Door to door - Flyers for life insurance

I guess in other parts of the country D2D works but out here in CA (Sacramento area) where we have high 'kook' to 'normal' ratio, no one in their right mind opens the door to anyone knocking on it unless there is a UPS, FedEX or US Mail truck sitting outside. It is sad... but it is true.

(Some of you older subscribers here will remember when you were a kid and you were allowed to walk or bike or skate anywhere in your neighborhood (as long as you were home by dusk). These days parents in my area don't let their kids out of their sight for a second for fear they will be snatched. Kids have to travel in "wolf-packs" and there is a 'designated adult' on-call by cell if necessary. It won't be long until kids here are 'outfitted' with GPS units so the parents can 'track' them! Sad commentary on (my part of) CA... and (I assume) other parts of the USA.)

Al
 
I agree. We tried to open an office in Staten Island and actually paid for get everything all set up. What we didn't research is that homes have these call buttons/speaker you have to push. You can push 'em all day long and either no one's gonna answer or they won't come to the door.

We got the same a**-kicking in the Bronx - opened up an office on Avenue Z (lovely area) and I actually lived there for a month getting it all set up. Almost no one came to the door and we shut it down in 2 months.

Philly was the exact opposite. Half the people were sitting out on their front steps and everyone else came right to their door. It was a feeding frenzy.
 
Gosh, John, how long was that when you did DtoD in Philly? Now that we have the highest per capita murder rate of any large city, you are taking a mighty big risk going DtoD. If you do D2D in "better" neighborhoods no one will answer the door and/or they will call the cops. About 2 years ago, an insurance debit agent who was well know in a Philly neighborhood by the locals was murdered and his body stuffed in an empty 55-gallon drum on an abandoned lot.
 
South Philly isn't too bad, but Southwest Philly has turned into the badlands. The worst area is in North Philly. The Northeast has had some crime moving into parts of it in recent years. Try doorknocking in Chestnut Hill and you'll have the cops on you in two minutes.
 
My office was on Rhawn right off Roosevelt and we worked mainly south and west of there. We had a few reps head off to Cherry Hill in NJ to knock on door. Lord.
 
You convinced me door knocking actually works. How do you introduce yourself and keep them at the door when you mention "insurance"?
Second, do you leave literature on that initial approach?
 
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