A smart person once said it’s better to multiply rather than divide yourself. Canvassing is challenging enough and I don’t know of any canvasser who wouldn’t want to multiply the efforts they’re already putting in. You could get more leads and appointments if you knocked on more doors, but that would be dividing yourself across more time and I’m sure you’re already putting in a lot of time. You can multiply your efforts by getting more leads out of fewer prospects and you can do that if you ask prospects for referrals.
The success of you getting referrals will be directly related to how effective your introduction is. Your introduction, whether canvassing neighborhoods or at events, is the first impression of you. The immediate barrier you’re combating is that in either case people expect you’re going to sell them something. You have only 9 seconds to introduce yourself and change their impression of you and your intentions.
Within your introduction, what is your offer? What are you asking them to do? This is the second critical component of your introduction for getting a lead. I know, I’m talking about referrals in this article so why is this important in getting a lead? You can’t get a referral from the prospect unless you first get them as a lead.
And third, what will happen next? Once you get the lead, what will happen next; how will you deliver your material or information to them and/or to a referral? By nature, people are more protective of giving out a friend, co-worker or family member’s contact information than they are about giving away their own because they don’t want the person they have a relationship with, who they referred, coming back complaining to them because they gave out their info. Put yourself in their shoes. If your friend gave your info out and the salesperson followed up and badgered and pursued them aggressively, how would you feel toward the ‘friend’ who gave up your info? The prospect is more concerned about how you’ll approach those they refer more than you bothering them. They feel they can ‘handle’ you, but they don’t want to have to ‘handle’ their friends.
How do you go about asking for a referral? If you’ve been following me for any length of time you know I have several membership groups, different levels at which members have access to my material and to what extent and depth. For Platinum and Gold members I write their scripts and personally train their teams on those scripts, what the methodology behind the words are and how to identify objections and deliver the right rebuttals based on the objections, etc. At the Silver level members are able to pick up information and material they can cobble together on their own to work. Regardless of what level membership you’re at you’re probably familiar with my canvassing system, or, at the very least, know there are 5-steps to my system.
Step 1 of my system is the Introduction and as I mentioned already it’s the first critical component in setting to ask for a referral later in the presentation. Your introduction is establishing the prospect’s first impression of you. The words you say will either keep the door open or get it slammed in your face. If it stays open, which for coaching clients using my introduction or some iteration of it that I’ve created for them based on their unique situation they’re getting and keeping the door open. They’re keeping the prospect in the ‘maybe’ state. This is to say you’ve successfully passed the first 9 seconds and earned the right to continue in your presentation.
From the introduction I’ve differentiated myself as not being a salesman and not there to sell the product but rather deliver information. That’s the first step in setting up to be able to ask for a referral later. You’re establishing yourself as a person who isn’t there to pressure or sell. That perception will carry through to their willingness to refer.
The second part of my introduction is the offer. I’m offering to send them information; some valuable material there’s no obligation for them to accept other than giving up their contact information.
And lastly, the ‘what happens next’? Because I have their mailing and phone information they’ll receive the guide or report as promised, through the mail. These are the three components I spoke of earlier:
1. Strong introduction – establish value and rapport
2. Make a valuable offer
3. Clarify what happens next
These are the fundamentals not only for establishing trust and paving the way to getting a lead, but also opening the door to ask for a referral later, and pretty much insuring you’ll get at least one.
Before I go any further, I have to confess, that I’ve been as guilty as anyone else for not asking prospects I get as a lead for a referral, which is why I think it’s important enough to discuss. It’s easy to forget, especially when you get caught up in the excitement of converting that prospect to a lead. Keep in mind though that your job becomes infinitely easier when you’re canvassing warm leads rather than cold ones. That prospect you meet for the first time when they open the door, with no previous introduction to you from a friend or family member is a cold hard lead; someone you have to warm up with your skill, script and charm. I’ll take a warm lead, someone referred to me by another lead everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.
Let’s look at who you could encounter canvassing that you could obtain a referral from.
As I’ve identified, there are 3:
1. A prospect that doesn’t have a need or want for your product or doesn’t qualify
2. Someone who does qualify for your product or service, but for whatever reason they won’t give you the lead
3. And finally someone that you do get a lead or appointment
This applies to canvassing as well as live events or a show, the same criteria applies.
Now, don’t be disillusioned, the reality of the situation is that the majority of the people you ask for a referral will not give you one. I’ve asked thousands of people if they know a friend, family or coworker who’d also be interested in this opportunity and they stand there with a contorted face, their hand on their chin thinking intently who they may know only to tell me they don’t know someone. Keep in mind what one of the greatest professional hockey players said…
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky
You will never get a referral unless you ask for them.
From the Top
At the beginning of this article I shared the 3 keys to getting a referral within your introduction, and there are 3 types of prospects from whom you can ask for a referral and there are 2 types of homes you’ll approach based on the product or service you’re canvassing for. There is the prospect with whom you can identify has a need for your product and those you know don’t. For home improvement companies these can often be identified from the exterior of the house as you approach. For other businesses it could be a bit more of a challenge. Regardless, your introduction must be delivered accordingly.
If you see they’ve already had the work done, the key is to acknowledge it before they point it out to you. If you don’t the prospect will think you don’t know what you’re doing, aren’t paying attention and ultimately not really interested in them, because you weren’t astute enough to pick up on the obvious. The bottom line is that you will have lost control of the presentation. If you’ve studied me and what I do you know I’m a thermostat not a thermometer. I control what’s going on, not reacting to it. You must be in control of the situation.
From here you let them know what you’re doing for everyone else and that you have the information packet and making it available to everyone else. This sets you up to ask for the referral.
I’ve given you a lot of information and direction on how to implement getting referrals as part of your canvassing. There is a lot to grasp. I go into a lot more detail and actual examples on the Silver Telecoaching call. If you’re a Silver, Gold or Platinum member you’ll receive the audio CD from the call, if you haven’t already. If you have questions about or would like help implementing the referral strategy into your system and you’re a Gold or Platinum member we can discuss it on one of our one-on-one calls. If you’re a Silver member then I urge you to go back and listen to the call. You’ll pick up on more each time you listen to it. If you’re not a member and have a question you can submit it to me at www.AskTheCanvassKing.com or email me at cthompson@canvassking.com, or call my office at (216) 588-1337.