noun
grassroots sales; door-to-door marketing
Refers to persistent, on-the-ground sales activities where salespeople visit many small businesses or households, often likened to walking along ditch covers (ドブ板) in older shopping districts. Conveys a gritty, hands-on approach.
See also: ドブ板
新人はまずドブ板営業で地域の店を一軒一軒回る。
New employees first do grassroots sales, visiting local shops one by one.
ドブ板営業の経験が彼の営業力を鍛えた。
His experience in door-to-door marketing sharpened his sales skills.
飛び込み営業 is unscheduled cold-calling or drop-in sales, while ドブ板営業 emphasizes methodical, repeated visits to a defined area, often with a gritty, persistent image.
Compound of ドブ板 (どぶいた, 'ditch cover', from ドブ 'ditch' + 板 'board') and 営業 (えいぎょう, 'sales'). The image is of walking along the narrow ditch covers in front of shops in old commercial areas, suggesting persistent, ground-level sales effort.