The Southwestern Company Difference Blog
A headline like this makes you a little curious, right?
As someone closely affiliated with Southwestern Company’s storied door-to-door sales program, I was quite entertained by a recent article I read on www.pembrokexpress.com (see article link below), the website for Pembroke Express, a paper in Pembroke, Massachusetts.
Peter Shurdut, a budding entrepreneur, was recently approved for a solicitation permit in order to test the market for his business plan: to own a chain of retail stores in the Northeast. Nothing big here, but Peter will be selling, among other things, toilet paper in bulk door-to-door. (I get a case of the giggles when I think of his sample case and the reaction he gets when he asks Mrs. Jones if she has a place where they can sit down).
According to the article, Peter’s business plan is to scout the market via door-to-door to build a grassroots interest in
his offerings and test the market prior to investing in retail space. Door-to-door sales is not a new business model for Peter. While not with Southwestern Company, he did gather some door-to-door experience while in college. His product was meat and shrimp, and he was dubbed “the neighborhood meat man.” (No really. I could not make that up, check out the article).
What I really like about Peter is his infectious attitude and intelligent reasons behind building a business. Peter is doing it for the right reasons, bringing a quality product that everyone needs to the home where people will use it… and he is doing it with “service” in mind. During his 90-day stint in door-to-door, he will donate a portion of each sale to a local charity yet to be determined.
In the article, a few of the Selectmen who approved his permit are quoted. Don Anderson said Peter had a good marketing approach and that he was in favor of any business trying to survive in the current economy. Wow! If he feels that way about toilet paper and other select paper products, educational products should be very well received.
Another Selectman, Bill Boulter was quoted as saying, “I’ve always been the one saying no [to door-to-door selling] … but it seems like a pretty good idea as long as you go by all the rules.” While intitially negative about door-to-door sales, maybe someone like Peter can show him it is not all that bad for the local economy and the community in general. Selectman Boulter has it right though – door-to-door sales can be a great idea if the rules are simply followed.
To read the article in full:
“Paper salesman gets board OK”
By Becca Manning
March 11, 2010.
