Overview

"For the past five decades, I've made my living in sales, and an excellent one at that in one of the toughest sales arenas out there: selling accident, health, and life insurance door-to-door. I decided I was going to make the sales process a fun experience for both the consumer and myself. I cannot recall meeting a single soul who told me of a childhood dream to be a salesperson. In fact, a lot of folks may even have a negative attitude toward the sales profession. My mission is to replace that preconceived notion with a positive one. Even if you have an aversion to the very word sales, at some point in your life I guarantee you will find yourself needing to sell something. It may be your talents and expertise to a potential employer or client. You may wind up in a job where some aspect of it involves sales. Your role as a leader may involve selling your ideas to your team. If you own your business, you are in sales. Or after reading this book, you may understand the tremendous opportunities that a career in sales can yield- if you just approach it with the right mindset and with integrity. The pandemic presented those of us in the business of selling Medicare supplemental insurance an enormous challenge. We needed to learn and do things differently to get over the many roadblocks to making sales in March and April 2020. With many of our potential clients quarantined in their homes, they were much easier to reach. So we started training agents on how to sell over the phone better and how to host mini-webinars with potential clients, so they could show them all the features of the plans available to them via their computers. Our willingness to learn and do things differently immediately increased our sales by 12% for the month of April 2020, and our sales continued to grow into a 140% increase for 2020 over the previous year. Keep in mind, this all occurred when other businesses were forced to shut down. That is pretty powerful evidence that when you are willing to learn something new and then pivot using that knowledge, you can still thrive even under the toughest circumstances. I invite you to join me on what salespeople call ""a ride along,"" which is where a senior salesperson shows a newbie the ropes. This book delivers a winning sales philosophy illustrated by real life stories and Knock-Knock Moments - lessons and revelations that have fueled my career and that will help yours."

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9781950495078

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Reviews

Knock! Knock! is no joke! A fast-paced romp of a read, Knock! Knock!-in today's time of branding and selling yourself and what you do - is a must for anyone who needs some sage and hilarious advice. You learn through his excellent storytelling what to do and what not to do to pro-mote whatever you are selling. As someone who has devoted her life to promoting authors, books, literacy, and reading, I know that sometimes we have to get out of our comfort zone, and Doug Thompson tells you how. He has written the definitive guide to being a Sales SUPERSTAR! Five Diamonds in the International Pulpwood Queens Book Club reading mandatory tiara! Doug deserves to wear the crown for being KING of creating success in business. - Kathy L. Murphy, CEO and Founder of the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club Reading Nation A lot of us are accidental salespeople - meaning that we have to learn the skills, attitudes, and techniques necessary for sales success. In Knock! Knock! Doug Thompson serves as your professional guide on your positive, fun-filled sales journey. Put Doug's principles to work and you'll be unbeatable. - Bryan Flanagan, CEO, The Flanagan Training Group and former Director of Training for Zig Ziglar Corporation, and author of Now Go Sell Somebody Something! This is a must-read book for anyone in the world of sales or thinking about sales. The author doesn't re-hash tired, old topics. Instead, he shares first-hand, personal techniques from his successful sales career spanning several decades. It's like getting the playbook from a winning Super Bowl quarterback. Knock! Knock! is a definitive roadmap for your own selling success. - Mitchel Whitington, author and speaker on East Texas history If I were involved in management or training of sales agents, I would make Knock! Knock! the top of the list of required reading before beginning a job. I have never been directly involved in sales, per se, but anyone who has any business of any kind and deals with the public, is selling every day. One's entire life's work, from teaching your children to become good adults, to running your business, involves selling. Doug has done a masterful job of laying out things one must do in order to attain those goals. The author adeptly demonstrated, by telling stories of his successes and failures, that one must believe in oneself, believe in the product you are selling, and enjoy talking about it. Knock! Knock! is a great instruction manual for anyone in sales, and it also teaches many essential principles of good character. In addition to being instructional, it is also very entertaining. I had a lot of good laughs as I followed the progress of the author's journey through life. I would highly recommend it to anyone, but especially anyone thinking of going into sales. - L.C. Dunlop, M.D. (retired) and author

Author Information

Douglas Thompson's passion for improving the customer's experience as well as the sales profession continues to drive him as he comes up with new ideas to answer this question: How can we make the sales process better? Starting out as an insurance agent going down the street knocking on doors selling accident insurance, Doug quickly moved into the management side of the life and health insurance industry, hiring and training agents to be successful doing the same. His ability to build successful sale teams caught the eye of the corporate leadership of several major companies. Doug became the vice president of sales and marketing for Conseco, and was recruited to do the same for Pacificare, UnitedHealthcare, American Republic, Tranzact, and Humana. Currently, he is the marketing director for a large national insurance wholesaler that recruits and trains insurance agents and agencies across the county, as well as continuing to build his own general agency, which offers life and health products to the senior population. He is known nationally for his innovations in the sales industry, and frequently speaks and trains on his favorite topic of sales. Journalist Echo Montgomery Garrett has collaborated on 22 nonfiction books, including the multi-award winning My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change. In 2013, it won the American Society of Journalists & Authors' Arlene Eisenberg Writing that Makes a Difference Award, which is presented every three years to the book that made the biggest difference in society. She was named Georgia Author of the Year in 2013 by the National League of American Pen Women. Her articles have appeared in more than 100 media outlets, including AARP, American Way, Money, Success and Inc. She co-founded the Orange Duffel Bag initiative, a 501c3 nonprofit that provides life plan coaching and ongoing advocacy to young people, ages 14-24, experiencing homelessness, high poverty or aging out of foster care. She is a partner and co-founder of Lucid House Publishing.

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