Last month was the first in a series of articles about a canvasser’s mindset. I’ve identified 5 specific areas with regard to your mindset as a canvasser that can inhibit your ability to be successful. You’ll create more obstacles for yourself if you don’t have the right mindset.
The harsh reality in this business is as a canvasser your pay plan is based on demos and results. Your leads need to go out, confirm, issue and demonstrate; otherwise you won’t last as a canvasser. Though your job is challenging, conversely, your objective is pretty simple;
• Go out
• Knock on doors
• Get a lead for a product or service we offer
• Make sure they’re the homeowner
• The homeowner has time to sit for a demo
If you can do that consistently we’re going to shake your hand, congratulate you and pay you for it. That’s what we’re going to track and that’s going to be the measure of whether you’re a successful canvasser or not.
Though your objective as a canvasser is simple, you get a lot of “No’s” and deal with a high level of rejection every day. There are a lot of things you can’t control. You can’t control if the homeowner’s going to be home, if they’re going to open the door or if they’re going to slam the door on you. You don’t know what the homeowner’s going to say, how they’re going to react or what they were doing before you showed up. You can’t control the neighborhood, the weather… I could go on and on.
This can wear you down. You’ll find yourself going into neighborhoods “hoping” the people are nice, or, saying “I don’t like that town because they’re just a bunch of old people, they’re mean and they won’t open the door.” This is a dangerous mindset to get into. Thinking this way will set you up for failure. You’ll project this attitude to your manager, your coworkers and worst of all the homeowners who you’re wanting as a lead; the very thing your pay is based on.
All of that stuff is out of your control. There are three things you can control that will make a difference on whether you’re successful or not; and I define successful as whether you’re getting paid, getting promoted, etc.
You can control:
1. Your mindset
2. If you’re canvassing and getting your door knocks in
3. Practice Time?
If you’re not sure what you should be doing, how many door knocks you should be getting in per shift, refer to the article I published in March 2009 (www.canvassking.com/March_2009 the Front-End Numbers of Canvassing).
When you become fearful, you feel you’re a victim of “circumstances”. You start walking a little slower between doors. You take a break on the corner to make excuses for why you’re not getting your numbers in. You’re sending texts or twittering. You’re finding ways to avoid knocking on doors.
What you’re really doing is trying to avoid the pain of rejection. Everyone does it, but you can’t let yourself slip into that mindset and dogging it from door to door.
How do you fix the mindset?
Are you continually striving to get better? Are you roll-playing; not just on the day(s) you’re canvassing, but even when you’re not? Are you studying and learning the scripts? Are you talking with your manager? Are you talking with and walking with successful canvassers? Continually practicing and striving to get better and being better will help you when you get into those scenarios where you get objections. The script will just roll off your tongue.
Major athletes spend 10 times more time preparing for the game than they spend in the game. Winners are winners and losers are losers before the game ever starts. It’s what you hold in your mind that determines your results. No matter what the homeowner says or does, if you’ve done everything you can to prepare then you know you’ve delivered 100% at that door, every single time!
Practice, strive to be better, give 100% on every presentation, follow the scripts and everything I teach you and the rest will take care of itself. All the demos and money will follow you, I guarantee it.