What My First Direct Sales Endeavor Taught Me…
Back in the spring of 2005 (around 16 years ago at the time I’m writing this) I decided to try my hand at direct sales. Well, actually, it was door-to-door sales and it was grueling. But, it taught me a few lessons and started me on a long journey into entrepreneurship.
What this did for me was help me appreciate what it means to have to work for something meaningful and not just perform a task to get paid (kind of like hitting a lever to get a pellet, right?).
I will say that when it first started, I thought I had found the answer to the promised land. I told everyone that I was not going to work a traditional job ever again. I was ready to embrace the entrepreneurial world with open arms.
What I was not prepared for was how hard it was to move myself out of the employee based mindset when I actually got into this world.
The Beginning
My first step into the being an entrepreneur as an adult was not my first time have an entrepreneurial spirit in the first place. When I was in middle school, I found myself trading pogs and pokemon cards for small amounts of money or even maybe a little competition. Then, when I’d get a rare card or pog, I’d go to the local swap store and get probably $15–20 for it and then would take that money to go buy more packs and keep trying to find rare cards and pogs. This was successful for the most part.
In high school I got into BMX racing so I ended up moving on to helping people fix their bikes ($40 for a tune up, $100 for a rebuild) and that was pretty lucrative, especially since I knew what I was doing and it didn’t take me very long. A tune up was about an hour, a rebuild was 2–3.
While these endeavors don’t seem like much, to a kid in middle and high school, it’s a huge leap forward compared to my friends who were just sitting at home and playing video games or watching TV. I felt like I was actually accomplishing something with my time and I was proud of the work that I was doing.
Moving from California (where I grew up) to North Dakota was a bit of a shock because the BMX market was just not there. Some people were interested, but not nearly as much as they were in Cali. That’s where I started looking for more opportunities where I could make some extra money outside of my job (which at the time was working for a tire company).
The Ever-So-Enticing Offer
When I was helping a customer put tires in his truck one day, the customer asked me if I was looking for ways to make more money. He said that it was something I could do on evenings and weekends, and mentioned that I could even do it full time if I wanted to. He stated that it was just providing people with things they are already buying, but delivering it right to their door and taking the middleman out of the equation (basically what direct selling is).
When I met up with him to talk more about it, he had his own office and a fleet of trucks with freezers attached on the back. I quickly found out that this was selling meat door-to-door (similar to No Name and Omaha steaks at that time). He explained to me how money was made and not only was I hooked, I was convinced that I could do this full time and make great money!
The next day I told my manager at the tire shop that I was going to move on to something different and quit right then and there. While they were shocked, I was more shocked at myself that I was leaving the security of a job and moving to something that was completely commission based.
More Than I Expected… In More Ways Than One.
My first week selling these cases of meat (which sold for hundreds of dollars by the way) I was killing it!! I was making more money than I could dream of at the time (I was only 19) and I was telling everyone I could that they should do it too. I would boast constantly about the money I was making and talk about how I’m going to buy all these things on my dream list.
I started spending a lot of the money on frivolous things and putting some aftermarket parts on my car I had at the time. Every day I’d go into the office, get my cases, and hit the road. I’d usually sell out and make hundreds that day. I thought I had hit the jackpot and I was so happy with myself.
That was until the day came where I didn’t make any sales.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I loaded up my truck and went on to an area that I’ve been doing well. I knocked on the first door and the guy that answered didn’t even let me speak. He just said “Oh, it’s you. My neighbor said your meat was terrible, and for the price I can’t imagine every paying for it. Please don’t come back”
I was stunned!
But, I figured it was just a lost cause and I moved on to the next house. That person answered their door and said “Oh, my neighbor just called me and told me you’d be coming. I’m going to have to say no thanks. Have a nice night!”
Now I was frustrated, but I wasn’t going to give up.
So, I got back in my truck and moved to another neighborhood. I figured this time would be different because I was not around the same people. I went to the first house that was about 8 or 10 blocks away from where I just was, and I knocked on the door there. I went through my entire presentation and that’s when the nice lady said “Oh, I’m pretty sure my husbands co-worker talked about these. He said they weren’t very good. I don’t think I want these right now. Thanks!” and closed the door while I was still holding one of the packages from the box.
Now I realized something was up.
I was frustrated, but also angry.
Who was going around telling people that this product was crap!?
But, I didn’t care and I pushed forward.
I had 18 cases in the back of my truck. I needed to sell at least 6 of them to break even and not have some of my commission sucked up by not making sales (Did I mention we are given these cases on a “lease” where we have to sell them or buy them?). I spent the rest of the day really pushing myself to sell more and I ended up selling 7 cases. With the money I make per case, I only made $80 that day.
The Reaction…
The entire drive back home, which was about an hour based on where I decided to sell that day, was grueling. I was fuming. I couldn’t understand exactly what was going on. Why didn’t I sell out like I usually did? And why was that person going around telling people that the meat was bad? I didn’t understand.
When I got back to the shop and explained to the owner (who was always there until the last one of us got back), he said that it can happen. We calculated the sales, I paid for the rest of the cases that were left, and then went home with a little cash. I spend about 14 hours out and made just under $80. That wasn’t even enough to be minimum wage. But, I told myself I’d push forward the next day.
The next day I took enough to get myself to 15 cases (to be a little conservative in case) and went to a different town. While I wasn’t getting the same rejections this time around, a lot of people were saying no. I wasn’t saying anything different, and I wasn’t doing anything different, but people were just not biting. I thought something was wrong with me and that’s when I got to the final house of that day after only selling 5 cases (which luckily wasn’t going to cost me anything). The person who answered the door at the last house said “Son, let me tell you something. What you’re doing is disrespectful. You are going to people’s doors, taking up their time by showing them this product, and then asking them for a ridiculous amount of money. I believe you could do something better with your life.”
I went back to my truck and drove home.
I was defeated.
I felt like a failure.
I felt like it was all over.
Eventually I ended up devising a strategy for making money again, as well as enjoying the opportunity for what it’s worth. Instead of taking so many cases every day, I started taking what I knew that I could sell (which usually was 10 or so) and then I could always grab more if I was feeling like working more. I also realized that not everyone is going to buy, so instead of getting upset, I started having more of a positive attitude and pushing myself to keep trying instead of giving up.
In this instance, right as I had finally hit another stride and was making a consistent income while spending less time overall, the company went out of business (or the guy who was running it quit supporting our area). That part was out of my control and while it was unfortunate and I was a little upset to begin with, I realized that I had learned a very valuable lesson.
The Lesson
The big thing that I learned about this whole situation is that being an entrepreneur doesn’t come easy. There’s simple methods and depending on what you do, there’s always that risk that you may not make money every day and that can scare a lot of people.
I know that when I got into digital marketing, that was my biggest fear as well. I was worried that I was not going to make money and I was just going to spend a lot of my time doing nothing but beating my head against the wall.
Like selling meat door-to-door, digital marketing can definitely be a bit of a learning curve. I learned is that if we push, keep a positive attitude, and not be afraid to continue to take action, then we can accomplish anything!
I’m glad that I had the experience that I did with that company, and I’m excited to talk about the rest of my story in the coming weeks! Stay tuned!
