Cold Walking: A Storied Tradition

I work with a number of advisors who use 'cold-walking' as an important tool to gain traction as they begin to build their book of business. The art of going door-to-door, business or residence, has a long tradition in financial services, and business in general. Edward D. Jones & Co. has used this model to great effect. Theirs is a straightforward approach...Knock on doors in your community until you have 25 financial conversations in a day. Go home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Actually, 'cold-walking' has a long history in the development of sales systems in this country. In the 1800's, 'peddling' was a popular occupation among young men, as it required little initial investment. Peddlers did not typically represent well-known companies or brand name goods. They filled their trunks with goods; needles, buttons, sewing silk, beads, soap, candles, beeswax, leather, etc...and headed out on their cart or horse to travel the countryside. In the U.S. Census of 1850, 10,669 listed their occupation as 'peddlers.'

Since, in the early 1800's 75% of the American labor force worked on farms, peddlers traveled from farm-to-farm and town-to-town. Most peddlers were not overly concerned with repeat business, as they were likely to meet a prospect only a few times. (What would the peddlers of 150 years ago think of the sales cycle today?) Consequently, they were eager to make a sale on their first encounter, and less concerned about future consequences from dissatisfied buyers. For all farmers, bartering was a way of life, and a necessary life skill...and peddlers became adept at negotiation tactics.

Wit and humor were essential tools of the peddler, as were storytelling and musical talents. Peddlers discovered numerous methods to make their pleas successful, including playing upon a person's rising social expectations or their desire to own decorative goods. The best peddlers had keen powers of observation, and also realized the economic value of entertaining. One peddler traveled with a buffalo as a means to attract attention.

In many ways, peddlers were an early, and critical, part of America's market revolution. They helped transform rural life...bringing manufactured goods, imports and books to the agricultural areas and hinterlands. At the same time, some peddlers took advantage of the transactional nature of their sales encounters. Lightning rod salesmen were notorious. They worked the 'thunderstorm belt', Texas-Kansas-Iowa-Nebraska-etc, in the spring and summer. They often worked in teams...with a nicely-dressed, smooth-talking agent extolling how the lighting rod would safeguard a farmer's family and property...and a husky 'settler' who closely followed the agent, who would collect on the huge bills that would result from the installation of the numerous, and often unnecessary, lightning rods. In one case in Kansas, an agent ran up a bill of $404.25 (NOT in today's dollars) to a farmer who couldn't read.

By the way, if this topic interests you here's a book recommendation that carries The Prospecting Professor's seal of approval. The Birth of a Salesman: A transformation of selling in America by Walter A. Friedman. Great stuff!

A clarification. Earlier this month, I wrote about Cutco Cutlery Corp., a company where the sales force is primarily college students who sell through their network of friends and family. In the article, I mentioned that the salesperson needed to purchase a $150 set of knives to start, and that this was a "source of aggravation." As it turns out, one of the readers of The Prospecting Professor is a Merrill Lynch advisor in Florida, who has a friend who is a past-CEO of the distribution channel for Cutco Cutlery. She has pointed out that the $150 set of knives is fully refundable when the sales agent severs (sorry...really bad pun) their relationship with Cutco. In fact, many agents like the products enough to keep the starter set, and don't redeem. Thanks for the clarification!

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