Staying Cool at the Door
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You should ALWAYS be salesman if you are in business. No matter what business. Relationships are about sales. I fought it, and suffered. But when I embraced it, I started knocking it out of the park. It’s not the sales that I’m talking about. It’s about prospecting methods.
How do scientists who have an idea for a drug solicit money for a startup? I could go on and on about what professions don’t doorknock. He likely went to school for eight years, so I guess he doesn’t need it. What about writers? Do authors go door to door selling their books? Who “needs” the book or article? Is there timing on that?
Yes they do but they primarily call on business, the business they call on are called Publishers. When the publisher buys the book it's because they can sell it. They need the book so they can stay in business by selling books and they pay someone a SALARY to look for books to buy, this person has a deadline because if they don't get the job done they will no longer be offered a SALARY and will not have a job. So they have a time frame in which to continue to do their job. Your really a pretty stupid person if you couldn't figure that one out.What about writers? Do authors go door to door selling their books? Who “needs” the book or article? Is there timing on that?
Well, there’s such a thing as self publishing. I know quite a few people who use that method. And do pretty well. My wife does it with children’s books.
Wow, why do you have to be so insulting? I never said it was pretty stupid that people go doorknocking, did I? I said that it works, I was commenting on the perceived professionalism of it.
My definition of professionalism may be different than yours, and I’m sure it is. But also, people in my market do not see it as professional. People in rural areas do.
All I’m saying is that it is very few businesses that go door -to door. Am I correct? Or not?
I also noticed you didn’t answer about scientists. I will come up with a list if you want of all “professions” that don’t go door to door.
And I’m sorry you are having a bad day.
The 'hate' wasnt direct at you AT ALL and isnt even 100% because of this thread, though there is some of the same anti-jones bullcrap in here that i see everywhere on here and im tired of the hypocricy in a matter of speaking. It's just BS the things people say on here sometimes and they really need to take a step back and try looking in the mirror and assessing their own lives and how they got there before talking down to others is all. It probably boils down to insecurities and the need to talk down to others to promote themselves..weakness in character. But some of the criticism is idiotic at best. *disclaimer* there ARE justifiable rants towards EDJ that I have read but all this anti-door knocking and pretending its not viable/professional compared to cold calling is reallyyy old...Wow. Why the hate?
I hope you aren’t talking about me. I’ve been pretty fair I think. And I work at Jones.
I just don’t think it’s the only way. Other than door-knocking, I’ve never cold called. But door-knocking never worked for me.
You make a good point about the telemarketing companies though. I wonder how the cold calling people will react…
hawse - sorry I mischaracterized your post.
I agree that there is a lot of Jones-hate on here.
I can’t imagine cold calling either though. Or door-knocking. Whatever works for people.
I will say I do question the professionalism of either method. That doesn’t mean it’s unprofessional, just trying to have a discussion about it. And I don’t think I ever actually said it was unprofessional. Just talking about the perception of it.
And I know you’re not talking about me, so thanks. Some people get really touchy on these boards though.
"My definition of professionalism may be different than yours, and I’m sure it is. But also, people in my market do not see it as professional. People in rural areas do. "
There is a big difference in approaching the "door knocking" in rural areas and small towns than in urban areas. When I was at Jones, we would exchange horror stories about door knocking and the urban stories beat us hands down for pure awfulness. Again..... I never approached the idea as a sales call but more of an introductory howdy call. No product information. No asking the stupid "What is your favorite investment" question. No probing questions. Just hello, here is where my office is and this is a list of the things that I can do for you. If they wanted to discuss investments, I would briefly oblige but insist that we set an appointment before getting into any real depth. If they didn't want to make an appointment, then I didn't want to give them any "free" advice on the doorstep. THAT would be unprofessional. I only go to visit businesses now. Most of my new business comes from client referrals.All I'm saying is that it is very few businesses that go door -to door. Am I correct? Or not? Maybe. Again the difference between rural and urban . When my husband started his business over 20 years ago (plumbing and electric) he went to everyone's house and either met with them and handed a brochure on his business or left the brochure in the door. Now he has to beat clients away or make them wait before he can get to them. The new auto glass shop in town did the same thing just a few weeks ago. I wasn't appalled at their lack of professionalism. I thought it was a good way to get the word out and admired their initiative. Personally, I would rather that approach than a phone call at night.
Babs - I like your approach. And I’m glad you found a way to make it work. Doesn’t quite fit the Jones model though of 5-7 contacts, offering investments and “if you have some money available…”.
And yes - I am in an extremely urban area. In the city alone, there are 34 Jones offices.
And I’m not opposed to people coming to my door. I merely asked the question. And wondering what people think about it.
Thank you for the polite dialogue.
All you ‘investment social workers’ are confusing ‘reception’ with ‘productivity’. Of course - if you knock on enough doors - people will welcome you in (again - stay away from the bathtub).
