Birth of a Salesman

Tomorrow I have a third interview for a job selling residential solar arrays door-to-door. I’ve done door-to-door sales before, and it sucked. I was selling energy efficient home improvement projects in the Twin Cities area without much success. I’m talking window, door, and roofing replacement projects as well as attic insulation. I think I got one check for commission on one appointment set and sale closed. I thought I could do it because I’d be selling something I believed to be important and helpful to people. But it’s lonely out there for a salesman, especially when sales are so seldom closed.

I’ve also done door-to-door canvassing for multiple political campaigns. I spent 2015 collecting signatures to get cannabis legalization on the ballot in Montana. I failed, but the work didn’t bother me, even though I wasn’t being paid. But the successes in gathering signatures for an initiative to appear on the ballot are far more frequent than are sales. Anyone who signs can vote against the initiative in the election after all.

In a recent post I reviewed which pains I’m willing to sustain in my life, and “solar sales” was actually on the list. I’ve served on a commission advising the Mayor and City of Minneapolis on environmental issues the last two years. I’ve discovered that the best contribution I can make to my community and the climate is to sell residential solar arrays. It’s also the best living I can potentially make, since my income would be uncapped and based solely on my performance as a salesman.

I’ve long sacrificed salary to do what I’ve wanted for a living where I’ve wanted to live, but the pandemic has put us all in precarious or unfamiliar positions. I’m in the unfamiliar position of having a healthy investment portfolio I don’t want to touch. I’ve also never been this motivated by money. I have plans for my future that require funding, so a salesman I will be if necessary.

This salesman isn’t born of necessity, however, and mustn’t be if he is to be successful. I sincerely believe I can knock doors for 40 hours each week and convince enough people of the value and affordability of installing residential solar arrays. The topic of conversation is one of my favorites, and the reward for closing a sale would go far beyond the zeros on my paycheck. The idea of working outside, walking instead of sitting in front of a computer, and talking to real people live in-person appeals to me. More importantly, I believe in what I’d be doing and what I’d be selling. That wasn’t the case when I was selling home improvement projects door-to-door.

Since then I’ve quit a job and stopped commuting to work for the climate. I bought a residential solar array for the climate. I actually increased my monthly bills to provide my neighbors with clean energy and avoid paying federal taxes for three years. It seemed like a good idea when I was gainfully employed, and it still seems like a good idea even though I’m unemployed. This month I’ve managed to live off just $255 per week and still pay all my bills. I’ve had to suspend renovations to my house due to a lack of funds, but you can’t renovate your home if the bank owns it.

While it’s lonely out there for a door-to-door salesman, it’s been much lonelier in this year of Coronavirus coupled with political incompetence. A socialist salesman is a walking contradiction, but having the skills to profit from capitalism and resisting on principle hasn’t lowered my loan principals. If a salesman is who succeeds in this capitalistic world, then a salesman I will be, and the best damn residential solar salesman there ever could be.