Knock! Knock!: Lessons Learned and Stories Shared

by Douglas Thompson, Echo Montgomery Garrett

It also teaches you to have a great time while you are doing it. For the past five decades, I've made an excellent living in sales. 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. Join me on what salespeople call "a ride-along," and I’ll show you 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.

"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." — Kathy L. Murphy, Founder of the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club Reading Nation

"A lot of us are accidental salespeople. Put Doug's principles to work and you'll be unbeatable." — Bryan Flanagan, former Director of Training for the Zig Ziglar Corporation and CEO, The Flanagan Training Group and author of Now Go Sell Somebody Something!

Douglas G. Thompson was destined for a career in sales. He just didn’t know it yet. He discovered he had a knack for it, winning all kinds of awards and recognition as an insurance salesman, as a manager of sales teams, and as a sales executive, who has trained thousands of salespeople. During the pandemic, the insurance organization with whom he is an executive, grew sales by a remarkable 140% in 2020 over the previous year by making some quick adjustments to its selling process.

154 pages, Paperback

Published January 8, 2021

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Jennie Rosenblum · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the author states, no one ever dreams of being a salesperson, but at some point, we all are going to have to sell something.

After giving the reader his background so that we could better understand the platform he based his sales attitude on, the author dives into his experiences. Along the way, he has placed boxes containing quick tips, reflections, motivational phrases and items to think about.

The guidance Mr. Thompson gives can be applied to a plethora of situations. His step-by-step of No Shortcuts, track your numbers, set goals and expect adversity is universal for any and all business (and personal life too!).

Sales and life contain the good, the bad and the ugly, and this author does not shy away from discussing all. I think one of the most important points he made was that selling is 80% prospecting and 20% selling. This can be applied to making anyone successful.

[Michele Anne Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knock!Knock! Lessons Learned and Stories Shared, A Ride-Along with Sales Superstar Douglas Thompson with Echo Montgomery Garrett was short, to the point, and full of excellent recommendations and great stories of experiences throughout his years in sales and life. Although the main focus of this book is about Douglas and his experiences as a door-to-door insurance salesman, the underlying premises ring true in all areas of sales as well as life in general. I never dog-ear books, but this is my second book in less than six months that I’ve done just that to. It’s not just his advice on dressing for success, as an example, or building strong customer relationships, but it’s also the fact that he’s inserted numerous positive quotes throughout this book. This is a book that should be read by everyone whether in sales or not. I highly recommend Knock!Knock! Lessons Learned and Stories Shared, A Ride-Along with Sales Superstar Douglas Thompson with Echo Montgomery Garrett.

I was given a copy of this book in return for my fair and unbiased review.

[Leah Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug Thompson delivers exactly the book he was striving for - help for people in the business of sales but also interesting for others. He tells of his life’s experiences with warmth and compassion, with a consistent message of the importance of truthfulness and adherence to ethics.