Door-knocking is the first channel most permanent lighting installers learn — partly because it requires zero budget, partly because it works (kind of). Direct mail is the channel most installers wish they'd learned first. Here's why.
The unit economics
| Metric | Door-knocking | Mailed design quotes (Light Launch) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per "touch" | ~$5–$15 (1 person's time) | $1 per home (all-in) |
| Touches per day | 40–80 doors per rep | Unlimited (you mail in bulk) |
| Touches per dollar | ~0.1–0.2 | 1 (exactly) |
| "Hit rate" (engages) | 10–20% (door opens) | 15–20% (QR scans) |
| Effective close rate | 1–3% of doors | 0.5–2.5% of mailings |
| Personal time required | High (you or rep walking) | ~45 min to set up campaign |
| Weather / time-of-day risk | Significant | None |
| Avg return per $1 spent | $5–$15 (when it works) | $32 (Light Launch installer average) |
Where door-knocking still wins
Door-knocking has one strength direct mail can't fully replicate: real-time conversation. A skilled rep at the door can handle objections, show a tablet with renders, and book the estimate on the spot. For experienced installers with strong door-to-door reps, the close rate per conversation can be very high.
The catch is that this strength is people-dependent. The rep determines 80% of the outcome. If you don't have a great door-knocker (and most installers don't), the channel underperforms badly.
Where direct mail wins
Mailed design quotes scale in three ways door-knocking can't:
- Volume. You can mail 1,000 homes from your desk in 15 minutes. You can't knock 1,000 doors in a week.
- Recognition mechanic. A postcard with the homeowner's actual house rendered with permanent lighting triggers a freeze-and-look-closer response. Door-knocking doesn't have this — you're a stranger on the porch.
- Asynchronous response. Homeowners scan the QR when they have time. Door-knocking only works when they're home AND willing to open AND willing to listen, all at the same moment.
The combo move
The best-performing installers use both, but in a specific sequence: mail first, knock second.
- Mail design quotes to a target neighborhood (200 homes, $200 spend).
- Wait 7–10 days for the postcards to land + scans to start coming in.
- Door-knock the neighbors of anyone who scanned but didn't pay a deposit. The conversation opens with "I noticed you looked at the design we sent..." which dramatically increases door-to-door close rates.
This works because mail handles the "do you want this at all?" filter and door-knocking handles the "let's close this today" close. Light Launch's CRM auto-flags which neighbors scanned but didn't convert, so the door-knocking work is targeted, not random.
Mail does the filtering. You do the closing.
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