1 out of 4 stars
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The American Dream Door to Door Millionaires is a motivational how-to book by Dwight Treadwell Sr. and his son, William Treadwell Sr. This book focuses on the tools and tricks of the trade to become successful in door to door sales. Readers will not only learn the mechanics for proper advertising and sales etiquette, they will also get a primer on the very important mental preparations and affirmations that one must perform to successfully do the job at hand.
The book starts off with a personal background by the eldest Treadwell. He shares how, as a pre-teen, he was motivated to earn more than his allowance money so he could successfully embark on the complex and expensive world of dating. William’s story then went a little farther and details how he began his professional sales career between college semesters. He started out selling home alarm systems door to door and then moved on to more lucrative home satellite systems. As a college student, he was able to earn a six figure income devoting just his summers to managing and performing door to door sales. The remainder of the book details the statistics, mechanics, and advice to help someone become successful selling and managing teams of door to door marketers.
As someone who has never been brave enough to attempt door to door sales, I found the book to be an interesting glimpse into a completely alien world. It was eye opening for me to see just how much earning potential is out there for someone who is motivated and driven. This quick read would be ideal for a young person who is considering a summer job between college semesters or who is looking to forgo college and jump straight into the working world. This book could also be helpful for someone who is already in the industry and finds themselves struggling. At its core, this book is an effective motivational push.
While there are people who could potentially benefit from this book, it is not without its issues. There is a decisive lack of editing and proofreading. On the first page alone, I counted fourteen spelling, grammar, or formatting errors. This pattern continues throughout the book. In some cases, paragraphs are up to two pages long and the inclusion of some really cheesy clichés made me roll my eyes. Much of the information is opinion gleaned from the authors’ years of doing sales, but it is often cursory and those looking for a more detailed or substantive tome about marketing will be disappointed. Changes in perspective added confusion as it shifted between the father and son without letting the reader know who is presenting the information.
One chapter entitled “How To Identify The True Decision Maker” was rather effective in getting my hackles raised. While I understand that many households still fall under more traditional gender roles, the authors could have addressed this issue with a larger helping of tact. According to the Treadwells, there are masculine and feminine things that the man or little lady of the house make the final decisions on. Masculine things include insurance, lawns, tools, vehicles, vacations, and recreation. Women get to make the decisions on things like beauty/hair, clothing, children, kitchens, bedding, and religion. While they do point out that there are no hard and fast rules for who is the final decision maker in the house, the 1960s tone set in this chapter was more than a little off-putting. It also flies in the face of not letting preconceived notions prevent you from effectively marketing to a household.
Books like this are hard to assign a rating to because they have some value but are completely unpolished. It is really hard to accept marketing advice from someone who is stressing the importance of being thorough and detail oriented when they couldn’t bother to have someone proofread a book that takes less than three hours to read. While the book held my interest for the short time it took to read it, I don’t see many people gleaning serious marketing advice from it. I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. It would have garnered a higher rating if it had spent some serious time in front of a professional editor.
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The American Dream Door to Door Millionaire ls
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