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Have you ever exited a building in an emergency, whether it was a drill or an actual event? You’re standing outside in the middle of a crowd for what seems like forever, and suddenly one person says, “I don’t hear the alarms anymore, and the emergency vehicles have come and gone! I’m going in!”, and as that one person goes inside, everyone follows? People follow people. After reading articles like the one here, from Forbes, most people would love to be the leader, rather than a follower, in almost all interactions. However, most prospects won’t realize they are interested until you force them to listen, once they do that, they will understand what it is that you’re selling and how they can benefit from the product. Be the one person to lead the crowd. Be the person to speak up, and declare what Mrs. Jones is buying from you today. But Dymond, I can’t control whether people want to listen to me or not! Yes you can, and here is one way you can achieve it.

When I sold educational books door-to-door, I learned that the first sentences of my pitch really did not matter. The prospect is not actually listening to what I am saying when I first approach the door, they are just trying to figure out what it is that I want and who I am, which makes total sense. By the time I am trying to walk into their house to explain things further, they have already made up their mind (so they think..) on whether they will let me go further, or dismiss me. As I say, “I would love to show you a few materials! It will only take a few minutes”, Mrs. Jones will see me grabbing my bag and shuffling my feet on her doormat as she opens her door slightly, confused or not, she expects that I am making my way inside. People follow people.

What if Mrs. Jones says that she is busy? Ah, isn’t that what they all say? “You’re busy? Oh I am so sorry! That’s totally okay! It only takes a couple minutes. I can show you right out here!” During the last few words, you are already leading her out to her porch and popping a squat on her stoop. She will follow you, and next thing you know, you guys have been chatting for an hour. Guess Mrs. Jones wasn’t so busy after all!

Have you ever been extremely bothered by advertisements that interrupted your streaming time? I most certainly have complained out loud, hit the table beneath my computer, and even given up on my content due to the constant interruptions. A fellow blogger, Kausus, discusses the importance of these ads in his blog titled, “Your Aversion to Advertisements are Hurting the Industries you Love”. Something I really loved about his coverage on this topic is that he has a very personable tone throughout his writing, and he explained the need for these annoying disruptions from the point of view of an employee of the anime streaming industry at Crunchyroll. He was able to point out why advertisements stop users from acquiring a free subscription to streaming sites, the reason being that the advertising companies essentially pay for your free subscription. All of the money that is paid to the streaming sites go towards server hosting, licensing and waging costs, and should you chose that the advertisements are not worth the time, you can pay for those costs yourself.

Kausus understands that as a blogger he must introduce a little bit about himself in each post, and to do that, he explains his attitude toward advertisements and where that outlook comes from. Growing up, he was raised within a low income family, and moved from home to home, none of which were very lavish. He appreciated having television as his leisure tool, and did not get upset at the sight of commercials because he was grateful to continue having the privilege of affording television service. He seems to have a calmer, more humble, point of view than most users today. I have a friend who subscribes to Crunchyroll to watch an anime show called, One Piece. He claims that the advertisements tack on an estimated ten minutes to the originally twenty minute shows, and that he “does not have that kind of time”. However, Kauses professes that his contribution to the work done at Crunchyroll is appreciated and should not be ridiculed for the 6.95 price to not show advertisements. He also discusses the importance of avoiding the urge to pirate the streaming content. He says, why not sit through the commercials? They need them, and to not abide by that would cost them their business and the users their beloved content.

Imagine this: You are just getting home from work, and your 5 year old is chatting nonstop about every little detail in her day in kindergarten. You just remembered the chicken is not thawed for dinner, though you asked your husband to do this morning. Your son is asking where his soccer jersey is at the same time that you spot it at the top of the dirty laundry pile. The dog is whining for attention, the phone is ringing, and you are wondering how you haven’t pulled all of your hair out yet. Then the doorbell rings, and the first thing you see when you open the door is a toothy grin that shows way too much gum. You wonder why this person is so excited on such an awful day. And why is he standing so close? And why is he talking so fast and loud?

The man is a salesman. We probably would not know that immediately when we were to open the door. When that door opens, we automatically begin to assess the situation. We want to know who they are and what they want. My advice to the salesman? Act like you don’t care if they buy what you’re selling as much as must as you probably do. I’m not saying don’t believe in your product (that is for another post), but there is a way to be knowledgeable and also carefree and relaxed. You, as a salesman, have no idea what the person on the other side is going through. They could have just gotten the worst news of their lives, or they could have gotten a promotion, but what no one wants is an over enthusiastic person who just interrupted their day to ask them to spend money on them.

Here are three ways to not care so much:

1. Talk lower and slower. We want for Mrs. Jones to hear what we are saying, and even if we think we sound weird, I promise, you are speaking at normal pace to her. If you think you’re talking too slow, you’re doing it right.
2. Try saying, “If you’re into this, great. If not, it’s no big deal. I’m just showing this to everyone in the neighborhood” You don’t have to try to sell your product. You don’t even need to sell yourself. You’re just showing them something cool.
3. Be one with the neighborhood. Know Mrs. Jones’ neighbors! Mention them soon, too. “I was just talking with Mrs. Smith next door *point at the house* and I thought I’d come by to show you this, as well” You can mention what she purchased later, but now Mrs. Jones knows that if Mrs. Smith chatted with you, you must be a stellar guy.

These are just a few of the ways that we, as salespeople, can sell our products without being too overbearing or desperate. To find more tips on how to sell products door to door, I found this article on Buzzle very informative.

My name is Dymond Sam, and I am a public relations major at Texas State University. Every job includes sales. Whether we are selling a product, ourselves, or a company, I believe that everyone can benefit from a blog that discusses the many things it takes to get a customer to say “yes”. I, personally, have been a prospect for commercials, billboards, and many different mediums of advertising, and I will be examining the ties between the media and myself in current situations. I will include my experiences in retail, door-to-door sales, leadership positions in organizations, waitressing, and everyday life to create blog topics in hopes that every reader can relate and learn from them.

My hopes for my website and my blog(s) are significantly high. I wish to inspire others by being consistently relatable, current, and knowledgeable about certain topics. I am, by no means, an expert on the subject of sales, but I consider myself to be extremely observant, and eager to learn. As I educate others, I intend to educate myself via online articles, books, specialists, and advertisements, from Adweek, for example. My blog is for anyone who is interested in getting what they want, sales, and forming relationships with really anyone… this blog is for any and everybody!

Persuasion is not the only thing I find interesting, in fact, finding a topic for this blog was not hard because I couldn’t think of anything, I was considering way too many ideas! I am excited to begin this blog, and I hope that over time I will be able to accumulate more blogs about different interests that I have such as dogs or music. As of social media platforms, I will be adding a twitter widget, I may add my tumblr as well, which does not hold much of a solid theme, but if anyone is interested in getting to know my interests, I reblog and write about personal situations, beliefs, and favorites often. To my readers, I look forward to providing a service to you, and I am excited to sharpen my writing skills as well as exercise my ability in scrutiny when it comes to people and advertisements.