Top 5 Direct Marketing Job Misconceptions
In this day and age, we hear a lot of things through word of mouth. Whether that be literal word of mouth, through the internet, or on television, information travels quickly. One thing that’s talked about a lot in the world of entrepreneurship is jobs regarding direct marketing. I know that even I had trouble figuring out the truth myself until I took on one of those jobs personally. Today, I’d like to clear up the 5 most common misconceptions about these jobs.
Door to Door sales is difficult
As someone who worked in the door to door aspect of direct marketing, the most important thing to understand is that it’s like any other job. There will be hard work involved but no more than someone who works at a desk in a finance company. The misconception seems to be that the job is difficult because of the sales or customer acquisition aspect but if that were the case, what makes it any different from the sales position at any office?
What people don’t realize is that for a lot of companies, door to door marketing may be their primary source of revenue, meaning there’s more than enough opportunity to capitalize on a need for the product. Lots of large name brands utilize direct marketing for this reason. Small local businesses can do the same, focusing their outreach to a local audience and creating a deeper bond with their customers.
Getting rejected all day must hurt
This one is also very common among customers and the general population. That is one way to look at the situation but really, if you can find a few people out of all those you talk to in a day to agree to a sale or transaction, the day is a success right there. The rejection is part of the job and to think it isn’t, will only hinder someone’s success in a business like that. The reason this is such a common misconception is because a lot of people fear asking questions in general, let alone with the inevitability of rejection. Many successful entrepreneurs already know that rejection is part of the road to success so they don’t let it bother them and keep pushing forward.
It doesn’t pay well
This idea may have been true in the past. Door to door was not the most profitable venture in the past, focusing more on the idea of marketing as opposed to sales. In 2020 however, the focus is on both. Highly profitable clients outsource their direct marketing to experts in sales and advertising, creating a system that pays the representatives well and gets the clients new business.
The misconception many have also spread because a lot of campaigns that run this model pay after the customer receives the service, not upon point of sale. This is to protect the integrity of the sale and the client’s name in regard to its customers.
Long hours
As listed above, the hours a lot of the time can vary widely. Many companies allow their representatives to pick their own hours, not monitoring much aside from the results they bring back to the company. Others implement classes and training daily to help their representatives understand the more technical aspect of marketing and sales as they progress through a training program. All in all, from company to company the hours differ, generally aiming for whatever time people will be passing through a certain or at home if it’s a residential program.
As a blog that promotes entrepreneurs, it is important that we let our readers make their own judgments when it comes to the hours of a job they take on or are looking into. It’s understood widely that starting your own business takes a lot of time and that you need to view that as an investment. Whenever you hear that certain endeavors require long hours, it should pique your interest as to why. Are these people working smart and hard, or just hard? Decide for yourself.
You can’t control who you represent
Obviously, the client and product you represent depends on the vendor or company you work for. What’s important to realize about this misconception is that the clients you may represent are not all equal. There are many kinds of clients to possibly represent and more and more types of campaigns are opening up every week. Home security, telecommunications, bottled water services, you name it! Direct marketing has obtained business in every aspect of daily life because it works and once a representative has the basics down, it does not matter what kind of campaign they work with since the skills are universal.
Moving forward
As in any business, the most valuable tool you can utilize here is your network. Learn from those who have worked in similar programs or campaigns to see if you can pick up on any tips they may have for the various kinds of direct marketing and how you can apply it to your future. You can also contact anyone on this site directly if you have further questions. Make sure to create your own opinions when it comes to business as you never know what opportunity will be the one that gets you where you want in life.
