In my many years pounding the pavement with canvassers I concluded the number one reason why most canvassers receive objections is because the prospect is confused. Confused in that there’s a difference in perception of what you’re trying to accomplish and what they think you’re trying to do. You’re there to get a lead or an appointment, and they think you’re there to sell something.
Throughout your presentation there’s opportunity for this confusion to creep in; but the biggest error of confusion happens right from the start, with your introduction.
Based on the time of the year I’m writing this article this is an ideal subject to address, now. Daylight savings time has just passed, soon it’s the opening of baseball season and the temperature is making its move upward, so, it’s the start of the canvassing season if you look at the calendar.
“A confused mind will not make a decision.”
Regardless of your objective, you’re going to ask the prospect to make a decision and if they’re confused on why you’re in front of them and what they’re expected to do, they won’t take action. I want you to remember this line, “Assumption is the mother of all screw ups!”
When I work with private clients, especially in follow up visits with their teams, I see they’re doing a great job with the scripts and presentations, but in many cases I see them missing the little things that have a big impact on the prospect. The marketer is so versed on their presentation they begin to take for granted things they know well and unconsciously assume the prospect will know too; and this is what I’m going to focus on in this article.
Here are two examples of how canvassing no matter what you do or say you’re at a disadvantage with prospects.
First, this is outbound marketing and the natural causes of canvassing is that I guarantee you the canvasser knocked on the door, the prospect wasn’t thinking about your product or service at that moment. Conversely, when a prospect responds to an ad (inbound marketing) they’re doing so from the mindset of having already given the idea thought and time. As outbound marketers, we’re catching the prospect off-guard. Their attention and focus is anywhere but with us.
When the prospect hears the knock on the door their mind immediately starts to process, asking themselves ‘who could that be’, ‘am I expecting someone’?
When they get to the door and see you, their mind shifts to, ‘do I know this person?’ The challenge with all these mental activities, the prospect’s attention and focus is not on your side.
It’s easy for the prospect to check out and tell you they’re not interested. You have 9-seconds or less to make an impression on the prospect and if you don’t get them focused in that time the game’s over. There is science and psychology behind the words you say; which leads me to the second reason you’re at a disadvantage.
Second, most canvassers sound like everyone else. Once they mentally process they don’t know you they will immediately categorize you with every other ‘stranger’ who knocks on their door, as a ‘sales person’ and their knee-jerk reaction is to put their guard up and defend against you. These are natural causes of the situation. You can’t do anything to change this course of action prior to your presentation, but you can do everything in your presentation to change the course of the interaction with them. Part of your presentation has to be to get them focused on you and clear about who you are, why you’re there and what’s going to happen. It starts with clarity, eliminating confusion as to who you are and why you’re there.
There are 4 areas in your presentation where confusion can be created, and must be avoided.
1. Introduction
2. Capturing the lead
3. Setting the appointment
4. The wrap-up
The Introduction – Confusion Avoidance Point #1
The introduction is the most important because if you don’t get past this part of the presentation you’ll never get to the others. You’ve heard it said, “You had me at hello”, you have to get their attention and focus in the first part of your introduction. If you follow my system you will see my introduction immediately grabs their attention. However the typical, non-Canvass King introduction sounds like a sales pitch and immediately creates a negative reaction from the prospect. The key in getting their focus in the beginning is to earn the time to make your offer at the end of your introduction. What I’ve found with these traditional offers such as a free estimate is the prospect’s threshold is too high and assumes too much trust in the infancy stages of your relationship with the prospect.
Your introduction to the prospect has to be in such a way they don’t classify you as a canvasser, you’re not an appointment-setter, not even a sales person. These positions are too aggressive for the prospect, at this time. You want to position yourself in a more passive position, an order-taker, someone who doesn’t threaten their comfort level. That goes back to my comment about their ‘threshold’; how will they be comfortable in this new relationship with you. If they feel at all threatened or pressured by you they’ll push back and say no, but if they’re not threatened and feel no pressure to make a ‘hard’ decision then you create the opportunity for a presentation.
