So you’ve decided to go door-to-door



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Canvass Instructional Manual and

Resource Guide

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ….………………………………………………………………………i

Introduction ...……………………………………………………………………………..ii

Chapter 1 -- Canvassing Guide ...…………………………………………………………1

- Canvassing basics

- Don’t enter homes

- Setting up call backs

- Ideal times

Chapter 2 – Tricks of the Trade ...………………………………………………………...2

- Dress the part

- How to “read” a house

- How to turn the situation around

- Use insider language

Chapter 3 – Resource Guide ...……………………………………………………………5

- Personal Knowledge

- Personal Leads

- Fundrace/Google

- D.I.Y.

- Clipboard Materials (See Appendixes A-E)

- Other gear

Chapter 5 – Setting up your canvass ...……………………………………………………6

- Designate a Field Manager

- Choosing a Zip Code

- Coordinating with other offices

- Set up your turf grid

- Encourage role-plays with canvassers

Chapter 6 -- F.A.Q. ……………………………………………………………………….7

Clipboard Materials …………………………………………………………...Appendixes

- Cover letter …………………………………………………………...Appendix A

- Rap ……………………………………………………………………Appendix B

- Contribution sheet …………………………………………………….Appendix C

- Receipts ……………………………………………………………….Appendix D

- Tracking Form ………………………………………………………...Appendix E

I

Introduction

So you’ve decided to go door-to-door. That’s wonderful news! Person-to-person contact generates a synergy between the canvasser and people in the community, and by association, between World Can’t Wait and the community. The value of that type of personalized relationship is difficult to quantify, but crucial none-the-less. Know that the times many canvassers have gotten large contributions have mostly been when they’ve been totally derailed from the “rap” they had written, and began engaging in a dynamic two-way dialogue.

An ideal canvasser is calm, clear, flexible, perceptive, human, articulate, well researched, and passionate. You do not have to be an ideal canvasser to be successful. In fact, self consciously making a mistake can sometimes break the ice. Although I don’t recommend it as an overall strategy, everybody makes mistakes, so you may as well let the person perceive you as a non professional human just like them, who is just going door to door because it is something you so strongly believe in. If you make a mistake, laugh at it with them in a self-depreciating but good-natured way. You would be surprised how much that can help you get past a person’s barriers.

Remember that a large part of canvassing is your mindset. If you approach a person confidently expecting them to get involved, they are more likely to get involved. That confidence comes from studying the rap, the call, and practicing, or doing role-plays with others, and ideally, with other canvassers directly prior to going out door-to-door.

At first, you will feel robotic, repeating the rap over and over, and it won’t feel genuine, even though you genuinely believe in the call and in what you are saying. Don’t sweat it. This is normal until you get the rap down. Keep practicing. Soon, you will be able to weave the rap seamlessly into conversation. At that point, you’ve got it.

ii

QUICK GUIDE to Canvassing

The first skill to have is eye contact. It is quite important to establish long periods of eye contact throughout most of your interaction. This is a great reason to have your rap down pat. It breaks the synergy of the interaction if you break eye contact to look upward as you try to remember the next part of your rap.

You should have good clipboard control. Your clipboard should remain at your side, with your arm in a relaxed position. Your clipboard is powerful. When you get it into their hands, it is a physical representation of your interaction. It is critical that you get the clipboard into their hands, and that it’s done in a swift, efficient, confident manner right before the ask.

Know the rap. This is as basic as it gets, yet it is the foundation for everything else, so it is critically important.

Have a warm greeting. This is your first impression. You really need to make sure that you get off on the right foot.

Be calm, and speak with deliberation. It is easy to get rattling the rap at a fast pace. This is a common mistake. Take a deep breath right as you knock or ring the doorbell. Then continue to breathe deeply and relax until they come to the door. You’d be surprised how much this one tip can help.

Walk quickly. If you maximize your efficiency when walking, it means more people talked to. It’s just simple math.

Know when to bounce. If someone isn’t making eye contact, or has their arms crossed, or just doesn’t seem into what you are saying, ask them straight out: “Hey, are you with me on this?” It refocuses them on what you are saying, and can save you a lot of time. It is good to leave those houses early, handing them literature as you zip off to the next house.

Keep organized paperwork. Make sure you mark each house you visit clearly. (I’ve provided a template “Tracking Sheet”.) Concise notes can be really helpful, too. Good things to indicate are: CBAD (Come Back Another Day), CBL [?:00] (Come Back Later [time]), CBNW (Come Back Next Week), NS (No Soliciting), NT (No Trespassing), CBNY (Come Back Next Year), ( (house looks promising), ( (house doesn’t look promising), as well as any extraneous information you might find useful.

Have Fun. This sounds arbitrary, but you will be more successful if you have some bounce in your step, so have fun while you are out there.

Befriend pets. Making friends with someone’s pet is a great way to establish common ground and break the ice.

