Selling your book door to door is an idea that has been tested and proven over time by many frustrated authors and publishers. This article gives you tips on the art and science of this version of direct selling and network marketing. If you follow these tips, you’ll make new sales to new customers and expand your network!

Ever heard of the encyclopedia salesman Türsprechanlage mit Kamera knocking on the door? How about selling the Bible door to door? All types of books have been sold this way, from fiction to non-fiction.

The method of ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door works. Here are some tips for you to read, digest, and then use, and keep you busy getting some new sales and some new readers of your books!

1) Make sure the book you are selling is of the highest quality.

All important details are ticked off:

• Front and back are attractive, relevant to content, and look professional. I recommend a full color treatment ;
• Of course, the content has to be excellent;
• Inner text layout MUST be sharp, clean, and properly sized. DO NOT attempt to pinch text and fill the entire page. Carefully study the layout of successful books and get a feel for what works in the real world;

2) Create a “door knocker” and/or a flyer,

Something cool to leave to let people know you stopped by:

• Color is best, but you can achieve a lot with the graphic interaction of text and shape in black and white.
• Write a Blaster headline for your door knocker. Example: “Coyote Medicine… the Medicine of the Fool!”
• Be short and sweet with your door knocker. Point the prospect to the key words that sum up your book.
• Make it clear on the knocker how they can reach you;
• Seriously consider giving them something for reaching out, like a reduced price on the book;
• Same idea to get her to keep the knocker. Offer them another discount if they pass the knocker on to a friend;

3) OPTIONAL:

Make yourself a sandwich board out of bristol board .

• Attach large images of your book’s cover to the sandwich boards;
• And really big font size for your headings;
• Arrange the layout of your sandwich board so people can read it from across the street, the block down;
• Carrying a sandwich board will make you feel weird and it will raise awareness of your project.
• Therefore, it is important that it looks good, nice and clean on the layout and not too busy, not too cluttered.
• Keep it simple and full of pow -wow;

4) Ok, you have the book,

The door knocker, a flyer and the sandwich board. What next? you have you And you are the most important part of this whole equation:

• Put on shoes for walking. I do not recommend high heels for either men or women;
• Dress for success;
• Practice what you will say to the person who opens the door;
• Keep your intonation simple, to the point, and speak carefully, saying each word clearly, NOT too loud and definitely not too soft. Check out the sample pitch at the end of this article;
• DO NOT overcrowd the door. Stay far away from the door. Look harmless, NOT dodgy and weird;
• Put a smile on your face and in your voice;
• As you go door-to-door, remind yourself that you are offering your potential NEW reader a unique opportunity. They can buy direct from you and it’s something they will remember for the rest of their lives;
• Give yourself a minimum number of doors to knock on before packing it up for the day. 100 is a nice round number. 1000 is also a nice round number;

Done , go !

• Find an area to live in that is affluent and a bit trendy and where you have access to the front door area;
• Remember that people are nervous around strangers, so do your part in sending the right, harmless signals;
• Some people will be rude to you. It just is. NEVER get on your high horse, EVER. Stay out of arguments or any bad mood stuff;
• IF you are invited, which is happening, be very, very polite and focus on why you are there; Be very polite and steer the conversation towards completing the transaction.
• NEVER turn the sale into something else. Be clear on this point. You can make friends and come back another time to get to know each other.
• Be very, very careful about mixing business and pleasure;
• ALWAYS offer to personally autograph the book and make a short dedication to someone of your choice, either the new customer or perhaps someone you are buying the book for;

DIPLOMA:

You have to know that going door to door feels weird and it’s NOT for everyone. This is why it’s such a good idea, as very few people are willing to even try it, let alone make it a part of their regular sales and marketing program:

1. You won’t have much competition;
2. You will be unforgettable;
3. You will make sales;
4. You will begin to expand your network;
5. You can re-engage with these people, even the ones who said NO;
6. You will be surprised how many people will say NO and then wish you luck;

Remember to write down the name and address, as well as the email address and phone number of each new customer. Some will NOT want to disclose some or all of this information. Consider these facts:

• You never know until you ask;
• The worst that will happen is that they will say NO;
• IF you ask nicely, in a direct, no-nonsense style, and get the pushiness out of the way, you’ll get better results;

Here’s the sample pitch for When You’re at the Door:

“Hello! My name is Super Great Fantastic and the reason I’m on your doorstep today is, well, I wrote a book and it got published and as part of the promotion for the book I’m going door to door , and tell people about the book and what I do, and some people buy the Türsprechanlage mit Kamera book from me that way, and if they do, IF they want, I’ll sign the book for them and make a special dedication IF they want. Here’s the book (give them it) and it sells regularly for $47.79 and today I’m selling it for $19.79 as part of the sale and would you like to buy a copy?”

I hope you get the idea.

OK, enough about me. Good luck out there! And ponder this great truth: When a person says NO, it means you’re that much closer to your next YES!

Robert Farmilo is a published author of fiction and nonfiction.

He has sold books door to door and continues to do so. He says: “Nobody else does it, so it really works, and you can do a kind of networking that’s very rare these days. They are building a new readership and customer network, one person at a time.”