9 ms·

Life as a door-to-door salesman

139 points by acqbu 4y ago

not_the_fda 4y ago
Not much has changed. A great movie on the profession is Salesman https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064921/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064921/
jgalt212 4y ago
The Globesman by Documentary Now! is just genius. They door to door globe salesmen at one point lament the atlas salesman keeps beating them to new territory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81m8vygf_8Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81m8vygf_8Q
- amadeuspagel 4y ago
  Well that must mean that the atlases are more up to date then the globes.
  - cateblanchett 4y ago
    it's based on the documentary 'the salesman', but you don't even need to see both. they did a perfect job of parodying.
version_five 4y ago
The guy in this article will be able to turn his skill into a 7 figure job easily if he goes into enterprise software sales.
- nunez 4y ago
  Not necessarily. Rejection/objection handling and sheer persistence aside, I'm unsure if many of the sales tactics employed in door-to-door or high-pressure sales cross over into enterprise software sales. From what I've seen, high-pressure sales relies heavily on manipulation (i.e. invoking feelings and emotions within the customer to drive them towards an outcome) over value, and encourage volume (i.e. grinding, hitting as many houses/people as you can) over quality (i.e. qualifying, qualifying again, then maintaining those relationships for as long as possible, providing value all throughout). They're the same techniques that people high on MLM pyramids or closers in call centers employ. FUD can go a long way. Also, enterprise sales cycles are much, much longer. Six months is fast in this space. The deal sizes are much larger, so the process is worth it, but because high-pressure sales typically deals with much smaller amounts, closing fast is key. More emphatic people can probably make the switch easily, but the less-sophisticated hustlers and pseudo-grifters would get outed pretty fast. Interestingly, the reporter of this article stated that the salesman they followed is interested in going into real estate and has already dabbled in crypto, where those personalities tend to do very well. Also, many of the sales folks that I've interacted with did not have high-pressure sales backgrounds. In fact, many of them were engineers at one point or another!
  - markstos 4y ago
    How high pressure is solar sales? It often makes economic sense.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - rs999gti 4y ago
      How? Without government incentives like for EVs, the upfront costs still take too long to recover even with the supposed energy savings and cheaper Chinese solar components. There’s definitely feel good incentives, but not monetary.
  - FrontierPsych 4y ago
    Everyone in sales can follow their own way. They can do high pressure sales if they wish. However, it has been proven over and over that having discussions with people is the statistically best way to make a sale. Be actually interested in the person. Ask questions. This guy took the time and actually took interest in HER: Liam pointed out a Navy license plate on a car in the driveway. “My sister is in the Navy,” the woman said. “OK, well, thank you for your service, and happy Veterans Day,” he said. “Fun fact, I’ve had a relative in every American war, dating back to the Revolution.” Something softened, ever so slightly. This is not a cheap tactic to try to "get" someone. I remember one time I was talking to a prospect over months, he told me that he and his wife were expecting a child in May. I called him at the end of May and we did our regular talk and I asked if his baby was born. Yes, a healthy boy. So I sent him a congratulation card with a hand-written note congratulating him and his wife. I called back in a few more weeks, and first thing he said was, "I got your congratulation card. Nobody else sent me one, even people I've known for 25 years." I got his order that call. Some might think that this is a cheap tactic on my part to get an emotional response to manipulate the guy. I'm not going to lie and say that I don't think that, but it is in an intellectual manner only. I actually was very happy he and his wife had a healthy baby. I do get emotionally involved with my clients, same as a lot of other business owners do. Maybe like a hair salon person with her or his clients. I've had clients who I saw 3 times per week for years on end. It's impossible not to form a personal relationship. Even if it is a one-call type of sale, I still like to have a deeper conversation and learn about them, whether they buy or not. I've learned a lot of cool stuff just by talking to people, even if they don't buy.
jpm_sd 4y ago
