Survey Follow-Up
In last month’s article I asked you to complete a brief survey to compare your front and backend numbers against all the other companies canvassing in order to establish a benchmark measurement. The real purpose of the exercise was to flush out a trend I see all too often. It’s something I’m aware of in coaching my private clients though I wanted to identify on a broad scale.
When I ran my home improvement company the numbers ruled. I could tell on a daily basis where we’d end the week or month based entirely on our front-end canvassing numbers. By measuring how many doors we were knocking on, the number of homeowners we talked to, how many gave us their contact info and then the number of appointments being set I could calculate to the percentage how we would end our month in sales.
Based on the numbers I received from all the companies who participated I confirmed the common trend… companies aren’t inspecting what they expect. The overwhelming majority of companies are not tracking front-end numbers. Virtual everyone’s tracking back-end numbers, but not the front. (I want to commend so many people for being honest in admitting that you’re not tracking those front-end numbers – it gives us a place to start; where you can begin improving your numbers)
Everyone wants to know the back-end numbers because those deal directly with closed sales, dollars and cents. When the back-end numbers from canvassing are down it’s often blamed on the canvassing process as being unsuccessful. Yet if you don’t have a clue of how many doors you’re getting to and how many qualified people you’re talking to; and of those qualified people how many are getting confirmed to an appointment then your back-end numbers will surely be off.
Consistent Results
The nice thing about canvassing is consistent results. I said it in February’s newsletter, yet it warrants saying again… “You can’t argue with the numbers!” If your canvasser knocked on 30 doors in an evening he or she will potentially speak to 20 people. Of those 20 people about 85% of them will be the homeowner. About 9% of them will give you their contact information and from those 75% will set an appointment. (Refer to the March 2009 issue of Canvassing Insider for the complete analysis of front-end numbers)
Controlling – By The Numbers
If your canvassers come back and say they knocked on 30 doors and spoke only to 5 homeowners in an evening then something’s wrong. Or, they spoke to 20 people yet didn’t receive contact information from any of them… RED FLAG. In the first scenario they didn’t knock on enough doors (regardless of how many they say they knocked on). It’s simply an issue of knocking on more doors. In the second scenario, it’s likely they’re not following the script. In any event, they’re deviating from your system and you know it immediately… if you’re continually tracking the numbers.
I know if you start tracking your front-end numbers and make the small adjustments needed you’ll significantly improve your canvassing results. In next month’s newsletter I’ll provide you with a tracking form that your canvassers will use to record their daily results. From those numbers you’ll be able to identify who’s following the program and what adjustments you need to make to improve those all important back-end numbers.
Yes, it’ll be another piece of paper canvassers will have to manage, though it will be vital to they’re success as a canvasser, which they’ll ultimately feel in their pocket.