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Digitization has put the world of marketing at our fingertips: just a few clicks can put your marketing campaign in front of the eyes of your target audience. However, even the most promising campaigns fail to bring the expected results because of how saturated the market is. What’s old is new again, and now it’s time to recall old-school marketing methods like door-to-door sales. Why? Because when done right, door-to-door marketing is still one of the most efficient and effective ways to increase your customer base, build strong and long-lasting relationships, and sell all kinds of products or services. D2D marketing specifically has the strongest impact and results on the home improvement industry. Many companies in the solar or roofing industry generate well over half of their revenue strictly from door to door marketing, which shows that door to door is still a highly effective tactic that will lead to success and revenue if done correctly.
Door-to-door sales (or D2D) is a direct selling method, a canvassing technique that is commonly used for sales, marketing, advertising, and campaigning. In D2D, sales reps or business owners visit potential customers at their homes and convince them to buy products or services, or to even just schedule a consultation for the service being provided.
Door to Door lead generation involves several stages:
Even though the concept of door to door marketing is a bit old school, it is still highly effective. There are two main resources that are required for generating leads: Time and Money. Much of digital marketing and online paid marketing requires you to spend money to generate results. Which, in theory, does work. However, solely relying on paid marketing to generate the leads for your business is not sustainable long term because of the price, so it is important to supplement your paid marketing efforts with cheaper options.
When it comes to cheaper leads, nothing is more cost effective than taking the time to generate your leads through door to door marketing. Unless you are paying someone to go door to door for you, these leads are free. Oftentimes they are also some of the easiest leads to convert into a booked job as you have developed trust and relationship even before you show up for the estimate. By spending just 3-4 hours of your time per week knocking on doors, you can expect to generate roughly 4 leads. An average person going door to door will generate one lead per hour, however individuals who take the time to master this skill can double that rather easily by using some of the tactics that will be discussed in this playbook.
If you are looking for an easy way to generate a lot of quality leads at a very low cost, door knocking is the best approach. This is a marketing strategy that has been tested and proven for years. The best part of Door to Door is that very few of your competitors in the painting industry actually do it, giving you the advantage of reaching those customers first.
Choosing your locations for door knocking is the first step and is crucial for success. One of the first things you should do as you start your business is get a solid understanding of your market. Which neighborhoods should you focus on and why. When looking at your market you should break down your market into 5 categories:
Category 1: Lower class: These are neighborhoods where yards and houses are not in great shape. You may see abandoned houses throughout the neighborhood. Many people who reside in these neighborhoods will struggle to afford a quality paint job and will be looking for the cheapest price possible. These are typically smaller homes, with not much upside in sales.
Category 2: Middle/lower class: This will be a mixture of well maintained homes and yards, as well as homes that are not maintained. You may find a few projects in this type of neighborhood, however, many of these homeowners will still have price as a key factor when deciding on a contractor.
Category 3: Middle class: These are average size homes, with the majority of the homeowners taking good care of their house and property. They take pride in their home and want to ensure the basic maintenance is kept up. They can afford a quality paint job, but still have price as a small factor when deciding a contractor. HOAs (HomeOwners' Associations) are fairly common in these types of neighborhoods.
Category 4: Upper/Middle class: These are above average sized homes, that are very well kept throughout the entire neighborhood. These homeowners also take a lot of pride in their home and are willing to spend more money to ensure they get a quality job done. Price is less of a factor for these customers, as they value quality of product and service more.
Category 5: Upper Class: These are high end homes with large properties. These homes are always in pristine condition and price is not a factor for these customers. They want the best job done as possible regardless of the price. Many of these homeowners have contractors on retainer that come do their home maintenance work on a regular schedule.
The type of neighborhoods you should be focusing on are category 3 and category 4. These are customers who care about their home, have the money to do work on their home, and are the most open to people knocking on their doors. Category 1 and 2 will be hard leads to close as they typically don’t have the money to spend. Category 5 consists of tough neighborhoods to door knock in as the houses are typically spread out. Because of this, it is not always an efficient use of your time, except for certain situations.
Use online resources such as city-data.com to categorize the neighborhoods in your area. On this website, you can find average income, owner to renter ratios, common demographic information, and more.
Another effective way to focus your door knocking efforts is by using customers generated from other lead sources. When you generate leads through paid marketing, word of mouth, etc., you can use that house’s location as a starting point for your door knocking. Anytime you do an estimate, you should knock on the 10 closest houses to that estimate. If the customer you are doing an estimate for requires a paint job, chances are at least 1 out 10 closest houses probably needs a paint job as well. When knocking on these 10 doors you also have the benefit of name dropping your current customer to help build a more trusting relationship with the other potential customers on that street.
