How to Cold Canvass Like a Pro

by Donna Hruska

Cold canvassing can be the key to more sales, whether you are new in the business or established but with a temporary shortage of prospects. It is a good way to fill in those stagnant hours between appointments and it works whether you call on homes, stores, offices or industries. The secret to enjoying it is two-fold–playing the percentages and making it pay.

PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES. Even if you are the easily discouraged type, learning to play the odds will teach you the persistence that pays. The theory is simply this: over a period of time, a certain number of calls will yield a consistent number of appointments. Out of those appointments you can count on a definite number of sales.

To figure your particular statistics, spend two or three hours a day making cold calls. Keep records of your appointments and sales. After a week or two total up the results. You may find that out of every ten calls, you make two appointments. Out of every five appointments you make three sales. That knowledge should be enough to keep you going when you’ve had seven turn-downs in a row. Success may be just behind the next door.

Another advantage to keeping statistics is the ability to diagnose your weaknesses. You may discover that you are getting appointments, but failing to make the sales. A little brush-up on sales technique may be in order.

MAKING IT PAY. Just knocking on house doors or walking into business offices won’t put money in your pocket. You must choose the right doors and have a planned technique for selling yourself and your product.

Qualify your prospects as much as possible. Decide what special qualities the buyer of your product must have, and cold canvass where those qualities are most plentiful. The man selling his services as a carpet cleaner will have better results if he makes calls in an affluent neighborhood where every home is likely to have wall to wall carpeting. The cookware salesman should concentrate on apartment buildings with a large percentage of young working girls. The typewriter salesman can cover more distance faster if he calls on all the offices in a multi-storied building rather than in a neighborhood where the businesses are strung out over several long streets. One bright young peddler of domestic oil burners qualified his prospects by driving down the alley looking for ash cans.

Try the “man next door technique” with either home or business calls. When you have an appointment, go early and call on your prospect’s next door neighbor. Use the approach, “I’m a little early for my appointment with your neighbor, Mr. Jones, and I thought I’d see if I could stop back later and talk to you.” Secure either an appointment or a sale.

One caution: don’t say that Mr. Jones asked you to call unless he actually did. This can cause you embarrassment later.

Be enthused. If you call on a stranger with the idea that he probably won’t want to talk to you, you’ll undoubtedly be right. If your whole bearing says you’re a man your prospect will be fortunate to meet, you’ll be more likely to get a chance to make your sales pitch. Believe in yourself and believe in your product. Your confidence will pay off.

TECHNIQUE. When calling on a home, knock firmly, then step far back. In this day of rising crime statistics, many homeowners are suspicious of strangers at the door. You might even go so far as to put your sample case between you and the door so as to look less threatening. The first word out of your mouth should be an enthusiastic “Hi!” accompanied by a big grin. Stick your head forward as you speak and let that enthusiasm show! Your first sentence is the most important. “I’m from the Ajax Hosiery Company and I have some free information (or a free sample) for you.” The company you represent will mean more to your prospect than your name and everyone enjoys receiving something for nothing. If you are trying for a sale, ask for permission to show your wares. If your product requires both husband and wife to be present, ask for a commitment to let you stop back when both are home. This is better than forcing a housewife to make a specific appointment that her husband may not want to keep, and it allows you greater flexibility in making follow-up calls.

The technique for calling on a business will follow this same general procedure, except that you can walk directly into a business and ask for the owner or manager. The proportion of stand-ups on later appointments is larger with cold calls so make several appointments in the same neighborhood. That way you won’t waste time getting to your next sale.

Always ask for referred leads. If you have pleased your buyer with your service, he’ll be happy to have you call on his friends. A referred lead means fewer stand-ups, greater trust in you, and more sales.

No salesman can get along without cold canvassing at some time in his career, even if he only uses it to make odd moments of free time more productive. By playing the percentages and operating in an organized manner, you can cold canvass and like it!