Getting the Canvassed Lead in
Zero to 9 Seconds – Guaranteed
(Why You Say and Do the Things You Do)
You have 9 seconds or less to make a first impression on the prospect and in that 9 seconds a sale will be made; either the prospect will reject you or you’ll win them over. If you don’t win them over in that time you don’t stand a chance at making the rest of your presentation. So your ‘game’ is won or lost in the first few seconds. Over the last several articles I’ve talked about how you can alter your offer in the introduction to overcome the prospects most common objections. There are 3 things that happen, or should happen, before you get face to face with the prospect. These 3 things apply in canvassing or in show and event marketing. In fact, just prior to writing this article I was on location in Boston with private coaching client James Hardie (world’s largest manufacturer of fiber cement siding) generating leads at a local Home Depot.
Before I get into the 3 things let me illustrate for you the scenario and then how the elements apply in this situation. The team manager Rene, had myself with one of her marketing people set up inside of the local Home Depot. We have a 6’ table, sign, literature and we’re giving away free Basil seeds to Home Depot customers. The principles I’ll share here apply to canvassing or when working shows or events. In our case, at the Home Depot, the people arriving at the store are not thinking about our product, our service, or us and the last thing they want is to be pitched. They came to the store for their reasons not ours. The same is true when you show up at their door. I see most canvasser’s typical approach to be, “Hey, how are you doing?” The prospect’s reaction would be the same as if they’d walked into a clothing store and the clerk approached and the first thing they said was, “Can I help you?” I’ve talked about this before, the knee-jerk response is, “I’m just looking” or in our case in the Home Depot, “I’m not interested”. Think about when you’re at the mall and you approach the mobile phone service kiosks. The sales people are outside their booth and they see you coming and they’re ready to swoop in on you like a vulture hovering the road-kill ready to pounce on it and your reaction is to bury your nose in your phone, act like you’re preoccupied, all to avoid making eye contact with them; so you don’t have to be engaged by them. Why, because you know they’re going to pitch you.
People have a preconceived idea of who you are and what you do and that’s your #1 battle. Too many canvassers are going for the lead and giving the prospect information dump, or what I call verbal-vomit, and people aren’t ready for that, especially when knocking on their door.
So there are 3 distractions or enemies you battle before you ever get to present to the prospect.
1. They’re preoccupied; engaged in something else. In my 20 years of canvassing for all types of products and services, I’ve never arrived at a prospect’s home to find them with their nose pressed up against the door waiting for me with anticipation and excitement to spend hours talking about the product or service I’m canvassing for. No, they’ve all been doing something else; watching TV, eating dinner, on the phone, doing the laundry, pruning the shrubs, cleaning the toilet, but the last thing they want to do is talk to me… a sales person. In their eyes I’m just like the cellular vulture at the mall. The only difference is that I showed up at their house, which makes me worse than the mall vulture. This is a law of canvassing! People aren’t thinking about your product or service before you arrive.
2. People are preconditioned to shun sales messages and sales people. When you add up all the sales and marketing messages a person is exposed to on a daily basis, including the internet it’s about 4000-5000 messages, per day. We’re all exposed to thousands and thousands of sales messages and we, and your prospects, are preconditioned to instinctively resist them. It’s more instinctive than the, “No I’m just looking” response you give at retail stores. It’s harder to get people’s attention today than ever before.
3. The prospect is processing who you are. When the prospect opens the door and sees you the very first thought that runs through their mind is who is this person and do I know them? So in the first seconds of your contact with the prospect they’re distracted and not paying attention to you or what you’re saying because they’re processing whether they know you or not. Once they realize they don’t know you, they assess who you are based on how you’re dressed and what you have with you. If you’re dressed up wearing a tie and have pamphlets in your hand then you’re probably with a religious group; if you’re wearing a construction vest and carrying a clip board you may be a utility worker, if you’re wearing a blue uniform a black hat and wearing a badge and gun belt then you’re probably a police officer and if you’re a 12 year old girl wearing a green skirt uniform carrying boxes of cookies you’re likely a Girl Scout. Regardless, the prospect will process and determine (in their mind) who you are in the first few seconds, and you haven’t said one word. My point is that how you look telegraphs who you are. Prospects can spot it a mile away.
So, now that you understand these 3 things, don’t you think that telling a canvasser or a show and event marketer that they need to get a lead or an appointment and that’s the only thing they focus on doing when they are first met by the prospect is putting the cart before the horse?
Your body language and opening line must be choreographed and scripted with these 3 things in mind. You can’t open with, “Hey, how are you doing?” It’s not a powerful enough opening line to jar them out of their preoccupation. It actually validates to the prospect who you are. In that first few seconds you have to cause a psychological pattern interrupt. Your opening line has to be so powerful that it interrupts their present thought process and demands them to focus on what you said and respond.
Doing this the right way redirects them and eliminates the 3 distractions before you start; they’re preoccupied, preconditioned to sales messages and determining who you are. This is a psychological pattern interrupt and it gives you control of the conversation from the start. Be different and don’t sound like everyone else and you’ll have greater success.
This is the difference between getting more leads and a really good income to being mediocre. You have to earn the right to move forward in your presentation. This is a basic marketing principle.
Now that you’ve interrupted their conditioned pattern and have gotten their attention you have to let them know why you’re out there. You have their attention and focus (still within the 9 seconds). Next is your offer and it has to be positioned in a way that eliminates any and all pressure for the prospect. In your offer you have to justify why you’re there and who you are.
Do this and you’ll be earning the right to capture the lead and their contact information. Yes, I know you can’t cash leads in exchange for money, though this significantly increases your chances of getting the lead. Now once you have the lead there is a system for transitioning the lead to an appointment, which is subject for a later article.
I want you to change your thinking about why you’re at the prospect’s door. The beginning of the presentation is not to get a lead or appointment. If that’s your first objective you’ll fail more than you win.
A major league baseball batter who gets a 300% batting average is considered a very good batter. That means to be considered good they need only get 3 hits for every 10 at bats. In our business 30% success is not good enough. Use my method and you’ll get more wins than failures. In my training with James Hardie in Boston, with Rene alone, we captured 3 out of 4 qualified prospects that stopped by.
If you would like more insight on this strategy and the methodology behind it feel free to email me at cthompson@canvassing.com and schedule a call.
Be sure to listen to my live call from August 13, 2014 to hear my conversation with canvass manager Rene and her stories and results using the strategies I shared in this article. If you’re not a Silver level member with access to the live calls, go to http://canvassking.com/SilverProgram.html for more information or to join membership and gain access to my monthly Telecoaching calls and receive the recordings.
Committed to your canvassing success,
Chris Thompson
The Canvass King