Sales Rep 101 – Chapter 23

In-Home Sales

I know a lot of you will think that I am crazy but I’m willing to take that risk. In Home Sales is hands down my favorite type of sales that I have ever had. And I have had almost every type of sales job. See my history page if you don’t believe me. So why do I love it so much? First of all as far as income potential goes In Home Sales is of the generally some of the highest paying sales positions available. Because it is HARD! I will come back to that in a minute. I also love it because your schedule is super flexible. There are some disadvantages which I will get into, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. And finally, if you are good at In Home Sales you will always have a job opportunity. But In Home Sales is not for everyone. In fact you may love sales and want to make a career out of it but have absolutely no interest in In Home Sales. You have to be willing to put up with some weird people and you are in their home. And it can be very awkward if you are not prepared to handle it. Some customers are not very talkative and so you are carrying the whole conversation…in their house. Some customers are complete asses and will treat you like you don’t belong in their house. When that happens….my appointments don’t last long. I don’t have time for people like that. And of course there is my favorite of all….the hoarder. You would be shocked at how some people live. And on top of that they actually invite you into their home like that! There is nothing I hate worse than going into a home that is disgusting and stinks. And with In Home Sales it is all part of the game. So if you are not prepared for that and don’t think you could handle it then In Home Sales might not be for you. I know what you are thinking. You asking yourself why this is my favorite type of sales because it sounds horrible, right? But you also meet all kinds of people and that is what I love about it. I have thousands of stories of meeting interesting people with interesting jobs…and hobbies. Here is a quick list of some of the people I have met. I have met people who raised and sold rare birds, had an alligator as a pet, had baby squirrels as pets, lobbyists, had a reptile room, a nuclear scientist, just to name a few. But I have also met hoarders, people who refuse to shower, grumpy old men, grumpy old and young women, complete asses, arrogant jerks, and a few other adjectives that I will leave out. But here is the deal. With In Home Sales you are One on One and have their full attention. And the game is on. Chances are that you are not the only game in town. Usually when people set up in home consultations they will meet with several different companies so you better bring your A game. And another important thing to know are your discount limits. Your goal is to close the deal. Because if not there is a very good chance you will not get the sale. I call them 10 percenters. You usually have about a 10% chance of getting the sale if you don’t close it the first time. Now that is different in some industries. For instance, my industry is a high dollar purchase so it is not uncommon for me to go back to close the deal. The reason I said it is important to know your discounts is because you want to know what your limits are. If you are close, it is better to discount more and maybe make a little less in commission than walking out and taking your chances on making 0% commission. However, there is something about making those sales. It is a great feeling walking out of a house knowing you had to work hard for that sales but you won the game. And made a hefty commission too. Like I said before, In Home Sales is not for everyone but if you are not intimidated by meeting people and you think would be comfortable sitting down in their home it is a great type of sales.

is It Hard?

But In Home Sales is hard. There is always lots of competition and you always need to have your A game ready. You also have to be able to relate to a lot of different personalities and that can be hard. It does take some time to learn how but if you can master that then you can do In Home Sales. Remember when I was talking about the flexibility earlier. The downside to In Home Sales is that you are working evenings and weekends. Not all of the time but you need to be prepared for that. If people don’t get home until 5:30 then you are probably not meeting them until 6:00. And if your appointment takes an hour than you may not be getting home until late. My company allows me to block off a couple of nights a week so you are not working every night but this is not an 8-5 job. But if you want to make the money then you need to be willing to put in the effort. But do keep in mind that there are a lot creeps in this world and sometimes we are put in very uncomfortable positions. If you don’t think you would be good at getting out of those situations then you may want to consider a different type of sales.