The Warm Down
When the canvasser walked up to and knocked on the homeowner’s door they were not expecting the canvasser, or the opportunity he would present. Yes they may have thought, even talked about, the need for what the canvasser was talking about, but they were not expecting him or her at that moment in time.
Your canvasser stopping by to invite them to have a free demo was not the top thing on their minds. That’s why the scripting and appointment sheet are so important. The Rule of 6 is a critical part of the canvassing effort (If you’d like to read the complete article including details about the Rule of 6, simply click on the link to be transported to last month’s newsletter). Even if the canvasser is not able to close the homeowners for an appointment you can continue to market and communicate with them to nurture them to a point where they are ready to set an appointment. But without the contact information the canvasser’s efforts are wasted.
Once you’ve captured the homeowner’s contact information, as you can see on the appointment sheet, the next step is to close for an appointment. The canvasser’s sole purpose for being in front of this homeowner is to set an appointment. Everything else they’ve done is to get them to this point. This is where the canvasser’s ‘sale’ is made.
Your canvasser can lose the lead at this point if you haven’t armed them with the their product… AN APPOINTMENT! … More specifically, available appointment times. I’ve seen leads lost because the canvasser did everything right, they delivered a powerful introduction, identified the need, expertly transitioned to get the contact information and had the door slammed on them (not by the homeowner, but by their very own company!) because there were NO appointment times available within the next 48 to 72 hours.
Before you send your canvassers out on the streets you must make appointment times available to them. I know you’re not going to shut off your other forms of advertising, but you’ve got to make some times within the next several days available to your canvassers for appointments.
Appointments Are The Product Here
Appointments are the product they’re selling. You wouldn’t ask your sales rep to go out to a demo without having a product to be able to deliver at the end of the sale when the homeowner’s ready to sign.
Approaching The Appointment Time
You want to use a traditional alternate choice approach when targeting in on the appointment date and time. But once you key in on what’s convenient for the homeowner there are two key questions you must ask to insure the likelyhood of a full demo:
- What time do you normally get home?
- Will you be home for the better part of the evening?
What Time Do You Normally Get Home?
You want to make sure that your appointment time is not too close, nor too far away from the time they arrive home. If you schedule the demo too close to the time they arrive home they’ll be rushed and their mind won’t have transitioned out of work and into the demo.
On the other hand, if you set the time too late they’ll have settled into being home; gotten comfortable and may not want to be bothered with a sales demo.
Asking this question will verify you’ve properly positioned the presentation in their life to maximize your sales rep’s opportunity.
Will You Be Home For The Better Part Of The Evening?
This question is even more critical than the first. It’s a nice way of asking the homeowner, “You’re not going anywhere are you?”
The demonstration can get killed if one or both of the homeowners have to leave to pick up the kids from soccer practice, or something that would draw them out of the house during a presentation.
If the homeowner tells you they have to go out when you know they’ll still be involved in the demo then you want to move them to another day. Here’s how you can handle the transition.
Canvasser: “Will you be home for the better part of the evening?”
Homeowner: “We do have to go out for a church meeting about 7:30pm.”
Canvasser: “Oh Ok. The only reason I ask is if we’re running late due to traffic or another demonstration running later I don’t want to inconvenience you. It’s not likely to happen, but I don’t want you to be rushed. With measuring and getting you the best estimate possible that might be cutting it a little close, would Tuesday or Wednesday be good for you when you wouldn’t have any other activities going on? I understand you’re busy, so this way you’re able to get all the information you want.”
You’re confirming they are the homeowners and that they’re going to have enough time available for your sales rep to spend the time they’ll need for the entire presentation.
Previous Estimates
It’s valuable to find out if they’ve had estimates before.
Comments
The comments should be kept relative toward anything the confirmer will need to know. For example, the telephone number or time the homeowner recommended calling them at. For example, they rarely answer their home phone, and should call their cell phone or work number.
Permission
It’s important to get them to initial that it is ok to contact them. This will satisfy your obligation toward the Do Not Call list. Here’s some scripting your canvasser can use to obtain their initials.
“I just need your initials here to make sure I have all your contact information correct and that we can follow up to confirm the appointment, as well as contact you if anything happens on your end or ours.”
Present it this way and it will be a non-issue for homeowner. You don’t have to bring up the Federal Do Not Call list or anything like that, but if they do ask you can reassure them that the information is only for your company’s use and that it won’t be sold or given out to anyone. In addition you want to mention you are staying within compliance with the federal do not call regulation.
Your Transition To The Appointment Reminder Sheet
Now that you have everything that you need for the appointment sheet
- Contact information
- Appointment time and date
- Previous estimates (if any)
- Comments
- Permission to contact them
You’re now going to transition to the appointment reminder. Here’s how that sounds.
“Now that we know about you it’s only fair you know all about us. What I have here and I’m going to give you is an appointment reminder. I’m going to write in your appointment day, date and time here.”
The canvasser then turns the appointment reminder around so the homeowner can see it.
“I have your appointment down here for Wednesday, February 15 at 6:30pm. We’re XYZ Home Improvement Company and you can see here we’re a local company and we’re members of the Better Business Bureau, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (etc. with whatever affiliations your company has). If you have access to the Internet you can go online and see our website. It’s like a virtual showroom of the products and services we have. As well as our telephone number and how you can reach us.”
The Appointment Reminder Has 4 Important Features
- It gives the homeowner a tangible reminder of their appointment
- Builds trust and credibility for your company
- Drives homeowners to your website to checkout your company
- Presents Programs & Incentives (This will be pre-printed on the backside of the Appointment Reminder – A sample will be shown in next month’s issue)
The canvasser doesn’t have to remember anything. The only script the canvasser needs is the transition from the Appointment Sheet to the Appointment Reminder. They work this sheet from the top to the bottom.
I’ve covered the first three features of the appointment reminder. Next month I’ll show you how to use the backside of the reminder sheet to promote your programs and incentives. These are unique opportunities you make available to the homeowner to entice them to keep their appointment.
To learn the advanced principles behind my successful canvassing methods and take advantage of the premade canvassing and recruiting scripts for virtually all the home remodeling industries call me at 216-588-1337.