I can’t tell you how many times I’ve mentioned the word “canvassing” during a sales training session and immediately see several wide-eyed expressions that say, “No sir, not me.” Now, I know that many companies have very successful canvassing programs. They invest in them, train in them, coach in them, and reap the benefits of them. Many of these companies will describe canvassing as their best source of quality leads. But there are also plenty of REMODELING readers who won’t touch canvassing with a 10-foot pole. They simply do not want to spend their time knocking on strangers’ doors and peddling their wares. In this column, I want to talk to the people who loathe traditional canvassing. For those folks, I suggest a concept I call Situational Canvassing.
Don’t Just Drive Away
Typically, when a remodeling salesperson, or contractor successfully sells a job, they get in their vehicle, crank the radio, pat themselves on the back and move on to their next destination. Instead, Situational Canvassing suggests you take 10 to 15 minutes and knock on a few nearby doors. The goal is to have a conversation that starts like: “Good evening, this won’t take but a minute. I’m with XYZ Remodeling and the Smiths next door selected us to install replacement windows in their home. We will begin that work in a couple of weeks and we’d like to make the neighbors near a home where we’re working aware of it. We use high quality windows that are packaged very well and sometimes that packaging may blow around the neighborhood. We work very hard at picking up any mess that may be created and you may see somebody in your yard collecting some of this “runaway debris.” We always try to make neighbors of our customers aware of this possibility, so they don’t become alarmed by seeing a stranger walking through their yard picking up any packaging. Should you find any debris in your yard that we failed to pick up, please don’t hesitate to call me directly on the cell phone listed on my business card. Thank you for your understanding and enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Are you trying to sell anything by knocking on the neighbor’s doors? To the neighbor, the answer appears to be no, but you are planting some good seeds for future growth. What do these people think about you, or your company, when you walk off their porch? Most people will perceive that you are a conscientious, caring person. What are they doing when you, or your crew, shows up to do the work? They are paying attention and making mental connections to your earlier conversation. And lastly, what are they doing when you or the crew pulls off after completion of the job? The answer is they are walking next door to look at the windows and the craftsmanship of the job. More than likely they are asking your customer about the job, quality of the product, price and were you a good person to deal with. If you treat your customers right, the answers to all these questions will shine a very positive light on you or your company, and some of these neighbors will turn into customers. Although I believe it’s preferable to have these conversations in person, that is not always possible. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to spread awareness of your work, so have a version of this written on a document that you can leave behind in the event your knock on the door is not answered.
Putting this into practice could have a significant impact on the number of jobs you sell in a year – and it’s free! The next time you sell a job, don’t just get in your vehicle and drive away. Knock on a couple of doors. What do you have to lose? Not much really, and you get opportunities to meet new people, increase their awareness of your company, sell more jobs, and make more money!
