Headline: This is what I learned from door knocking (unconventional CEO advice)

Sales is an overwhelming part of a CEO’s job, yet most leaders spend little time on it.

The thing is everything is sales. Whether you’re closing a deal, attracting talent, selling an idea to your team, seeking funding or explaining what you do to your elderly grandparents, it’s all sales.

Even if you never have to be client or customer-facing, these skills are transferable, universal, and timeless.

I always go back to my door knocking days, when I first started out in real estate and had no money, leads or reputation.

Door knocking was a great way for me to get my face out there and while it’s not scalable, it’s very high touch. I remember being offered a cold glass of water on a hot day and we chatted for some time. Six months later, I ended up listing that house and even filmed a piece of content there.

The ultimate way to communicate is in person and door knocking allows you to put the reps in. Someone might not be receptive the first time but if you do it respectfully, regularly and for the right reasons, owners really like that. They like to see someone who is prepared to do the work and are committed to their suburb, subdivision or community.

Door knocking 101 is to give people something, which is my case was a market opinion, appraisal or report. Give more than you get and focus on building a relationship. This applies to all sales and marketing, no matter the industry.

You don’t need to necessarily go out and knock on doors, but I do encourage you to find your version of that. What can you do that others in your industry aren’t willing to do?

Where can you surprise and support customers, where they won’t expect it. That’s how you build relationships and your reputation.

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