| A door-to-door salesman’s quest to rebrand his profession.  Photograph by David Williams for The New Yorker In the era of Amazon Prime, the door-to-door salesman may seem like a relic, but, as Tad Friend reports in this week’s issue, the profession is alive and well. “The best door-to-door salesmen can earn more than a million dollars a year,” he writes, “but it’s a punishing way of life.” Friend profiles Sam Taggart, a thirty-two-year-old salesman from Salt Lake City who was raised in the Mormon church. (Many door-to-door salesmen are young Mormons, who draw on their missionary experience.) It’s fascinating to follow along as Friend observes Taggart making his pitch: “I call my style ‘the Grandson Effect,’ ” he says. “Innocent little soft pretty boy. My perfect customer is the tender mom.” For every successful sale, however, there are copious rejections, and Taggart seems both haunted and energized by the deception of his chosen trade. Read the piece to understand the new spin on the salesman, that classic exemplar of American hustle culture. —Michael Agger, culture editor, newyorker.com Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » | 
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