Here's some more selling tips
Canvassing tips
I am not a professional canvasser.
I have been studying salesmanship and persuasion for the last year or so. As a Paul supporter I want to increase his chances of winning the upcoming primaries, so here are some suggestions for the Operation Front Door people.
R. Barrabas
Landlord (at) Barrabas (dot) MV (dot) com
Overview
When canvassing you are essentially selling your candidate door-to-door. Techniques which help door-to-door sales will also help you while canvassing.
There's two types of selling: good and bad.
"Bad" selling is where the customer is talked into a decision they regret. An example would be a used car salesman, or an encyclopedia salesman. We don't want any of that. It would be impolite, ineffective, and fundamentally wrong.
Ineffective because once you leave, people will have a chance to think things over. You're trying to convince them to make a future decision (in the primary), so any negative reacion will result in a reversal of opinion. Bad selling only works when the customer makes a decision immediately.
"Good" selling is where the customer is confident they made the right decision. It only happens when the salesman has a high level of ethics, and both parties agree that the transaction is the right choice for the customer. The decision will last, and the customer will defend it if necessary.
Below is a list of suggestions for "good" selling which will increase the effectiveness of the canvassers. It's the distilled wisdom from lots of people who do sales for a living.
Think of it this way: it's a competition, and everything counts. All of the suggestions below add or enhance your chances of success by a small margin.
Suppose that 1000 people canvass 100 homes each. If the suggestions below increase credibility by one half of one percent, that's 500 extra votes for Ron Paul.
It's a competition, and everything counts.
Appearance
55 percent of your message is delivered by your appearance. This is not a made up statistic, it's a fact arrived at by study and analysis.
The first thing every canvasser should do is take some time to consider their appearance.
1) Dress up!
People will give you more esteem and credibility if you are well dressed.
Don't tell me whether it *should* be true or whether you think the voter should accept you for who you are or see through the facade or etc etc.
It's true, get over it.
Dress as you would to go to a job interview. Your best suit, button down shirt and tie. Leave the vest at home if you like. Wear an expensive looking watch if you have one. Have a monogrammed pen instead of a Bic. Think "up and coming executive", and dress accordingly.
The "job interview" metaphor works for women as well. You want the appearance of a confident businesswoman, someone who knows what they are doing. Someone whose advice is valuable. A little jewelry is OK, but avoid big, jangly or shiny stuff. Don't wear too much makeup; meaning, to the point where people can tell that you are wearing a lot of makeup. You want the sort of image that Hillary Clinton projects.
Remember - everything counts. Shine your belt buckle, wash your face, comb neatly... anything and everything you can do to make yourself look clean and presentable and respectable will increase the chances of getting your message across.
2) Facial hair
Men with facial hair are perceived as less trustworthy than those who are clean shaven, so be clean shaven if you can manage it.
If you really care about Paul and the message he sends, lose the goatees and mutton chops for a week and grow them back after.
3) Long hair
Similarly men with long hair are viewed as less trustworthy and less reliable as authority figures. Get a good haircut, one that would carry you through a job interview.
Remember, the goal here is to be awarded as much esteem as possible when you deliver your message. Shaggy hair or anything that remotely hints of "scruffy" will detract from that image.
If you absolutely positively will not cut your hair for any reason, then make certain that it is impeccably styled. Neatly combed, tied behind in a pigtail with not a single strand out of place. Not greasy shiny or dirty, either.
Tuck the pigtail under a hat if you can.
4) Hats
We give the greatest deference to the people we perceive as being the highest class. It's true, and I've personally done experiments to verify this. Present yourself as being the highest class possible.
Lose the baseball cap.
What I mean is, don't wear a hat for style. If you're in NH and the weather is cold, it's OK to wear the type of hat you'd normally wear outdoors in the cold, but don't do it for any other reason.
5) Earrings (for men)
Changing your appearance is done to either fit in or to get esteem. When canvassing, you are not intending to fit in, you are going for maximum credibility and esteem, and it's a sad fact that earrings in men detract from the esteem.
