Canvassing – It’s Not Just a Job, It’s a Career
Canvassing every day, knocking on doors day after day can be a grind. And for many canvassers that’s OK, for them canvassing is just a job. For a few, they want to know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. What are they working toward? These are the people with an entrepreneurial spirit. They have an aptitude to want to progress and they want “more”. They’re naturally inclined to achieve.
If your canvassing model doesn’t have a defined path for advancement then these highly driven, highly motivated individuals will eventually move on.
In previous months I’ve talked about the veteran canvasser. It’s usually these people who fit the mold of the “achievers”. They’re the people who “get it”, they’ve paid their dues, gotten a little bloodied and are still canvassing. They’re a rare breed and often they’re the ones to keep. With my canvassing model it is always about communicating the “dream”; being able to gain valuable experience and advance through the company with greater responsibility and compenstation. Many times the light at the end of the tunnel for these people is becoming a manager.
Not everyone will want to become a manager, but think about yourself; where did you start? What path did you follow to get where you are today? It’s not likely you jumped right into managing or owning a home improvement company. You probably started out at the entry level, just as your canvassers are.
If you have an organizational chart that reflects the possibility of advancement beyond the entry level position of knocking on doors you can easily change the mindset of the canvasser and quickly identify top performers. These individuals go on to help you manage and grow the company. In fact, by communicating the dream, showing everyone there’s something bigger and better to aspire toward will develop the top-performers faster.
Having a clearly defined path of advancement, one that promotes from within demonstrates your commitment to them and will elevate the superstar canvassers quickly. It also demonstrates they’re:
- Doing a good job
- You trust them
- They’re important to the organization
Your “path to success” must be clearly defined. Entry level canvassers must understand the “performance numbers” they must hit to elevate their level in your company. Basing advancement entirely on performance gives credibility to your “promoting from within” policy. It eliminates the argument of seniority, or being a popularity contest; and it eliminates the politics that is often created in a company environment.
What are the numbers your entry level canvasser should hit to prove they’re ready to move to the next level and mentor other canvassers? You may not have clearly defined benchmarks by which you or your canvassers can measure performance. If you don’t, it can be a challenge to grow your canvassing department, let alone the company’s bottomline. Next month I’ll layout a matrix you can use as a template to define your own performance benchmarks.
If you’d like to learn more about training you can call me for a brief, free phone consult. You can contact me directly at (216) 588-1337.