Door-to-door rooftop solar array sales are mostly a scam, it's a high-pressure low-information sales tactic and a terrible deal for the average homeowner. Installation issues are shockingly common. Lots of new, poorly sealed holes in the roof being the biggest concern. Here's a review I found of Spartan (employer of the man profiled above): https://www.facebook.com/dodgyjanet/posts/10158647440200887 https://www.facebook.com/dodgyjanet/posts/10158647440200887 In leaving this review I hope to save one family the frustration and financial pain that working with Alex Lake of Spartan Solar has caused us. Please feel free to reach out if you want specific details. We did not do enough research - and ended up fronting the money for the project on a loan that gave a kickback to Spartan Solar. In conversations with us (and in all their marketing literature), Spartan solar states that you will not pay anything until your solar panels are up and running. For us - this is not the case at all. The project is 10 months old and we are paying both hundreds of dollars a month for electricity and the full monthly payment for the loan (which inconveniently removes any leverage we might have with the installer if we had dealt with them directly). We have been paying both bills for the last six months - Spartan has ignored my complaints about this misleading advertising to date. Our Solar panels were installed 8 months ago and are still not functioning. This is a sellers market and it is hard to get time with the installer, the city, and utility company - so I’m not surprised about this insane delay- but I am literally doing 100% of the work I was assured I would not need to do if I worked with Spartan Solar. I was assured we wouldn’t need to worry about coordinating these events and the Spartan team would have our backs. Due to communication problems between Spartan and their subcontractors about the need for a new main electricity panel our project was delayed multiple months. Two days ago we finally received permission to operate our panels. When we turned on the switch, they are not working however Spartan have not returned our calls/emails about this issue and we have had to chase the subcontractor to try and fix the situation. The subcontractors are unable to come and look at the problem until next month, and so we are still stuck paying for a non-working solar system and racking up large electricity bills in the hot California summer months. I’m today’s market, solar installations are a commodity and the most important way to offer value to a customer is through effective communication. Here is where we were frustrated most with this whole experience. Make sure you do business with a company listed on the better business bureau.
- 4y ago
greatpostman 4y ago
I have a friend that makes 450k running a door to door solar panel sales team. Two years ago he was making about minimum wage. There’s a huge premium for being willing to knock on strangers doors
- NikolaNovak 4y ago
  There's always big money in immoral shady dealings. Sorry, I know that's snarky and rude. And there's definitely a big gray line of morality in life. They're not actively murdering anybody. Not directly. But their moral framework by definition is drastically different than mine - we have chosen our own spots on that gray line and they're incompatible. (I've been exposed to various sides of that line, including being recruited and going through brainwashing I mean training for various door to door sales gigs).
  - NineStarPoint 4y ago
    It’s not inherently immoral to be in sales. If you actually do believe that solar panels are a good investment for a house and believe the company you’re working for does good work, working to inform other people of this would be from your view a moral positive. In practice of course it is easy to end up lying to increase your paycheck, or fooling yourself into believing your company is good because your paycheck relies on it. But if someone chooses a good company and doesn’t lie to potential clients, I think that’s fine.
    - dghughes 4y ago
      At an old job we had to go to a "retreat" of a sort where the sales guys and technicians all schmoozed. The company had made sales do tech work and techs do sales work neither side liked that. Sales guys just ignored it and called techs on a Friday afternoon to take the tech call they didn't have time for (yeah right). Techs worked days and were also on call sales didn't have to be on call. At the meeting sales guys were slick with fancy suits, greased back hair (yes in 2008?) and had company cars. Techs were in golf shirt and jeans company trucks full of parts. We all had to take a test you were scored on your responses and given a colour. All the sales based on their responses were put in one colour group yellow I think and all the techs in green. Like oil and water.
gt565k 4y ago
Who falls for these door to door salesmen’s Bs? I hate these guys knocking on my door. Really just wanna punch them in the face. If I needed something Id go and buy it, don’t need some pushy sleazy salesman trying to trick me. These door to door sales are so bad for the consumer there are even laws in states that state you have 3 days to back out of a contract signed during a door to door sale.
- kurtreed 4y ago
  Thankfully it's illegal now in some jurisdictions.
- weberer 4y ago
  >I hate these guys knocking on my door. You can just put up a "No solicitors" sign on your front gate and they'll keep walking.
  - rurp 4y ago
    We must live in very different places. I have never seen those signs make a bit of difference.
    - mindslight 4y ago
      The problem with a "no soliciting" sign is there is no penalty for violating it. And given these people are already violating social conventions by harassing you, they don't particularly care. "Soliciting will be rewarded with refreshing lawn sprinklers." Not that I'm a fan of watering lawns in general, but if I had a problem with solicitors I might have to install a few.