BUT - this string has turned into a digression of arguable theories. Keep on knockin'I’ve never done any residential door knocking. I have done lots of business door knocking.
I would argue that the act of door knocking is neither professional nor unprofessional. We've all been recipients of door knockers. My experience has been that some of them have done it in a very professional manner and some have not. We can argue that one prospecting method is better than another, but that doesn't make one unprofessional. If I have a meeting with Joe at Joe's Body shop and I get there 10 minutes early, it seems like a pretty dumb business decision to not walk in and introduce myself to the CPA across the street and the owner of the liquor store on the corner.[quote=apprentice]All you ‘investment social workers’ are confusing ‘reception’ with ‘productivity’. Of course - if you knock on enough doors - people will welcome you in (again - stay away from the bathtub).
BUT - this string has turned into a digression of arguable theories. Keep on knockin' [/quote] Then let's dispense with the theories. I've read two comments in this thread that said they found something other than activities like cold calling or doorknocking that really works well for them. I'd like to hear what those things are and how they work. Any of you guys that don't doorknock care to share how you bring new clients in the doors? If I could find something that filled my pipeline faster than doorknocking, I'd never ring another doorbell. So put up or shut up.[quote=apprentice]All you ‘investment social workers’ are confusing ‘reception’ with ‘productivity’. Of course - if you knock on enough doors - people will welcome you in (again - stay away from the bathtub).
BUT - this string has turned into a digression of arguable theories. Keep on knockin' [/quote] No... I think I can recognize productivity when a prospect that I door knocked on turns into a mid 6 figure client. I'm also pretty sure that I can recognize the difference between the reception of someone just being nice and a qualified prospect worth my time, after 20 years in this business. As we all know it takes persistence to turn prospects into clients. Does the prospect on the other side of the door or at the local auto shop immediately jump through the hoops and become a client.? Of course not. It takes multiple contacts after the initial one. When you ,"apprentice", hold a seminar do you have a 100% close rate or do you consider it a non productive event if only 1 in 10 become clients? If you cold call a person on the phone and he/she hangs up on you or fluffs you off, do you consider that unproductive waste of time? Is door knocking the best way to find prospects? Maybe......maybe not. Depends on your demographics and your personality. There are lots of ways to prospect and door knocking or personal unannounced visits are one way. As I said. I don't need to "door knock" any more because my clients prospect for me with referrals and recommendations to their friends. I do seminars, educational events and do visit with businesses. Pray tell, Apprentice. Enlighten us all on how you turn find prospects and how you turn them into clients. What is your recommendation for the new investment advisor who has no book of business and not many contacts in the community to get in front of as many people as possible?Spacey - rock on!!
First - I acknowledge that door knockers are required to do so (EJ wants you to develop relationships in your neighborhoods - that's cool). Prospecting is literally the million dollar issue. Client acquisition is 'job 1'. My method is pure and simple affinity / niche marketing - and very specific targeting of a market. Early on - joining clubs, groups, associations where my targets live - was the key (Networking to decision makers in your market). Ultimately - the goal is to get in front of 7 - 10 people per week who will hear your value proposition (new people each week - not your mommy every day). Door knocking gets you in front of people everyday - BUT, it's not very targeted (industry, affinity, or social wise). It's great to meet the people in your community - but time is so short why not be more practical in your efforts? Silver bullet instead of shot gunning.Babby - I posted this last message before addressing your concerns.
First - I don't cold call (remember - wasteful practices are not allowed in my house). Targeted calling to well researched prospects is a bit more productive. Also - calling someone from a referral from a mutual 'friend' is also much more effective. I work to get someone to make an introduction - that way the party on the other end is more receptive to my call. Looney - I don't think any of us believe that there's an easy way to buid a client base - but there is a smart, and methodical, way to do it. No new mousetraps here.Targeted calling to well researched prospects is a bit more productive.
Unless they know you, it is still a cold call no matter how "targeted" it is. Just sayin' I'm not with Jones (anymore) but when I was doing the neighborhood canvasing, I was also targeting. You don't go door knocking in a slummy neighborhood. You find out where your prospects live and do that area. Target the homes and businesses that fit your desired client base. You are right....no new mousetraps in your closet. We all do what works best for our own styles, our towns and cities that we live in, and the type of clients we want. I wanted, targeted, and have wealthy retirees, ranch owners (I mean large ranches) and small business owners. Initial door knocking or personal visits, if you will, were the best received methods in my area. If I lived in San Diego or Tampa, my targets would be different and so would my methods. What may be unproductive for you, might be extremely productive for others.There is plenty wrong with Jones, but they do teach the noobs how to prospect.
First off let me say Spiff that while I haven’t always agreed with the things you say, you always make very cogent, powerful arguments.
Also, just because a thread veers away from it’s intended subject matter, doesn’t invalidate the thought. (not directed at you SS).
