Question: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE STEREOTYPES OF DOOR-TO-DOOR WHEN IT COME TO SAFETY?
Answer:  Like most college students, when finals came it meant late nights, unhealthy amounts of red bull, and practically taking up residency at the library.  However, to access the library at late hours required a little trek across campus.  As a female, walking across a college campus alone at night can have its fear factors.  Thus, I made a habit of calling a friend for the walk to serve as an extra precaution.  The University even took action and placed emergency blue lights methodically around the campus to provide added safety for its students. Still, I could not help but feel slightly wary of my vulnerability and the potential dangers associated with a young female walking alone during those late hours. Typically, with admittance to a university, campus safety is usually an afterthought. In fact, most often it is simply assumed. Yet, statistics show that one out of every eight females will be assaulted whilst in college.[1] 

 To my surprise, when my parents heard I wanted to sell books door-to-door for a summer internship, they looked at me as if I was volunteering to be the next face on a missing milk carton.   I was almost certain my parents would be content with the idea of me spending my summer with families and their children talking about education. Looking back, I understand how my being female generated more cause for concern than if I were a male.  Yet I still couldn’t understand what I considered was their “over-concern” with this when they seemed to neglect most, if not all, other potentially dangerous endeavors which yielded great praise. Examples of these endeavors include going away to college, backpacking Europe solo, numerous road trips and skydiving, to name a few.  To me, the idea of selling books was just another exciting adventure and in no way was it compromising my safety. I felt my parents were basing their judgment on the idea of it being more taboo rather than looking at the facts. 

Unfortunately, when most students approach their parents about a door-to-door sales opportunity it is in their parental nature to be instantly closed-minded (and they should until they have the facts and are educated about the opportunity).  I now recognize this is what being a parent is like: you always worry about your children and want the best for them.  Occasionally while talking with families, I would have some who were inquisitive that wanted to know how my parents allowed me to participate in such a “dangerous” program. “Especially for females,” they would say.

Here are my thoughts: 

• I felt safe with the reputation of the company I was looking into (Southwestern in this case)
• I spoke to others who had done it before
• I learned the company was over 150-years old
• I saw they had the university’s permission to recruit on campus
• I attended tons of training about everything from the products to ethics and, yes, safety
• Southwestern wanted to meet with my parents, who were asked to endorse me in order for me to participate

(1) I would never deliberately put myself in compromising situations that were going to cause me to feel uncomfortable – on campus or elsewhere.  For example, while selling I would only enter the home if the mother was there and I would make it my mission during the day to make appointments for the evening hours. I have never felt frightened doing this job because I never gave myself reason to. 

(2) My parents were more at ease once they spoke to the family I was living with and knew I would be taken care of. My first summer running my own business through Southwestern, my mom was very wary of where I would live.  She was very relieved when she understood I was in a safe environment and had someone I could rely on for support in my times of need. 

A lot of families I meet in the summer have a misconstrued understanding of what I do. Usually once families hear me out, they come to an understanding of our program, but I think at first they assume we are just a bunch of helpless college students who unloaded from some van and just knock on random doors (by far, not the case).  It is liberating to be able to explain what I do and change someone’s jaded perception based from stereotypes or simply an assumption.  Just like on my college campus, by being aware of my surroundings, having alevel head and using common sense, I have found security in what I do.  I’m a door-to-door sales person.

______________
Lucy Morton-Hicks is the Communications Specialist for the Southwestern Company, the nation’s oldest direct selling company based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is an award-winning, top sales person and recruiter who has run her own business as an independent dealer the past three summers selling Southwestern Company’s educational products door-to-door in their summer program for college students.  She is also engaged in the training and mentorship of students from several Florida universities.

I graduated from Florida State University in May of 2008 with a degree in communications and have successfully run my own business working with families in and around  Nashville, TN, Newark, OH and Granite Falls, NC.  For the past two years, I have served as a mentor and leader to other students to help them also run a successful business and gain skills beyond the classroom to prepare them for life.

Too much pressure in a sales situation... not a good move.

In a new series of posts to this blog, I will answer common questions related to the purpose of this blog. Question: AT WHAT POINT DOES “PERSISTENCE” BECOME “PRESSURE?”

Answer: Good question.  Prior to my future being shaped by running my own business selling products to families door-to-door, I had two experiences with door-to-door sales people.

While a sophomore in college, a young person selling magazines knocked on my apartment door. He gave me a pitch about how the more subscription he sold, the closer he would be to winning a cruise through his school.  Feeling in a charitable mood, his insistence paid off and I bought one.  Another time, a persistant young man was asking for donations in exchange for a magazine he wrote about his views on politics and religion.  Again, I bought.

As I think back, and knowing what I know now from my training and experiences, I am amazed I bought.  I also remember the pressure put on me by these individuals.

Any sales person worth their weight will have just enough persistence to be short of pushy.  Once the line is crossed, the customer will feel pressured or forced to purchase.  Rule #1: If the customer has to buy to get a salesperson to leave, the line has been crossed from persistence to pressure.  This is not an effective or even moral way to sell your products or yourself door-to-door.

Over time, I have become comfortable with rejection, as it is not personal.  I can hear it and still leave the customer (and myself) in a good mood.  Whereas, one of the young men, in all his efforts to sell, made me feel guilty for not wanting to help him win his school trip.  The only reason I really bought was because I was pressured to feel sorry for him.  Rule #2: If the sales person uses a guilt trip to get you to buy, the line is crossed from persistence to pressure.

The magazine seller was relentless with his sales tactics and methods of persuasion (which I now believe the trip/cruise to be a pitch to get me to purchase).  I can only imagine he seldom felt wholeheartedly good after those pressure sales.  When I knock on a family’s door, my primary goal is to find out how the children in the household are doing academically and whether or not the products I sell will be of use to that particular family.  More often than not, if the child is present, they personally see how and if the product would benefit them.  When that is the case, I know I have helped a family - pressure-free.  After the sale, I feel good about it.  I feel good about myself and my level of persistence, but more importantly, the family feels good about their purchase.  That fulfillment is something I feel can be missing when “persistence” becomes “pressure.”

______________
Lucy Morton-Hicks is the Communications Specialist for the Southwestern Company, the nation’s oldest direct selling company based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is an award-winning, top sales person and recruiter.