This is true even if you are canvassing a neighborhood where earrings are common, which is why I mentioned the point about fitting in. You don't want the appearance of being one of them, you want to be the person they trust and respect.
The point is, it doesn't matter what neighborhood you are canvassing. You want to be the image of a bank manger, whose opinion counts.
Lose the earrings for the day and put them back on when you get home.
Manner
35 percent of your message is delivered by your manner. This includes your speaking voice, tonality, body language, and so on.
Changes in mannerisms are tough and require practice, so I'm not going to say much about it.
Overall, the best advice is to be relaxed and comfortable. Just be yourself and talk freely and easily. You're here to make friends, and you've got friends already so you already know how to do it. The people you talk to will be polite and nice, so don't don't worry too much about being nervous. The nervousness will go away after the 5th door anyway.
1) Eye contact.
People who don't make proper eye contact are viewed with suspicion, and it's a very powerful form of suspicion.
This isn't a problem except for people who don't do it correctly. Usually this means nerds, geeks, disempowered people, meek women and the like. People who were picked on or who have an overbearing boss or something similar. They avoid conflict by averting their eyes when talking to people.
If you already look into people's eyes when you talk to them, skip to the next section.
Otherwise, make it a point of looking in people's eyes while you're talking to them. Practice this with other canvassers a bit before you start.
If you can break the habit, you'll get more respect in your daily life as well.
2) Interrupting.
People who interrupt are viewed as rude and impolite.
Usually this means fast thinking people - the ones who get the gist of what the talker is saying before they finish and cut them off to save time.
Try to hold back your response until the voter is done speaking. If they ask a question, pause a bit before replying.
If you can break this habit, people will view you as more friendly.
3) Confidence
People who are not confident in their answers are viewed as less knowledgeable.
Try to be completely familiar with talking points, even to the point of memorizing them, so that you can respond when people ask questions. If you seem unsure, if you have to look at your list, or if you stumble over your answers you will be viewed as hired help who doesn't really beleive in the cause.
4) Crowds
People are defensive when presented with several people. Try to have only one person go up to the door.
It's also more efficient. Take opposite sides of the street or leapfrog the houses as needed.
What to say
People operate in two modes: heuristic and systemic. Heuristic can be best described as being on autopilot. You do everything automatically, with little thought and only generalized goals and plans.
Systemic mode is where your conscious mind takes control and you actually think about what you're doing, what your goals and plans should be.
Heuristic mode is what most of the people are in, most of the time. A person will not make a decision or change opinions in heuristic mode, so to be effective you need to get them into systemic mode. Salesmen sometimes refer to this as "breaking preoccupation".
The best way to get someone into systemic mode is to ask a question, because they have to switch to systemic mode in order to answer. So for example, imagine saying this:
"Hi! I'm canvassing for Ron Paul" (holds out a brochure)
Most people will respond with "Sorry, not interested". They're in heuristic mode.
Now imagine the following:
"Can you vote for Ron Paul?" (holds out a brochure)
They have to switch to systemic mode to answer. If they haven't made their decision yet, their first inclination will be to glance at the brochure to find out more about Ron Paul in order to answer the question.
When they give you an answer it's an opening you can use to further sell them on the idea. You can tell them more about the positions, or hold up a laptop and show them a clip of Dr. Paul speaking, or deal with an objection (see below).
People appreciate brevity, so I recommend a short question that gets to the point and nudges them in the right direction. Engage in conversation if they encourage it, but plan on just the one question and handing out a brochure. Many people will just take the brochure, thank you, and close the door.
The impression will be that you didn't waste their time, you were polite, and made a very reasonable request.
Note: If anyone is interested, I can craft an actual sales pitch that people can use while canvassing.
Talking points
People aren't going to take the trouble to "google Ron Paul" or even read the pamphlet you've just handed them. No one will take the trouble.
Instead, they'll ask you questions about Ron Paul.
If they do that, rejoice! It means that they're coming to a decision right now, and if you can supply the information they need in a manner that they like, you'll have a convert.
All canvassers should have a list of "talking points" memorized so that they can handle this situation.