“Hi, I just got done doing an estimate for your neighbor MR. Jones! I figured since I was in the neighborhood I would swing by and see if you would be interested in a free estimate as well. Are you looking to get any painting done?”
Your goal for this should be to try and generate 1 additional lead for every estimate you complete. If you do not have a ton of time to go door to door, this is a great tactic to help generate a few extra leads per week, as it only takes 10-15 minutes after your estimate to knock on those 10 doors and chat with those homeowners. This will help you with a concept called owning the neighborhood.
The best door to door professionals truly understand the value of building trusting relationships with multiple people in a neighborhood. If a customer sees your branded vehicle and your crews constantly working their neighborhood, they are naturally going to trust you more than any other contractor, simply because their neighbor trusted you. The rule of 7 in marketing states ' It takes a customer to see your brand 7 times before they can recognize who you are and what you do”. One neighborhood could keep you and your crews busy for a month or more if you are truly owning the neighborhood. This does not mean you will paint every house there, but you can easily get 5-15 projects per year from a single neighborhood. Follow these steps to ensure you are setting yourself up to own the neighborhood.
Like mentioned above, it is important to keep your pitch short and concise. You only have about 8 seconds to grab the attention of the homeowner to tell them who you are and what you do. It is also important to maximize every door you go to. You should try to convert an estimate at least twice before you leave to go to the next door.
When you approach the door, you should knock instead of ring the doorbell. Knocking on the door is slightly less annoying and homeowners typically associate the doorbell with an unwelcome guest. Friends typically knock on the door vs ring the doorbell. After knocking, ensure you take a couple steps back and have your hands in front of you where the homeowner can see them. Don’t face the door straight on, you want to face the door at more of a 45 degree angle as this stance is less aggressive and homeowners will be more apt to open the door and talk with you. When they open the door, make sure to greet them with a smile and a positive attitude. Always introduce yourself first, so they know who they are talking with. They will be more open with you when they know your name and the company you are with. Now let's talk about the different scripts to use at the door.
The Basic - This is an easy approach that I recommend to any beginners. It is short and can be easily memorized to be used over and over again.
“Hi, Sorry to bother you, My name is (Your First Name) with (Your Company). We are doing some painting in the neighborhood, and I figured I would stop by to see if you were looking to get any painting done. Would you be interested in a free estimate?”
Just finished an estimate - After every estimate you should be maximizing your time in that neighborhood by knocking on the houses around your completed estimate. You can usually bank on getting a couple extra estimates each week by utilizing this strategy.
“Hi, sorry to bother you, My name is (your name) with (Your Company). I just got done doing a painting estimate for your neighbor Mr. Jones, so I figured since I was in the neighborhood, I would stop by real quick to see if you were interested in getting a free estimate as well. Do you have painting that needs to be done?”
Current Production - This is a script I use if I am currently doing a job in the neighborhood.
“Hi, sorry to bother you, my name is (your name) with (your company). We are currently doing some painting work for your neighbor Mr. Jones. I had a few minutes of spare time, so I figured I would stop by to see if you were looking to get any work done as well. Would you be interested in a free estimate while we are in the neighborhood?”
8 Mile Approach - This is a more advanced pitch that helps solve objections before the homeowner has a chance to lay out an objection. You want to state the common objection prior to them saying it, so they can’t use it against you. The most common objection you will get at the door, other than them not being interested, is they are busy or don’t have the time. Here is a great way to use that objection against them.
“Hi Sorry to bother you, I know you are probably pretty busy, I am pretty busy myself, so I won’t take too much of your time. My name is (Your name) with (your company). I am in the neighborhood providing free painting estimates. Are you looking to get any painting done this year?”
Some key things to remember when delivering your initial pitch at the door:
Remember door knocking is a numbers game, you will get told no or not interested a lot. It is really important that you don’t let that bring you down. Sometimes you will knock for 3 hours and get nothing, and sometimes you will knock for 30 minutes and get 5 leads. Ensure you are maximizing every door knock by working through objections if you can. When a homeowner has someone soliciting or knocking on their door, they are subconsciously already prepared to say no. If they say no on your initial pitch, follow up with a more specific question.
You: “Hi, Sorry to bother you, My name is (Your Name) with (Your Company). We are doing some painting in the neighborhood, and I figured I would stop by to see if you were looking to get any painting done. Would you be interested in a free estimate?”
Customer: No thank you, we are not interested.
Me: We do interior, exterior, decks, fences, and power washing. Are you interested in any of those services?
