When Do You Release a Canvasser for Under Performance?
Though canvassing is different from any other job it’s exactly the same when it comes to evaluating your people based on their performance. In this, it’s pretty black and white; if they are performing and producing to or above standard then they’re an asset and if their performance is substandard beyond training and adequate time, they’re a liability and they must get cut. “Great vision without great people is irrelevant” Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great”. It’s your purpose to make sure you’re developing people, but you also need to have standards that propel a business (or department) forward.
All things left to their own devices will return to a state of chaos. That’s actually a Steven Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) quote with a slight embellishment on my part. The point is, if you leave people to their own guidance and direction you will end up with chaos, which is how most people live and run their lives. You have to have systems and you have to be constantly working on those systems, applying, enforcing and improving them. You have to inspect what you expect. Only then do you give yourself the opportunity to succeed. It’s about structured accountability.
What should the canvasser expect? If they can’t define it then you haven’t done a great enough job to communicate it. Having your own clarity will allow you to communicate the expectations to your team. Coaching great, Dick Vermeil observed that “To not confront poor execution and behavior is to endorse it. To not reinforce good execution and behavior is to extinguish it.”
The most powerful and impactful learning lessons are experienced rather than just understood. I’m speaking from experience when I say that I’ve had my share of bad break ups. Employees that were let go because of poor performance behavior. In essence I was pointing fingers at employees and pointing out they weren’t meeting my criteria and they were pointing fingers back at me stating that I hadn’t clearly communicated expectations. When I finally humbled myself to the idea I realized they were right. I didn’t have expectations defined in a way that I could clearly identify them therefore I couldn’t clearly communicate them. It was a pivotal point in my managing skills development. There’s a universal truth you cannot escape, when you’re in charge you’re responsible for everything that happens. Embrace and take responsibility for it.
Comfort is your enemy
You have to constantly monitor and evaluate your teams and the individuals. As manager you can’t have the luxury of only operating within your comfort zone or doing only those things that are comfortable to you. You can’t push others to strive beyond their comfort zone if you yourself are only operating within your comfort zone. You can be tough, but you can be liked as well.
No matter your responsibility managing others there are 3 things you need to have:
1. A canvassing system that works
You can have all the tools and right people in place, but if you don’t have the right road map that will take them from point A to B successfully then you’ll be driving the right vehicle in the wrong direction. If you’ve followed me for even a short time you know I have a system that works. The foundation of my canvassing system is built on 5 steps, clearly defined and teachable steps. I can drop my system into any direct sales business and with a high degree of accuracy predict the results and outcomes. The next thing you need is the:
2. Right training system
This actually is a 2-part item; you have to have the system, the tactical aspects of what, how and when you teach aspects of the canvassing system and the second item is to know ‘how’ to coach. And lastly:
3. Guidelines
How do you as the manager know they’re performing at the standards or expectations? Having clearly defined expectations communicated at the beginning and the guidelines against which to manage, you can run a department without having to micromanage. You can manage the business by the numbers because you have the systems.
Having the right canvassing system… the hunt and kill approach to canvassing no longer works, sounding like every other canvasser going door to door practically with a club in hand clobbering the prospect over the head in an effort to beat the lead out of them doesn’t work. Don’t get me wrong, the traditional methods of canvassing work, but its hard work and the numbers are small and they’re getting smaller. That’s why I’ve made an effort to create a new process, redefining how canvassers go about their craft and my new canvassing method has been the game changer for so many companies. Not only has it exploded lead capture for so many using it, it has also improved how you manage canvassers. Again, clearly defined systems that can be communicated, taught, measured and managed makes for happy, more successful canvassers and happy, more profitable canvass managers and owners. I’ve eliminated the major objections canvassers have struggled with, that my canvassers used to struggle with and it’s revolutionized the businesses of those using it. So, go to whatever length necessary to find and adopt the right canvassing system if yours isn’t working; mine or someone else’s. I’d prefer you use mine.
(If you want to know more about my new canvassing system, contact me directly at my office by phone or email)
The right training system… once you have the right canvassing system how do you coach and teach? There are 3 things that you must always be doing as a coach. You have to always be working on their skill set, that’s the X’s and O’s ; word-tracks, what are they saying, how are they saying it, voice inflection, tonality, body language and working on the psychology of why they’re doing what they’re doing.
The second set is working on their mind-set. If you’re all skill set without mindset you’re not going to succeed. If you’re all about encouragement, motivation and mindset without skill set, you still won’t succeed. The two work hand in hand. I’ve seen instances where canvassers were able to get leads based entirely on enthusiasm, but this success is always short-lived. They don’t have the skill to see them through the ‘valleys’ of canvassing.
And the third set is getting off your ‘assets’. You have to get out and apply all the skills and mindset. Taking action reinforces the training. The upside is that canvassing is more like baseball than football. In football you practice all week long for one game a week. In baseball you have a game every day. You’re able to work on your skill set and mindset and then you’re able to go out daily and apply what you learned. And it’s in the doing where the learning takes place.
The guidelines… There are 3 parts to the guidelines (or expectations). First, understand that guidelines aren’t communicated only at the beginning, when the canvasser’s first trained. Guidelines are communicated ongoing.
Every canvasser has to have evaluation time periods. They have to be regular, anticipated periods where you formally assess their performance. Think about it, when you were in primary school there were grading periods. You didn’t start the year off and go all the way through and find out only at the end whether you passed the grade or not. There were 3 or 4 grading periods during the year. It gave you a baseline to be evaluated.
There are 3 areas I recommend you evaluate on:
• Accountability / Responsibility
• Behavior / Attitude
• Production / Performance
Remember, if we’re not keeping an eye on all this the entire department will return to a state of total chaos… you need to manage it. Think of the whole thing like a rocket propelling through the air. A missile, unlike a plane is pure momentum needing constant course correction.
You can hear a lot more on this subject from my live Silver Telecoaching call on August 27, 2014. In addition the membership newsletter has more detailed examples of how to quantify all areas of your evaluation. If you’re not at least a Silver level member with access to the live calls, go to http://canvassking.com/SilverProgram.html for more information 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