This is one of the most vital aspects of what I teach and gets the biggest jump in results.
This will dramatically change your results.
To put things into context, I’ll be talking about 2 parts, lead generation and appointment setting. In previous calls I covered the steps to set you up to get to what I’m discussing in this article.
For those that are new to this I’ll start with a warning. The approach I’ll reveal here will feel odd to you initially. In fact, you may feel a bit rude or forward based on the language, however I guarantee that if you follow my process you will increase the number of leads you capture and how many appointments you set. I guarantee that despite what you may feel or think your prospects will appreciate the directness of this approach. Every other canvasser that approaches the door has the same apprehensions and hesitations you will have and when you understand the psychology behind this, you’ll gain a better understanding of just how to increase your leads and income.
Lead Capture – Contact Information
This may seem obvious that you have to get the prospect’s complete contact information before you try setting the appointment. Even when the prospect shows interest in what you’re offering you’ll feel compelled to go for the appointment right away, but you have to fight this urge and get their contact information. Why? To avoid the ping pong game in setting the appointment. If you’re too quick to try to set the appointment date and time first, without getting the homeowner’s information, you can lose the lead in what I call the ping pong game. Here’s an example of the ping pong game:
Avoid The Ping Pong Game
Canvasser: “Are you available on Wednesday or Thursday this week?”
Homeowner: “Neither is good.”
Canvasser: “Ok, how about Friday or Saturday?”
Homeowner: “No! We’re going out of town that weekend… you know, why don’t I call you when we get back? We can set something up then.”
Canvasser: “OK, well, let me get your telephone number so we can follow up with you then.”
Homeowner: “I’ve got your number, I’ll call you.” (Closes door)
What’s the outcome of this back and forth (ping pong) dialogue? The prospect won!
You worked very hard to get the homeowner into the red zone, but couldn’t push them into the end-zone for the score. Why? There was no strategy for securing the homeowner’s contact information if you were unable to get an appointment time. That’s why it’s important to get the homeowner’s contact information as quickly as possible.
In the homeowner’s mind it’s only “final” when they commit to the date and time. The appointment sheet is the strategic tool you’ll use to close the appointment.
This is why you want to capture their lead information first.
Another common mistake is asking the prospect for their information too soon. You’re asking them for personal information and if you ask at the wrong point in the relationship the prospect will be uncomfortable giving it to you because they haven’t reached a point of trust with you.
The Rule of 6
There are 6 pieces of contact information available to you that you can use to put the prospect into an agreement pattern. These 6 pieces exist within their address. I’m talking about their street number, street, etc. You can use each of these pieces of information and have the customer confirm them to covertly slide into ultimately asking them for their real personal information such as telephone number and email address. These pieces are right in front of you, at every home you’ll canvass. Take what’s there for the taking and turn it into a tool to work toward your advantage.
You apply my Rule of 6 immediately after the prospect gives you a positive response or buying sign.
It may seem like a lot of effort to have the prospect confirm each minor aspect of the address, but it is powerfully effective. When I coach canvassers on this I find they want to shortcut the process. The power in this technique is you’re getting the prospect to give you yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and you put them into an agreement pattern. This is important because when you come to asking them information they’d normally resist giving, you’ve already built a rhythm of their saying yes. It’s a hypnotic technique.
If you start by asking the prospect for their name and phone number you’ll break down any and all trust and rapport you’ve built with the prospect up to that point. However, get them confirming common knowledge information, getting them into an agreement pattern and you can roll right into acquiring their personal information as my system demonstrates.
Be sure to listen to the audio from the Silver call from this article for my story of the lady who never gives out her phone number, but did when I applied my Rule of 6. The rhythm of the rule causes it to work automatically.
If you’re using an appointment sheet you should be capturing this information on that sheet. Or confirming or entering it into your app.
Once you’ve put them into an agreement pattern it’s time to get their name. The words and the way you ask for their name is very important. Most will ask, “Can I have your name?” This is a polite way to ask, even the way your mom may have taught you to ask someone for they’re name. If you ask it this way then you run the risk of them saying no. Instead, assume they’re going to give it to you and ask accordingly.
You’ll also hear on the live call CD how I capture a prospect’s email address and the name of the spouse or significant other who’ll be involved in the decision-making. If you’ve been paying attention, you can probably figure it out from the pattern I’ve already created.
Will you get the contact info 100% of the time? No, but you’ll capture significantly more doing it my way.
Upgrading The Prospect into an Appointment
If you’ve been following the past several month’s calls and articles you know that I’ve been talking about my new approach using information packets and guides to gain the prospect’s contact information under the guise of sending it out to them. Our major purpose is to get and set appointments. Once you have their contact info you have to transition seamlessly to asking for the appointment. The transition is important, again so as not to break the rapport, and that’ll be in the next canvassing article.
If you have questions regarding this month’s subject, submit them to me at www.AskTheCanvassKing.com or you can call my office at (216) 558-1337.