When’s the last time you answered a knock on the door only to find a vacuum cleaner salesman? If you asked me yesterday, I would have said sometime in the late 80s when a clean-cut college kid was trying to sell a fancy Electrolux to my mom.

Now if you were to ask me today when the last time I was visited by a vacuum cleaner salesman, I would have to say…oh…sometime before lunch.

It’s true. There was a vacuum pusher (pun intended) prowling around my sleepy little village this morning knocking on doors with a stack of business cards four inches high in his fist.

There are a lot of reasons why door-to-door sales people are extinct. For starters, nobody’s at home during the day anymore (and if we are, we’re VERY busy meeting deadlines, preparing meals and keeping children alive). Then there’s the concern of opening the door to a stranger (always something to be cautious of, boys and girls) and the fact that most of the civilized world has access to the Internet for their purchasing needs or a vehicle to take them to a store to buy what they want.

In the case of the vacuum salesman…well…I don’t have carpet. That’s exactly what I told this man, “I don’t have carpet.”

Then he said, “What do you have, hardwood?”

“Yes.”

“Well you still should be vacuuming them.”

Me: Blank stare of disbelief.

Him: “When you use your Swiffer, you get dust in between the boards and your floors are likely starting to buckle.”

Me: Blank stare of disbelief. I don’t, in fact, use a Swiffer. I have one of those new-fangled contraptions called a broom.

Him: “Do you have any allergies or air quality concerns?”

Me: Still staring blankly, “Um…”

Him: “Because we do air testing and things like that now.”

Me: “Um…I think we’re good.”

Him: “Okay. Just vacuum your floors, it doesn’t have to be one of our models,” he says as he hands me his card and walks away.

I close the door and think about how long a day this guy has ahead of him if this is his bread and butter. If you’re going to try to sell me a vacuum, at least put on a suit.

This scenario presents the perfect opportunity for me to discuss the importance of relationship marketing.

Consumers are busy these days. We’re busy and we’re cautious of where our money goes and we’re smart. We’re really smart. We have tools (Internet) that allow us to compare products before we ever leave the house to buy something…if we do have to leave the house rather than just order something right there from our sofa.

If you want to try selling me something I don’t need, you have to convince me why I’m wrong (that I do need it) and you need to gain my trust because, you know, there are only so many dollars to go around.

This is why Facebook is so important. If this vacuum cleaner guy has a Facebook account he should have his own Facebook page that he could use to educate his friends and potential customers about his products. See, if I’d heard of him before I probably would have at least felt like listening to him or inviting him in.

He could have fun contests and trivia. He could post information about why older models don’t work…about why Swiffers are harming hardwood floors. (See, if you lead by telling me I’m making a mistake that’s harming one of my home’s biggest assets I might listen.)

With a Facebook page you’re building relationships and you’re educating the market…if you use it the right way.

That tidbit he told me about the Swiffer could have made a great blog post. Blogs are a great way to build relationships with your customers. (If I came across that info on my own, I likely would have run out and bought some sort of vacuum cleaner.) A door-to-door salesman just seems so pushy.

This guy should be on Twitter, posting information about air quality issues and how a good vacuum can help.

The thing is…I feel one of the big reasons why the door-to-door thing is dead is because nobody wants to be sold to. If I want a vacuum, I’ll find someone who’s selling them.

This brings us to SEO and search marketing. A nice, sharp website targeting those in need of a vacuum will be way more successful than having some joe schmoe wandering around from town to town getting doors slammed in his face.

I could go on forever but I won’t. I have things to do (remember, interrupted by a salesman earlier).

How about you? Do you have some tips on how to sell a vacuum in 2010? What do you think about my advice?

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