  - nickthegreek 4y ago
    Lol, not in the city my friend. They will literally argue with me about how what they are doing isnlt solicitation. They truly believe that after starting out arguing with a complete stranger, they will somehow rope me into a sell. I told him he was soliciting, he ignored my sign and wanted him to off my property. He refused, I asked for his name and then he tried to fight me. I almost went out and purchased a gun because some unhinged individual was mad at me and had my address.
durnygbur 4y ago
Over here we have spam calls selling solar panels. Every time the cunts claim they obtained the number legally from a data broker. My prediction is that our local parcel locker provider sells phone numbers, or recruitment platforms, one never knows what is in their TOS. Then of course there are usual suspects - FAANG.
rootusrootus 4y ago
Argh, I hate the solar salesmen. We get them all the time during the warm season. I have a hard time going the rude route and just shutting the door on them, but I'm improved a lot in shutting down their arguments with three sentences of my own stats. Pretty quickly they know I've run the numbers, figured out why it doesn't make sense for me, and I've shut down all arguments they want to make. Usually they just say "Wow, it sounds like you're already given this a lot of thought." Umm, yeah, yeah I have. I wanted the numbers to work. I tried to convince myself. Even with Project Solar pricing, it does't work for me. So it sure as hell won't work if I pay your prices that give you such a nice commission.
- JohnFen 4y ago
  Tell them you're broke.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- fourch 4y ago
  Cold salespeople are such scum. They take advantage of telephones are doorbells, which can interrupt your focus at any time, and are really intended only for people that you actually know. Thankfully we now have caller ID and the ability to block unknown callers. Now we need the same for doorbells!
  - VBprogrammer 4y ago
    Isn't that what Ring and a dozen other smart doorbells are made for?
    - Wistar 4y ago
      Don't know if that's what they are made for but screening is certainly one way I use them.
  - rs999gti 4y ago
    Put a no solicitation sign on your door. I used to get bothered by Jehovahs Witnesses and salesmen, but a ‘No Solicitation’ sticker on my front door was the best improvement I’ve done to my house
brookst 4y ago
I empathize with them. It’s an NP hard job.
iBotPeaches 4y ago
Not sure of the legality of it, but I've enjoyed just recording the solar sales folks to knock on my door and turning it into a blog. I enjoy researching the claims brought forward to see how many of them I can debunk.
blamazon 4y ago
Tangential, but one of my favorite types of signs reads as follows: "No solicitation - except tamale lady" Could also say empanada or burrito or whichever local food item is available informally door to door by someone that probably reminds you of your grandmother. I see these signs in the American southwest and every time my day is made; so delightful. Everyone has time for tamale lady.
jwsteigerwalt 4y ago
I’ve been a software developer building systems to support door-to-door sales professionals for 15 years. Great to see journalism that shows the legitimacy of the profession.
- RestlessAPI 4y ago
  >legitimacy of the profession High pressure sales and a willingness to betray common politeness does not lend it self to "legitimacy". Its scummy.
  - jwsteigerwalt 4y ago
    There are scummy players all over sales. In some industries, a minority of bad players give the entire group a bad name.
fijiaarone 4y ago
Notice he’s looking for old ladies who can be easily manipulated.
bigmattystyles 4y ago
They’re even getting aggressive in Costco with their little booth. It doesn’t make for a pleasant shopping experience; it feels like Costco should tell them that customers must initiate and that they can’t come up to you and start talking about solar.
kangaroozach 4y ago
Project Solar just raised Series A to effectively cut out the sales rep. I put one in my roof at 1/3 the cost of other companies… even less the cost of Tesla which is priced pretty well. But Urban Compass initially tried to cut out the overpaid realtor before eventually raising VC to be the largest realtor themselves. Let’s see if Project Solar pivots to become what they have initially set out to replace.
kcartlidge 4y ago
Back in my youth I did door-to-door sales in the North-West of England. Pay wasn't great, but in terms of pure pleasure it was the best job I ever did. That part of the country is known for friendliness, and I shared their accent, and they were simpler times, all of which combined to make the days a joy despite the random weather. Every day I'd have interesting conversations on the door, and on many days I'd get invited in for a cup of tea and more chat. Not just with lonely elderly people either. As a way to get over social awkwardness, build self-confidence, and even just learn how to respect and understand a variety of beliefs, opinions, and approaches, it was life-changing. I could never do it now; to earn anywhere near enough to replace my tech wage I'd probably have to compromise on some of my personal red lines. But not a moment is regretted.