As for prospecting, it starts with the phrase Jones tells you… "who do you know?"
I recognize that people starting out dont’t have a lot of people they can call on, but they better have met some people in their life or they need to quit immediately!
I had an unfair advantage. A mayor owed some favors, I did some volunteer work for a cause that a congressman championed. I served in the military, so did my entire family. While in Iraq I made several generals (and by several I mean 1 and a Col §) look very good.
And guess what? They all have families. With the young guys, I got their parents, then their grandparents. Older people their children, then brothers and sisters.
After you’ve exhausted the possibilities of families, begin in on the neighbors, their doctors, their dentists, attorneys, CPAs.
I spend three quarters of my day on the phone. I have a near limitless pipeline. Some are small potatoes, some very, very large potatoes.
Believe it or not, this worked even for a 22 year old wet behind the ears kid, who in his second year is doing 220k in production.
None of these have been cold calls.
Babbs - you’re the better man (or woman, can’t tell by your avitar).
Look forward to 'sparring' again in the future. Have a 'productive' weekend.I live in an urban area and it works here too. Doing what few people do sometimes is the best way to go. I didn't address your scientist point because it is not at all relevent to what being an FA is all about, I have never met a scientist that offers his service directly to individual consumers. So you can come up with as many professions as you want but if it doesn't relate to what we do then your just having yourself a circle jerk. The most relevent aspect of our business compared to cpa's/lawyers/doctors is that they normally start somewhere that offers a SALARY, do you see the difference? Sorry to hear your wifes book wasn't good enough to get published, maybe if she knocked on some doors at the publishing houses she might get some feedback on why they don't want to buy it.Well, there’s such a thing as self publishing. I know quite a few people who use that method. And do pretty well. My wife does it with children’s books.
Wow, why do you have to be so insulting? I never said it was pretty stupid that people go doorknocking, did I? I said that it works, I was commenting on the perceived professionalism of it.
My definition of professionalism may be different than yours, and I’m sure it is. But also, people in my market do not see it as professional. People in rural areas do.
All I’m saying is that it is very few businesses that go door -to door. Am I correct? Or not?
I also noticed you didn’t answer about scientists. I will come up with a list if you want of all “professions” that don’t go door to door.
And I’m sorry you are having a bad day.
On the contrary, her books have done very well. Her first two books were self-published, did a couple of readings and BAM! People came knocking on HER door. Do you know how difficult it is to get a children’s book published? Since I don’t know you, I won’t say you don’t. But it is a lot more difficult than any other type, and she did it by thinking outside of the box.
At Jones, the box is doorknocking.
A lot of people work on commission and don’t get paid a salary. I don’t understand why you are capitalizing salary either. I get it that people get paid a salary in a lot of other professions. However, there are places where advisors get paid a salary and get eased into the business.
We see this as growing a business. Anybody who grows a business must sell and find a way to sell. It doesn’t matter the profession. We are entrepreneurs (at least that’s what they tell you at Jones).
Once again, I never stated that it was unprofessional… I pointed out the fact that others don’t knock on doors, and asked the question, “what other profession goes door to door?”.
So you can keep insulting me if you like, but the simple fact is you mischaracterized what I said, got defensive like the typical Jones kool-aid drinking fanboy because your feelings got hurt by what other people said, and decided to take it out on me. I challenge you to find where I called doorknocking unprofessional. I was speaking about perceptions. As an advisor, you should already know about perceptions.
Oh, and when did I say that it didn’t work? I just told you how people in MY area perceive it.
[quote=Magician]On the contrary, her books have done very well. Her first two books were self-published, did a couple of readings and BAM! People came knocking on HER door. Do you know how difficult it is to get a children’s book published? Since I don’t know you, I won’t say you don’t. But it is a lot more difficult than any other type, and she did it by thinking outside of the box.
At Jones, the box is doorknocking.
A lot of people work on commission and don’t get paid a salary. I don’t understand why you are capitalizing salary either. I get it that people get paid a salary in a lot of other professions. However, there are places where advisors get paid a salary and get eased into the business.
We see this as growing a business. Anybody who grows a business must sell and find a way to sell. It doesn’t matter the profession. We are entrepreneurs (at least that’s what they tell you at Jones).
Once again, I never stated that it was unprofessional… I pointed out the fact that others don’t knock on doors, and asked the question, “what other profession goes door to door?”.
So you can keep insulting me if you like, but the simple fact is you mischaracterized what I said, got defensive like the typical Jones kool-aid drinking fanboy because your feelings got hurt by what other people said, and decided to take it out on me. I challenge you to find where I called doorknocking unprofessional. I was speaking about perceptions. As an advisor, you should already know about perceptions.
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Well I gotta give you credit you sure can write a lot without saying anything. Your question implies its unprofessional and if you didn’t intend that why ask it? Thanks for the challenge it was a very low hurdle.