You Know What You Expect From Your Canvassing Team, But Do They Know What You Expect?
Communicating the highs and lows of canvassing
You know what results you expect from your canvassing efforts, but do your canvassers fully understand what you expect of them? Communicating your expectations should begin in recruiting and carry throughout with every canvasser. Some things are easier to communicate, like the benefits of the job
- Flexibility
- Pay
- Advancement possibilities
In my experience there are important things I’ve seen managers overlook that can have the greatest negative impact on the condition and moral of your office.
In more than 15 years of canvassing I’ve found one constant, canvassers want to do a good job, but defining a good job is relative, unless you lay out what you deem is the acceptable performance standards.
Don’t be afraid to let your people know about the downside of canvassing.
Let them know what to expect in the field:
Role-play a canvass call at the door so they know what to expect in the field and then send them out with veteran canvassers to observe first hand what it’ll be like on the job.
They’re going to hit times when they won’t get leads, and that’s OK:
When they exit training and you turn them loose they’re going to likely get leads right away. Training and enthusiasm will carry them through the beginning, but when the novelty and enthusiasm wear off they may hit a dry spell and they’ll crash emotionally unless you prepare them for it. They may even feel they’ve let you down or even disappointed you. If they know up front this is going to happen, and that it’s OK, reinforce they will overcome the slump with practice and hard work.
Reassure them it’s a numbers game. If they continue to knock on doors and consistently follow the program they will get leads.
Knocks = Leads
If they keep talking to people, work the system and they’ll succeed. The only thing a canvasser can control is knocking on doors and working the system.
What are top performers producing?
Many young canvassers (Generation Y’ers) are new to lead generation. They’ll have little to no perspective on what the results of good performance look like – how many leads they should be getting; unless you tell them.
As a company, you need to consider the factors that affect your canvassing situation in order to determine what the minimum standard number of leads a canvasser should generate in a specific period of time.
The factors that can impact a canvasser’s results are:
- Weather
- Neighborhood demographics
- The number of homeowners you require present for a demonstration
- The number of products your company offers
Next month I’ll tackle the question, “What should a canvasser’s numbers be?”
The worst-case scenario
Let your canvassers know what situations they might encounter that may be rare and out of the ordinary. Our worst case was canvassers being approached by police and questioning what they were doing. The police operate by responding to their constituency and may use intimidation to rattle an unprepared canvasser.
Arm your canvassers with the tools they need to handle these situations. Role-play with them so they’re prepared and won’t be shaken if this happen (I’ll address how to defuse an encounter with the law in April – Insider Circle members have direct access to all the scripts I’ve developed for this and other situations).
Keep score – to motivate, not punish
I suggest you keep a scoreboard or tally board visible in your office. It will quickly inform everyone what their production is compared against that of their peers. It creates a positive, nurturing competitive environment. With it you can implement a points/reward system tied to your scoreboard. For example:
- A canvasser earns 1 point for a lead that gets a demo
- A canvasser earns 2 points for a lead that gets a demo and is closed
The canvasser who earns 12 points at the end of the month gets a monthly bonus. The canvasser who earns 15 points at the end of the month will get a bigger monthly bonus and whoever has the most points at the end of the month will receive the title “Canvasser of the Month.”
Each company is different, as will be their monthly reward program. As a consultant, this is something I help my clients structure based on their situation and environment.
The recruiting system nurtures canvassers referring their friends and when you have canvassing teams made up of friends these “bragging rights” can go a long way to motivating them.
On the other hand, if a canvasser is not producing he or she will know it; the numbers on the scoreboard won’t lie.
True Story-
One of my canvass teams was made up of fraternity brothers. When the popular fraternity president’s numbers began to slide, his frat brothers knew it and helped him out by giving them some of their leads. Unfortunately his under performance continued and he came to me and, in essence, let himself go; based on what he was tracking on the scoreboard.
Don’t underestimate the power of being open and up front with your canvassers. It may be difficult for you, but if your lay the groundwork ahead of time it’ll make it easier on you later. It’s like making sure there are batteries in the fire detector before the fire breaks out.
A common frustration I see amongst canvass managers is in regard to performance issues. You can save yourself headaches if you track your canvasser’s leads and communicate the results and contributions of their effort.
There are also the obvious issues you should communicate
- When they are to work
- Dress code
- How long they need to work
- How many leads you expect per shift
- Attendance – what is your “call off” procedure
These should be part of your company policy, be listed in your canvass handbook and have each canvasser sign off on them.
Mindset
Finally, be sure your canvassers understand that people are going to close doors on them, but that their job is not selling your products or services. Their job is strictly to setup a free estimate for homeowners, not sell your products or services.
Create a list of every thing you expect from your canvassers and then communicate each with recruits and new hires, then reinforce it on an ongoing basis.
Next month I’ll discuss what your canvasser’s numbers should be.