process if your pitch is executed well.

Remember, you've got to make them understand why they need your product, and why you're the one to sell it to them. Especially if they've never heard of the product or the company, it's important to establish credibility with them as soon as possible, or they may not trust you. It's important to maintain patience and a calm demeanor throughout the pitch as well, since rushing and being overly aggressive will make the customer defensive. But don't drag it out too long, either. Boring the customer will get the door shut in your face just as quickly as being over eager.

2. The Thoughtful Closer

When you're trying to close a sale, it might be tempting to rush the customer through the process and give very little thought to what's good for them. Ultimately, however, it's of utmost importance to stay focused on what the customer's needs really are. Finding the right product for them will ensure that they don't feel swindled later on, or regret making the purchase, and they'll be more likely to trust you in the future when you tell them what they need.

Depending on how much time has passed since your pitch, it might be a good time to reiterate why they need the product in the first place, and give them a chance to tell you their opinion. Make sure they know their options, and don't rush them to make a decision, but keeping the process moving is essential. There are a variety of strategies you can employ during closing, but whatever you decide to use, make sure they customer's feelings and needs are your priority. Making a sale that the customer didn't really want will only land you in hot water during the follow up.

3.The Personal Follow-Up

The third part of the relationship building process in sales is making sure that you personally follow up with the customer after completion of the sale. The best way to make someone feel used is to drop them once they've paid up, so taking the time to touch base with them and see how they're doing will go the extra mile to building a good relationship.

Answer any questions they might have, and figure out if they're really satisfied with the product. Your first priority should always be customer satisfaction, so it should never be enough for you that a sale has been completed. Make sure to bring up any key personal details you may have learned during the sale, so the customer knows that you were paying attention and remembering things about them and their lives. A good follow up call will make the customer more likely to call you again when they need something in the future, and will build great PR for your company.

These three steps of the door to door sales business are tough to execute perfectly, but if done correctly, will make you an exceptional salesman. Customer satisfaction is the key to making you the best salesman you can be.