In my system I teach clients to offer information guides to prospects. We’re not selling anything, we’re just sending them and everyone a guide in the neighborhood… no pressure… no sales presentation, all I need to do is make sure we’re getting you the ‘right’ guide… you position yourself as an order taker. This is a powerful position to start your relationship with the prospect. Your only job is to make sure they get the information along with everyone else. This position makes it easy for them to say yes. In fact, you don’t even ask permission, they’re getting it anyway; you’re helping them out by getting the right one out to them. This doesn’t require a sales person.
This addresses who you are and why you’re knocking on their door. The second part of the introduction is ‘what are you asking the prospect to do’. The power of my Canvass King offer, for information, that we’re going to send out to them, all I’m asking of them is to give us their ‘lead’ information. I see marketers who’s offer is to give information, in the form of an appointment, but, from the prospect’s perspective, which is it? Giving them information or setting an appointment? These are actually 2 different things; information and an appointment. If it’s information you’re offering, why don’t you give it to them right now? If it’s an appointment, that’s too threatening, requiring them to potentially have to make a buying decision at some point.
Capturing the Lead – Confusion Avoidance Point #2
In the lead capture portion of my presentation I teach the Rule of 6. Start capturing the ‘low hanging fruit’, the information you already know; the prospect’s address. At the front door you can lift the street number, the street name, city, etc. There are 6 items of the prospects contact information you don’t have to ask them for, or more accurately, you just confirm it with them. The prospect’s name, email address, along with their phone number is too ‘personal’ of information for you to ask at the start of your lead capture process.
(There’s more detail to my Rule of 6 strategies and creating an agreement pattern in the prospect. You can find them in the archive of articles at canvassking.com)
Setting the Appointment – Confusion Avoidance Point #3
The real objective for your call is to set an appointment. If we ultimately achieve that end we have the prospect’s full contact information, or lead, to be able to follow up and continue to market to them. We have 3 ways to be able to follow up with them.
But what you really want is an appointment with them and in making this transition from order-taker now to canvasser can create confusion. The prospect will ask why they need to set up an appointment. What more will they get from the appointment that they won’t get from the information guide you’ve promised?
Upgrading them from information guide to appointment requires a transition in your presentation. In the transition you have to be very clear they’re still going to get the information guide, but what’s the one thing they can’t get from the information guide?
They can’t get a price. Regardless of whether they’ve thought about your product or service before, you have to make it easy for them to get a price quote. The benefit of the price quotes for the prospect even though they may think they’re not in the market right now, is it will allow them to more accurately plan and budget for the future. Look, people aren’t going to be ready to make a decision until they’re ready. You have to make it easy for them to get ‘all’ the information so ‘when they are ready’ they’re in a better position to make an informed decision.
The Wrap Up – Confusion Avoidance Point #4
Once you’ve captured the lead and you’ve put the prospect into an appointment, the minute you leave the prospect’s home that lead begins to get cold. After you’re gone they’ll begin to forget who you were, the benefits and why they set an appointment. Let alone outside influences that were not at the door with you that kills your appointment. Without staying connected to the prospect they’re going to be looking for a way out of what they set in motion with you.
I have a leave-behind that gives the prospect a timeline of what will happen next and next, etc. Your entire approach has been very ‘low-pressure’ up to this point and they may think the appointment will be the same. You have to prepare the prospect to what will happen during the appointment. You don’t want them to think the rep will be there for 10-minutes to go over the information or have the prospect surprised when the sales person is asking for the contract. In addition you need to plant the seeds of financial programs you have available that will address the prospects money concern.
There are 4 areas in a presentation where prospects can become confused about you and what you’re in front of them to achieve, and how they can become disconnected from you. Remember, if you confuse them, you’ll lose them.
If you’re not a Canvass King member and would like access to the exclusive membership site for this call and past Silver Level Membership calls, email me at cthompson@canvassking.com.
Committed to your canvassing success,
Chris Thompson – The Canvass King