139 points by acqbu 4y ago

Not much has changed. A great movie on the profession is Salesman https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064921/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064921/

jgalt212 4y ago

The Globesman by Documentary Now! is just genius. They door to door globe salesmen at one point lament the atlas salesman keeps beating them to new territory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81m8vygf_8Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81m8vygf_8Q

amadeuspagel 4y ago
Well that must mean that the atlases are more up to date then the globes.
- cateblanchett 4y ago
  it's based on the documentary 'the salesman', but you don't even need to see both. they did a perfect job of parodying.

version_five 4y ago

The guy in this article will be able to turn his skill into a 7 figure job easily if he goes into enterprise software sales.

nunez 4y ago
Not necessarily. Rejection/objection handling and sheer persistence aside, I'm unsure if many of the sales tactics employed in door-to-door or high-pressure sales cross over into enterprise software sales. From what I've seen, high-pressure sales relies heavily on manipulation (i.e. invoking feelings and emotions within the customer to drive them towards an outcome) over value, and encourage volume (i.e. grinding, hitting as many houses/people as you can) over quality (i.e. qualifying, qualifying again, then maintaining those relationships for as long as possible, providing value all throughout). They're the same techniques that people high on MLM pyramids or closers in call centers employ. FUD can go a long way. Also, enterprise sales cycles are much, much longer. Six months is fast in this space. The deal sizes are much larger, so the process is worth it, but because high-pressure sales typically deals with much smaller amounts, closing fast is key. More emphatic people can probably make the switch easily, but the less-sophisticated hustlers and pseudo-grifters would get outed pretty fast. Interestingly, the reporter of this article stated that the salesman they followed is interested in going into real estate and has already dabbled in crypto, where those personalities tend to do very well. Also, many of the sales folks that I've interacted with did not have high-pressure sales backgrounds. In fact, many of them were engineers at one point or another!
- markstos 4y ago
  How high pressure is solar sales? It often makes economic sense.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - rs999gti 4y ago
    How? Without government incentives like for EVs, the upfront costs still take too long to recover even with the supposed energy savings and cheaper Chinese solar components. There’s definitely feel good incentives, but not monetary.
- FrontierPsych 4y ago
  Everyone in sales can follow their own way. They can do high pressure sales if they wish. However, it has been proven over and over that having discussions with people is the statistically best way to make a sale. Be actually interested in the person. Ask questions. This guy took the time and actually took interest in HER: Liam pointed out a Navy license plate on a car in the driveway. “My sister is in the Navy,” the woman said. “OK, well, thank you for your service, and happy Veterans Day,” he said. “Fun fact, I’ve had a relative in every American war, dating back to the Revolution.” Something softened, ever so slightly. This is not a cheap tactic to try to "get" someone. I remember one time I was talking to a prospect over months, he told me that he and his wife were expecting a child in May. I called him at the end of May and we did our regular talk and I asked if his baby was born. Yes, a healthy boy. So I sent him a congratulation card with a hand-written note congratulating him and his wife. I called back in a few more weeks, and first thing he said was, "I got your congratulation card. Nobody else sent me one, even people I've known for 25 years." I got his order that call. Some might think that this is a cheap tactic on my part to get an emotional response to manipulate the guy. I'm not going to lie and say that I don't think that, but it is in an intellectual manner only. I actually was very happy he and his wife had a healthy baby. I do get emotionally involved with my clients, same as a lot of other business owners do. Maybe like a hair salon person with her or his clients. I've had clients who I saw 3 times per week for years on end. It's impossible not to form a personal relationship. Even if it is a one-call type of sale, I still like to have a deeper conversation and learn about them, whether they buy or not. I've learned a lot of cool stuff just by talking to people, even if they don't buy.

