Who’s Holding The Cards When It Comes To “No Soliciting”
Last month we talked about “the numbers” and how you can turn hope into results. Over the next couple months I’m going to get back into the neighborhood and discuss some of the objections your canvassers will encounter and how to handle them.
No Solicitation
This is an objection that can stop a canvasser cold if he or she isn’t prepared on how to handle it; in reality it’s a put-off more than an objection. A homeowner who uses “No Solicitation” as a reason not to hear your canvasser’s presentation is generally an easy prospect. Why? We’re not selling anything. We’re informing the neighbors of what we’re doing, and, in the meantime, offering free estimates for their own home improvement desires. We’re simply setting appointments… we’re not soliciting.
That’s the reality, though that explanation doesn’t have any emotion behind it and when your canvassers are at the front door homeowners who use the “no solicitation” objection generally do so with a lot of emotion; as if by saying this it will stop the stranger (your canvasser) cold and they’ll go away. So, many times, you’re canvassers want a more logical explanation or justification. And that’s easy.
Do You Know Your Rights, Or The Legalities Regarding Solicitation?
Most of the companies I work with canvass in multiple cities and municipalities. It’s been my experience there’s no consistency from one city to the next with how they handle, address or even define solicitation.
If you want to find out call them up and tell them you’re a home improvement company and when you finish an installation in a neighborhood you go around to the neighbors and pass out fliers letting them know you’ve done work for their neighbor. If they’d like to get an idea of what something like that would cost them you can schedule an appointment for a free estimate. If you ask the municipality what you’d need in order to do that you’re going to find out that it’s all over the place… there’s no consistency or uniformity in how the communities handle it.
Here in the Cleveland, Ohio area we have about 72 types of villages and municipalities and there are just about 72 different ways it’s handled. Some are very strict requiring fees, permits and practically blood samples in order to knock on people’s doors; and others who’s response is, “sure go ahead.” You can drive yourself nuts if you try to figure it all out.
I’ve heard some amazing stories, both good and bad, regarding the legalities of soliciting in different communities. If you have a story, I’d love to hear it. Email it to me using the link below. Or, if you have a question regarding the legalities in your area email me and I’ll give you some feedback. Contractors pull permits for jobs, should you in order to canvass? Everyone wants to be smart about it and if you’ve got questions I may have an answer for you.
Find out – email me direct using this link.
Let’s get back to the objection. Some people have a “no solicitation” sign prominently displayed on their window or door and some don’t, but they’ll tell you there’s no soliciting allowed in their neighborhood. Or, the third scenario is where the homeowner will have a sign posted, but it’s so small your canvasser doesn’t see it. Sometimes you can anticipate this objection and sometimes you can’t.
What do you do? Next month I’ll teach you how to effectively handle these situations.