What if you could eliminate the barriers and objections from your face to face marketing? The canvasser that knocks on the door has to get the prospect to open the door and become receptive to the canvasser. The show and event marketer has to initiate that all too uncomfortable ‘approach’ of the prospect as they walk by. In both scenarios you’re approaching the prospect about something they weren’t thinking about, and, they immediately perceive you as a sales person, like all other sales people. Their instinctive response is going to be, ‘no, I’m not interested’.
The objective of this article will address eliminating the ‘barriers’ traditionally created by the nature of canvassing or show and event marketing. It’s not uncommon during the introduction with a new prospect they have a lot of objections.
The culture and training of most marketers is from a selling platform. Sales people are trained to refute objections with rebuttals. This is the wrong approach to take when canvassing. Canvassing is not about selling products or services, rather capturing leads and setting appointments. Following a traditional selling model to handle objections only creates an adversarial position between the canvasser and prospect … the barrier.
My new approach to canvassing and show & event marketing is a massive transformation from how prospecting has been done before. This has been the game changer. I have been moving clients and students completely away from the traditional model. I used to do it, but I’ve been in the game long enough to know when the old models are no longer useful.
Preparing
Every prospect you meet can be put in 2 different categories: 1-ready to buy now, 2-not ready to buy now. As canvassers we’re more likely to get more of the prospects in the second category than the first. Most canvassing systems are only mining for the first category of prospect; those ready to buy now (or soon). Even a blind squirrel can find a nut. We’ll always stumble across a prospect that happens to be in the market for what you’re canvassing for, but, there’s substantially more prospects who are not presently, actively in the market. It’s our job to establish need and want and ultimately put them in the market. They’ll be ready at some point. It’s important to capture as many leads as we can because without leads we can’t activate people. The real money, the big money, the game-changer kind of money is in the follow up. You can’t follow up on leads you don’t have.
The typical offer to most prospects is for a free estimate. This offer assumes the prospect is in the market for what we represent. A free estimate will only be of interest for the prospect who’s considering what we sell. It’s of little to no value to the prospect who’s not ready now. Working to cram an appointment down their throat is too early in the relationship (or the prospect’s buying cycle – which actually hasn’t started yet).
A Confused Prospect Won’t Make a Decision
I want you to think about this for a moment. When the shoe’s on the other foot, when you’re the prospect for something, you’re just like your prospect. No one likes to be sold anything, but you love to buy things you want.
Most canvassing scripts do 2 things incorrectly, they over-qualify prospects too early, and they confuse them.
Most canvassing scripts start out like every other company’s script, “How ya doing? I’m Chris with XYZ Company and we’re stopping by today …” yada yada yada.
When you start your conversation this way you sound like a pitchman warming up to give a sales pitch and the prospect immediately categorizes you as a sales person; and their guard goes up. The barrier is erected and they’re getting their objections ready. The traditional canvassing script assumes everyone is a prospect and they’re not. Most everyone isn’t a prospect, they’re only a suspect. There’s a distinct difference between the two.
We land on their door or in front of them and we start pitching for a product and appointment. They’re not ready for this and then we start razzle-dazzling them with some fancy footwork in our selling ability and they’re dazed. The situation is a lot like former heavy weight boxing champ’s famous ‘Rope a Dope’ (if you’re old enough to know that reference). The rope-a-dope is a boxing tactic of pretending to be trapped against the ropes, goading an opponent to throw tiring ineffective punches. In our cases, the prospect is the one trapped against the ropes and we’re throwing memorized scripts at them designed to get them to say yes, only to have them bounce off the ropes with objections.
The second thing many canvassing scripts do is confuse people. When we approach the prospect like a sales person, trying to sell value and benefits they have questions. Often they’re questions canvassers can’t or shouldn’t answer because they’re best left to the sales person to address. We’re not there to sell products and services. That’s best left to the sales people. When canvassers can’t answer questions the prospect becomes confused. For them (the prospect) this call sounds and feels like a sales call, but it really isn’t because they can’t get answers, or they don’t understand what you want them to do. (Listen to the live Silver Telecoaching Call from October 14, 2015 where I share my experience with a canvasser trying to put me into an appointment to switch my energy service. A perfect example of how the canvasser can confuse a prospect. In this scenario I was the prospect, and I was confused)
Your Opening is Critical to Your Positioning and Perception
Most canvassing scripts are too sales-like. I think I’ve made that clear by now. Traditionally the canvasser offers too much information, sounds like everyone else and the offer isn’t appropriate for what the prospect is ready for. This is why most canvassers hear all the objections they do. You have to shift your positioning early in your introduction
Here’s the caveat – no matter what you do you won’t eliminate all objections.
I have a very specific introduction that eliminates the majority of objections you would normally get and increases the number of leads (and appointments) you would get following traditional canvassing scripts. My approach is more powerful than even using a flier, as I used to teach.
I then move into capturing the lead information.
Some ask why we wouldn’t use a business card or brochure as a leave behind. Think about what a business card or brochure communicates. Prospects recognize those 2 items as tools of a salesman. An information guide isn’t.
Despite using the information guide as the lead piece don’t misunderstand that the presentation ends there. The entire purpose of offering the information guide is to position you differently and get the prospect to operate differently from their normal conditioning with how they deal with sales people. Even after capturing the lead I’m still going after the appointment.
The game-changer is in eliminating the biggest objections you’d normally get and allowing you to capture a larger number of leads; including the ‘time and money’ objections.
HOW TO HANDLE AN OBJECTION
I’m going to assume you’re using my system. As I’ve demonstrated, the system will eliminate most objections, but there are instances you will get an objection.
Instinctually prospects will not ‘be ready’. This reaction is a knee jerk reaction based upon thousands of past experiences with sales people.
If you’ve used my revolutionary introduction script and prepared the prospect properly and they do give you an objection, there’s only 1 rebuttal you have to know that allows you to get past any objection they could throw at you. Unlike traditional sales scripts you don’t have to memorize a bunch of rebuttals … there’s only 1 you need to know, and it’s an easy one. Because of my approach and how the prospect has been prepared even your rebuttal will not feel sales-like.
My entire introduction positioning and offer eliminates the prospect’s natural skepticism.
I encourage if you’re a Canvass King Member to go back and listen to the live Telecoaching call. You’ll hear more details on the scripts, delivery and methodology behind it.
If you’re not presently a Silver level member or higher and you’d like to receive the recording from this call you can start a trial opportunity in Silver level membership and we’ll send you the CD recordings from both the canvassing and management calls from October 2015. To start your 2-month trial in Silver membership, receive October’s member call recordings and be on the next month’s calls live, go to www.canvassking.com.
Implement my simple, natural introduction and you’ll take all the pressure off you and your prospects and you’ll build a larger, more profitable stable of qualified prospects than anything else you could do initially.
If you have questions, go to www.AskTheCanvassKing.com and post your question. I follow up on everyone personally, either directly or on a live member call.
Committed to your canvassing success,
Chris Thompson, The Canvass King