jpm_sd 4y ago

Door-to-door rooftop solar array sales are mostly a scam, it's a high-pressure low-information sales tactic and a terrible deal for the average homeowner. Installation issues are shockingly common. Lots of new, poorly sealed holes in the roof being the biggest concern. Here's a review I found of Spartan (employer of the man profiled above): https://www.facebook.com/dodgyjanet/posts/10158647440200887 https://www.facebook.com/dodgyjanet/posts/10158647440200887 In leaving this review I hope to save one family the frustration and financial pain that working with Alex Lake of Spartan Solar has caused us. Please feel free to reach out if you want specific details. We did not do enough research - and ended up fronting the money for the project on a loan that gave a kickback to Spartan Solar. In conversations with us (and in all their marketing literature), Spartan solar states that you will not pay anything until your solar panels are up and running. For us - this is not the case at all. The project is 10 months old and we are paying both hundreds of dollars a month for electricity and the full monthly payment for the loan (which inconveniently removes any leverage we might have with the installer if we had dealt with them directly). We have been paying both bills for the last six months - Spartan has ignored my complaints about this misleading advertising to date. Our Solar panels were installed 8 months ago and are still not functioning. This is a sellers market and it is hard to get time with the installer, the city, and utility company - so I’m not surprised about this insane delay- but I am literally doing 100% of the work I was assured I would not need to do if I worked with Spartan Solar. I was assured we wouldn’t need to worry about coordinating these events and the Spartan team would have our backs. Due to communication problems between Spartan and their subcontractors about the need for a new main electricity panel our project was delayed multiple months. Two days ago we finally received permission to operate our panels. When we turned on the switch, they are not working however Spartan have not returned our calls/emails about this issue and we have had to chase the subcontractor to try and fix the situation. The subcontractors are unable to come and look at the problem until next month, and so we are still stuck paying for a non-working solar system and racking up large electricity bills in the hot California summer months. I’m today’s market, solar installations are a commodity and the most important way to offer value to a customer is through effective communication. Here is where we were frustrated most with this whole experience. Make sure you do business with a company listed on the better business bureau.

4y ago

greatpostman 4y ago

I have a friend that makes 450k running a door to door solar panel sales team. Two years ago he was making about minimum wage. There’s a huge premium for being willing to knock on strangers doors

NikolaNovak 4y ago
There's always big money in immoral shady dealings. Sorry, I know that's snarky and rude. And there's definitely a big gray line of morality in life. They're not actively murdering anybody. Not directly. But their moral framework by definition is drastically different than mine - we have chosen our own spots on that gray line and they're incompatible. (I've been exposed to various sides of that line, including being recruited and going through brainwashing I mean training for various door to door sales gigs).
- NineStarPoint 4y ago
  It’s not inherently immoral to be in sales. If you actually do believe that solar panels are a good investment for a house and believe the company you’re working for does good work, working to inform other people of this would be from your view a moral positive. In practice of course it is easy to end up lying to increase your paycheck, or fooling yourself into believing your company is good because your paycheck relies on it. But if someone chooses a good company and doesn’t lie to potential clients, I think that’s fine.
  - dghughes 4y ago
    At an old job we had to go to a "retreat" of a sort where the sales guys and technicians all schmoozed. The company had made sales do tech work and techs do sales work neither side liked that. Sales guys just ignored it and called techs on a Friday afternoon to take the tech call they didn't have time for (yeah right). Techs worked days and were also on call sales didn't have to be on call. At the meeting sales guys were slick with fancy suits, greased back hair (yes in 2008?) and had company cars. Techs were in golf shirt and jeans company trucks full of parts. We all had to take a test you were scored on your responses and given a colour. All the sales based on their responses were put in one colour group yellow I think and all the techs in green. Like oil and water.

gt565k 4y ago

Who falls for these door to door salesmen’s Bs? I hate these guys knocking on my door. Really just wanna punch them in the face. If I needed something Id go and buy it, don’t need some pushy sleazy salesman trying to trick me. These door to door sales are so bad for the consumer there are even laws in states that state you have 3 days to back out of a contract signed during a door to door sale.

kurtreed 4y ago
Thankfully it's illegal now in some jurisdictions.
weberer 4y ago
>I hate these guys knocking on my door. You can just put up a "No solicitors" sign on your front gate and they'll keep walking.
- rurp 4y ago
  We must live in very different places. I have never seen those signs make a bit of difference.
  - mindslight 4y ago
    The problem with a "no soliciting" sign is there is no penalty for violating it. And given these people are already violating social conventions by harassing you, they don't particularly care. "Soliciting will be rewarded with refreshing lawn sprinklers." Not that I'm a fan of watering lawns in general, but if I had a problem with solicitors I might have to install a few.
- nickthegreek 4y ago
  Lol, not in the city my friend. They will literally argue with me about how what they are doing isnlt solicitation. They truly believe that after starting out arguing with a complete stranger, they will somehow rope me into a sell. I told him he was soliciting, he ignored my sign and wanted him to off my property. He refused, I asked for his name and then he tried to fight me. I almost went out and purchased a gun because some unhinged individual was mad at me and had my address.