Sometimes when you get more specific like this it may jog the homeowners memory. They may realize that their deck is looking old, or maybe they remember that they want to paint their master bedroom, but have not gotten around to it. This will not work all of the time, but it will increase the amount of leads you get from door knocking by about 30%. I always try to get at least two “nos” or “not interested” from a customer before I move on to the next house.
What if nobody answers the door?
Depending on the times you knock, you will come across quite a few people who don’t answer the door, or they are not home. In this case I always leave something behind. Make sure when you are door knocking you have door hangers that you can leave for the customers who did not answer. You may get an extra call in lead or two for every neighborhood you work in. I prefer door hangers to business cards as they are a bit more professional.
Can I knock on doors that say no soliciting?
This one is completely up to you. Technically when you are door knocking to schedule estimates you are not selling anything, you are simply offering a free service to provide a painting estimate. Some homeowners do not even realize they have no soliciting sign on their home. I have definitely converted many leads that have had no soliciting signs. However, if you are not comfortable with it, there are plenty of other homes to knock in your market.
Do I need a license to door knock?
Some markets do require a solicitation license to go door to door. Ensure you look at the specific rules and regulations in your market to see what you need to qualify yourself as a canvasser. Some areas are more strict than others, and the process to get registered sometimes takes a few weeks.
Can I pay people to go door to door for me?
Absolutely, many companies that focus on door to door marketing build teams to go out and work specific neighborhoods. We will cover how to do that below.
Are door to door leads quality leads?
Simply put - yes. Homeowners will respect the grind and hustle you put into your business. When they see someone knocking doors, it shows customers that you have a strong work ethic and it builds trust with them that you will do a good job. Door knocking leads also tend to have a higher close rate because you will have already built a small relationship with them prior to the estimate. Oftentimes, the leads that are generated from door to door are in the same neighborhoods as other customers, so the homeowners inherently have more trust in you from the start.
The last thing we will cover is how to build a door to door team. As you grow in your business, you will find it more difficult for yourself to have the time to go door to door. This is when hiring a team will help you build a strong and consistent lead source for your business.
Before we dive into how to hire people, I think it is important to understand who you want to hire. Door to door is a part time job that has pretty flexible hours. This is not something that people can make a living off of, but is a great source of supplemental income for people looking to make an extra couple hundred dollars a week. I found that this role fits really well with college students or young professionals with limited work experience that have the time to spare for a part time job. When looking to hire someone, these are the qualities you should be looking for:
The best way to find door to door marketers is by using a variety of different name generation tactics. You can do online postings, utilize career services at local colleges, and network with your local community. These are all of the tactics that you can use to find potential candidates:
Once you have hired a marketer the onboarding process is crucial. Keep in mind door to door marketing has a high turnover rate and many people who start will quit within a few weeks. This is mainly because they do not find success early on, so it is important to help your new hires get some big wins early.
Their first day on the job should consist of a lot of training. Make sure you practice scripts and get them comfortable with what they are going to say before they knock on their first door. Do some role play and have them practice by knocking on your door and a neighbor that you know. Once they feel confident to go out, you should stay with them their entire first day of knocking. Keep it to a maximum of two hours of knocking on their first day. The first door you go to, you should demonstrate, so they can see how it is done, and how you interact with the customer. The next door, they say the script.
The whole first day you should be going up to the door with them. Your goal is to help them get at least one lead on their first day. The 2nd day, you should be with them the whole time, however let them get some practice by going by themselves to the door. Keep your distance, but close enough where you can hear the interaction and continue to give feedback. The goal for day two is for them to get a lead on their own. The third day you should spend the first half of the time with them and then let them go on their own for the 2nd half of the day. From there you should be able to let them work freely without you having to be there, but it is always good to work with them at least once per week to ensure they are not developing bad habits.
You should do daily check-ins via phone every day that they go out to ensure you are tracking progress and know how they are doing. At the end of the day, make sure your marketer sends you a report with all leads generated with the proper information and set time for the estimate. As you grow your business, you can look to add a team of marketers. I would not go higher than a team of 4 people as it can become a lot to manage, but it is always good to have a few people on staff to knock doors when you need it.
Use the following resources we have provided to recruit a door knocking team:
I have found it best to have a combination of hourly rate and performance based pay. The hourly rate ensures they get paid, even if they do not generate any leads for that day. The hourly rate would typically be anywhere between $10-15. In addition, I would pay them another $15-$20 for every lead that they schedule. A good marketer should be able to generate an estimate every hour, meaning the effective pay would be between $25-$35 per hour. This is pretty good money for someone for a part time job. That may seem expensive for you at first, but when thinking about how much leads typically cost when generated through paid marketing, the cost per lead is 5x cheaper and these leads are typically higher quality leads.
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