Old School Canvassing Requires A Van, Constant Hiring & Firing,
And The Nerve Of A Mormon Missionary.

Here’s An Easier, More Effective Method That WORKS.

Written by Rich Harshaw

I know a thing or two about “the nerve of a Mormon Missionary” and knocking doors. I spent two solid years in Taipei, Taiwan in 1988-1990 knocking door and learning every Chinese way imaginable to say “GET LOST!!!!” I’ve been chased by dogs, threatened by what appeared to be mobsters, and have had countless (and I mean COUNTLESS) doors literally slammed in my face.

But two years is a long time… and I don’t really handle rejection very well—in any language. So I experimented and found some interesting ways to lower the number of rejections, and lighten them when they did occur. I also found many ways to get invited into people’s home and have intelligent, productive conversations with them.

So when I started working in contractor marketing, one of my first orders of business was to help home improvement companies with canvassing. The advice below isn’t meant to be the comprehensive treatise on canvassing—that will come later in a different post. But I do want to share some things that I know will work better than what you’re doing now.

Without further fanfare… here are 5 tips for canvassing:

Tip 1: Consider Using A Team… Of ONE: The main reason remodeling companies hate traditional canvassing is that it’s a monumental pain in the butt to manage. Finding a team of presentable people who are willing to actually work that hard can be a challenge… not to mention trying to find a manager who is the right mix of ball-buster and babysitter.

So forget about the traditional “van full of door knockers” approach; instead hire ONE guy between 18 and 25 years old; give him a clipboard with a list of addresses that you’ve ALREADY SENT MAIL TO or that have an obvious need for what you sell (i.e., bad roofs, aluminum windows, ugly siding, etc.) and have him get to work. This is the classic case of working smarter, not harder. People who have received 5 to 8 pieces of mail from you (in 2 to 3 week period of time) will be more likely to engage. One person is a lot easier to train and manage that an unruly “team” of (usually) ragtag ruffians. If somebody answers the door, use tips 3 and 4 below. If nobody answers the door, leave a door hanger (see #5 below) and make a note on the clipboard—then come back the next day. Pay this person a small hourly base, a small commission for appointments, and a generous commission on sold deals.

Tip 2: Before You Ring The Doorbell…: Getting somebody to CONSIDER having a conversation with whoever opens the door is this biggest challenge in canvassing. Ideally, you’d send an attractive young woman around door-to-door, but that plan concerns me quite a bit from a safety standpoint. So I prefer well-groomed young men in their late teens or early 20’s. Have them wear khakis and a company shirt and be free from any visible piercings, tattoos, or unruly facial hair. You don’t want people’s first reaction to be “oh crap, a canvasser.” You want it to be “this guy’s probably selling something, but at least he doesn’t look like he might murder me.”

When your canvasser rings the doorbell, he should immediately take two good-sized steps backwards. This allows him to then take one step forward (keeping the back foot firmly planted) so that he can hand the prospect the big bill (see #3 below) but still have a comfortable (to the prospect) distance between them. Don’t underestimate how creepy it is to have a person (however nice looking) invade personal space at the door. Make sure your canvasser speaks clear, unaccented English (unless it’s the local accent). You want to give yourself every chance to at least have a chance to speak.

Tip 3: Interrupt Their Pattern: If you’ve done everything right up to this point, the person who opens the door won’t think a mass murderer is standing on their doorstep… but they WILL still be thinking of any and every way possible to get rid of this annoying salesman who’s interrupting their Judge Judy marathon.

To overcome this, you’ve got to immediately flip their attention from “why didn’t I install a trapdoor?” to “hey, that’s pretty cool.” The most reliable way to do this is to utilize what I simply call the BIG BILL. It’s a 17” x 7.3” oversized dollar bill that’s photoshopped to be a $500 bill (or $1,000 bill… or whatever denomination you want). The reverse side of the BIG BILL has information about your company and your Identity on it, but that’s irrelevant at this point.

Here’s how you use the BIG BILL: When the person opens the door, take that one step forward (that we talked about in step 2, above), and extend the BIG BILL, money side up, and say, “Hey, I just wanted to give you $500.” That’s it.

About 47% of the time, this will short circuit their brain and make them forget they wish they had a pit bull to sick on you. They’ll focus instead on the unusual and interesting dollar bill and wonder what it is, why you’re giving it to them, and what it means. The other 53% of the time you’ll still have to explain yourself to Smith & Wesson, but hey, nothing works every time.

Tip 4: Use Qualification Questions: If the person gives you any version of the “I hate your ever-living guts” vibe, politely thank them for their time and leave. But if they give you half an inch, then you can start to probe to see if they’ll give you a mile or not. Trust me, the BIG BILL is a beautiful, amazing thing. It works.

Your next step is to test for interest and urgency. You do this by asking qualification questions—specific, memorized questions that are designed to engage them in a conversation about what you sell to see if there’s a possibility of selling something, and if so, how interested they really are. Let’s say you sell gutter protection… here’s a sample of the qualification questions. Notice how they become increasingly intimate as the conversation evolves.

Canvasser: I’d like to give you this $500.

Homeowner: Uh, okay… umm… huh.

Canvasser: Yea, we sell gutter protection so you don’t have to climb ladders and get the gunk out yourself. The $500 is a promotion we have right now to reduce the cost by $500.

Canvasser: (NO PAUSE) Let me ask you; who’s the lucky person who gets to clean your gutters?

Homeowner: Uh, well… I really don’t clean them that much… but I guess it would be me, though.

Canvasser: Yikes! Have you ever had a “ladder incident?” You know, where either the ladder felt wobbly… or even an actual fall?

Homeowner: Heh, well, I’ve never fallen. But I do hate climbing up there.

Canvasser: Ha! I don’t blame you! How many times a year would you say climb the ladder and shove your hand in that gunk?

Homeowner: Oh I don’t know. Maybe once a year if I think there’s a problem.

Canvasser: Have you ever thought about installing a gutter protection product up there?

Homeowner: Well… not really. I guess. Maybe. Not really.

Canvasser: Oh, well… it’s actually pretty darn inexpensive. I’d like to send an estimator over to do a quick measure and give you an idea of what it would cost. Does that sound reasonable?

The entire point is to engage the person. If at any time they started saying things like “Oh, I don’t think so,” or “I’m not interested,” or “Spike, get him!” then that lets you know that they’re really not interested and it’s time to move on. But you’ll be surprised how many times a person will agree that it’s reasonable to at least get a quote.

Tip 5: Maximize The No-Shows: One major problem with door knocking is that people aren’t home. Don’t waste that time and effort—instead affix one of the BIG BILLS to their door with the bill side up. When they come home they’ll see that big old honking $500 bill on their door and will be like “WHAAAAT?!?!” The power of the BIG BILL is enormous—let it work for you!!!

© 2014 – 2016, Rich Harshaw. All rights reserved.