durnygbur 4y ago

Over here we have spam calls selling solar panels. Every time the cunts claim they obtained the number legally from a data broker. My prediction is that our local parcel locker provider sells phone numbers, or recruitment platforms, one never knows what is in their TOS. Then of course there are usual suspects - FAANG.

rootusrootus 4y ago

Argh, I hate the solar salesmen. We get them all the time during the warm season. I have a hard time going the rude route and just shutting the door on them, but I'm improved a lot in shutting down their arguments with three sentences of my own stats. Pretty quickly they know I've run the numbers, figured out why it doesn't make sense for me, and I've shut down all arguments they want to make. Usually they just say "Wow, it sounds like you're already given this a lot of thought." Umm, yeah, yeah I have. I wanted the numbers to work. I tried to convince myself. Even with Project Solar pricing, it does't work for me. So it sure as hell won't work if I pay your prices that give you such a nice commission.

JohnFen 4y ago
Tell them you're broke.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
fourch 4y ago
Cold salespeople are such scum. They take advantage of telephones are doorbells, which can interrupt your focus at any time, and are really intended only for people that you actually know. Thankfully we now have caller ID and the ability to block unknown callers. Now we need the same for doorbells!
- VBprogrammer 4y ago
  Isn't that what Ring and a dozen other smart doorbells are made for?
  - Wistar 4y ago
    Don't know if that's what they are made for but screening is certainly one way I use them.
- rs999gti 4y ago
  Put a no solicitation sign on your door. I used to get bothered by Jehovahs Witnesses and salesmen, but a ‘No Solicitation’ sticker on my front door was the best improvement I’ve done to my house

brookst 4y ago

I empathize with them. It’s an NP hard job.

iBotPeaches 4y ago

Not sure of the legality of it, but I've enjoyed just recording the solar sales folks to knock on my door and turning it into a blog. I enjoy researching the claims brought forward to see how many of them I can debunk.

blamazon 4y ago

Tangential, but one of my favorite types of signs reads as follows: "No solicitation - except tamale lady" Could also say empanada or burrito or whichever local food item is available informally door to door by someone that probably reminds you of your grandmother. I see these signs in the American southwest and every time my day is made; so delightful. Everyone has time for tamale lady.

jwsteigerwalt 4y ago

I’ve been a software developer building systems to support door-to-door sales professionals for 15 years. Great to see journalism that shows the legitimacy of the profession.

RestlessAPI 4y ago
>legitimacy of the profession High pressure sales and a willingness to betray common politeness does not lend it self to "legitimacy". Its scummy.
- jwsteigerwalt 4y ago
  There are scummy players all over sales. In some industries, a minority of bad players give the entire group a bad name.

fijiaarone 4y ago

Notice he’s looking for old ladies who can be easily manipulated.

bigmattystyles 4y ago

They’re even getting aggressive in Costco with their little booth. It doesn’t make for a pleasant shopping experience; it feels like Costco should tell them that customers must initiate and that they can’t come up to you and start talking about solar.

kangaroozach 4y ago

Project Solar just raised Series A to effectively cut out the sales rep. I put one in my roof at 1/3 the cost of other companies… even less the cost of Tesla which is priced pretty well. But Urban Compass initially tried to cut out the overpaid realtor before eventually raising VC to be the largest realtor themselves. Let’s see if Project Solar pivots to become what they have initially set out to replace.

kcartlidge 4y ago

Back in my youth I did door-to-door sales in the North-West of England. Pay wasn't great, but in terms of pure pleasure it was the best job I ever did. That part of the country is known for friendliness, and I shared their accent, and they were simpler times, all of which combined to make the days a joy despite the random weather. Every day I'd have interesting conversations on the door, and on many days I'd get invited in for a cup of tea and more chat. Not just with lonely elderly people either. As a way to get over social awkwardness, build self-confidence, and even just learn how to respect and understand a variety of beliefs, opinions, and approaches, it was life-changing. I could never do it now; to earn anywhere near enough to replace my tech wage I'd probably have to compromise on some of my personal red lines. But not a moment is regretted.