Basically, there are only about 10 issues which are relevant. Each canvasser should have a card (Brief! One page, one side) which lists all 10 points and has 1 to 3 lines of information about that point.
Example:
1) War in Iraq
a) Will pull out "as soon as possible"
b) Will consult with military leaders for logistics
c) Realistically, expects complete withdrawal in 4 to 6 months (from taking office)
2) Abortion
a) Makes a distinction between personal and political stance
b) Personally opposes it
c) Politically, feels the federal government shouldn't get involved,
leave it up to individual states.
I recommend the organizers of "Operation Front Door" get together and hash out a talking list which can be published so that all canvassers can have a copy.
Dealing with objections
What you are doing is completely legal, so don't worry about people who gripe or insult or threaten what you do. Just thank them, wish them a nice day, and go on to the next house. Be respectful, and don't worry about threats to "call the police" or threats of violence.
Never contradict the voter. Contradiction is perceived as calling them stupid, and it'll only result in them digging in their heels and arguing with you.
1) "Feel", "Felt", "Found"
For general objections, you can use the "feel", "felt", "found" method. It works like this:
Sir, I know how you feel. Many other people felt the same way, but what they found is ...
This validates his objection (I know how you feel), assures him that he hasn't been stupid (other people felt that way), and encourages him to change without calling his decision into doubt.
For example:
"I'm not for Paul because he's anti-abortion"
"Sir, I know how you feel. Many other people felt the same way, but they found that state control over abortion would give them a bigger say in the issue. Dr. Paul wants you to have control at a more local level - the state level. Wouldn't you like more control of the issue?" (holds out a brochure for the voter)
If you can manage a set of stock answers, say 5 of them, memorized you can counter most arguments smoothly. The voter still may not change his mind, but this will give you your best shot at it.
I recommend that the Operation Front Door people come up with the top 5 or so objections that people may make, and craft responses using the formula above. Try to do the following:
a) End the response with a question. This gets them out of heuristic mode and into systemic mode.
b) Make sure the question demands a "yes" answer and the assent promotes supporting Ron Paul, as in the answer above.
2) Never say anything bad about another candidate.
It's unclassy, will reflect negatively on you, and it will have the opposite effect anyway.
If the voter brings up another candidate, it probably means that they're leaning that way. Say anything negative about the other candidate and you're contradicting the voter. In effect, you're saying that he's made a bad decision, a mistake. He'll defend and justify his decision, dig his heels in to the point where you won't be able to change his mind.
What you *want* to do is reassure him that he's made a good decision, then gently nudge him into making a *better* decision. Something like this:
"Well sir, Mr. X is a fine candidate. Many of us considered voting for him, but we now support Ron Paul. Would you like to know why?"
It's subtle, but it hits on a couple of key points. You haven't contradicted the customer's ego, so he won't feel the need to dig his heels in. You've pointed out that he's in the same boat as a lot of other people (his decision wasn't bad because lots of other people made it too), and if lots of other people have changed their minds, maybe he should also. You end with a question, which puts him into systemic mode and he's ready to make a new judgement.
3) The reverse close
As a last resort, you can try a "reverse close" to get people to change their minds. You say the exact opposite of what they are expecting, and then fill in the pause with something, anything that can justify it.
This is used as a last resort for a dismissal, the argument's over.
Let's use an example:
Voter: "Sorry, I'm voting for X" (goes to close the door)
You: "That's exactly why you should vote for Ron Paul"
Voter: "Who? What?"
You: "Sir, many of us used to support candidate X, but he supports the war in Iraq. Ron Paul is the only one who will end the war and bring our troops home. Wouldn't you like to see an end to the war?" (holds out brochure)
Once again we are ending with a question, one which fairly demands a "yes" answer, and that nudges the voter to our way of thinking.
Another example:
Voter: "I'm not interested" (goes to close the door)
You: "I know that - that's why I'm here"
Voter: "Who? What?"
You: "Sir, most of us were not interested initially. But when we looked into what Ron Paul stands for, we realized that he can make a difference. We could really use your help." (holds out brochure)