Callback at least once. “Callbacks” are when you go back through your turf. Ideally, you are canvassing in at least 3 hour time blocks so that you are more likely to catching people home who were gone when you first went through. For that reason, it is

A good idea to stop after knocking on 40 – 50 doors (depending on how long you are canvassing) and go back through your turf to talk to the people who you missed the first time through. It helps to pay attention to which cars are coming home to which house.

Canvass while people are likely to be home. Good canvassing times are from 3 p.m. to about 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 12 p.m. to about 6 p.m. on weekends. Sure, you are likely to catch someone while eating dinner, but if you handle it gracefully, you can set up an appointment to meet them at a more convenient time, ideally later that night. This brings me to my next point…

Make appointments. Appointments are your friend. If you are able to set up a time to come back when it is more convenient for them, you are more likely to get them involved (although an appointment later is almost never as good as a contribution now). When making an appointment, the first thing you do is empathize with their time constraint, but emphasize that it is really important that you speak with them. Offer a time that works for you, but that makes sense given the situation (this takes practice). Example: “All right, I’ll look forward to seeing you at 7 p.m. then. Again, my name is [canvasser]. Who should I ask for?” Then, when you come back, be sure to be prompt, and to ask for them by name.

Use affirmative speech. Use powerful language like “We intend to” or “We are working to” instead of “We think we might” or “We are trying”. Also, make statements. Asking questions (other than the two questions in the rap) gives the person a way out while simultaneously putting them on the spot. This is a bad combination, and can be avoided if you make confident statements instead of asking questions (open ended questions are especially troublesome and time consuming).

2

Tricks of the Trade

Dress the part. Know the neighborhood you are going into. If you are going into a working class neighborhood, don’t dress all snazzy. There are likely to be more people interested in getting involved, but you will get less money from each house. If you are going into more well to do areas (which you should), then dress well. Also be sure to wear a World Can’t Wait T-shirt & a button. In addition bring buttons and stickers to sell door-to-door.

“Read” the house as you approach.

It is useful to gather as much information as possible before you actually knock (See the Resource Guide). Good things to pay attention to include, but are not limited to: type and condition of car, BUMPER STICKERS, lawn (is it edged?), door/window stickers, lawn and house ornaments, toys or other evidence of children, house color, approachability (are windows open, is there a fence, are there giant hedges in front?), note the presence of and level of care necessary to maintain gardens, basically just pay attention to it all. Eventually, you will learn to read the patterns of your neighborhood. (What things to pay attention to and what they mean vary by region.)

Turn the situation around. When canvassing, it can be empowering to learn just how much control you really have over the situation and the interaction.

Examples from Cyd from the Portland, OR chapter

From angry to giver. When I was canvassing for an environmental group, I ran into someone who stopped contributing because they had been angry at the organization. There was no way they were going to contribute again. They had written letters and protested because the environmental organization had not been using recycled paper.

I congratulated him for having convictions, and being willing to act on them. I then pointed out that the materials were now printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper. I then pointed out that they also now used soy-based inks. The person with whom I was canvassing asked him if he did that, too (indicating that he may have been responsible for getting them to use soy-based inks in addition to the recycled paper)? I then pointed out

that if he had acted before to write letters, and then to boycott the organization, that it

made sense for him to reward them now that they had complied with his demands, and to show his support for their environmental conscience by joining again. I added that as a

member he can vote on their policy and board members. He wrote me a check.

From no to giver. And of course, you will find it a ubiquitous situation to turn someone saying they can’t get involved into someone saying that they will contribute. Often times, a person will say no, but if you wait or ask why not, they will tell you. This is important. Treat this as a gift. They are giving you an opportunity to solve the dilemma keeping them from getting involved. React with empathy, addressing their concern and re-politicizing them. You then repeat your ask, sometimes dropping down the amount a bit, though if money was not their concern, you may want to keep the ask amount the same. Backing down too quickly on your amount is a common mistake, and will literally cost you. You will give what is called a 1st response, and often a 2nd and even 3rd response before a person is ready to contribute.

From grumpy to cookies. An example which shows a different way to turn a situation around involves dealing with grumpy people. When people are acting grumpy and don’t seem interested, I sometimes switch tactics midstream and ask for water or ask a silly question. Occasionally, I have asked grumpy older men for cookies or other things that sometimes made them laugh, and although they would have never given me money, they have refilled my water bottle or given me a cookie, or made me laugh when they replied “Nope, no cookies.” The point is that what could have been a very negative interaction was deflected or changed into something else. Minimizing your negative interactions is key.

Use insider language. If they wanted to know more, and got past your first question, they are likely to have a decent idea about what is going on. Treat them as someone who is on the inside track to this type of information, to the truth. Use phrases like “As you know,” and “people like us who”. Use some of the more well known jargon, and see how they respond. Then commend them on knowing the language.

4

Resource Guide

Personal Knowledge. You know more than you think you do. Utilize your resources. You know people who know people. You know some neighborhoods in your area. You know about upcoming events. All of this can be useful; you just have to reassess things with the mind of a canvasser.

Personal Leads. Call the people you know or have contact with. Check your business card collection. Set up meetings with these people, ideally at their house. Try to set it up as a house party (Learn more about this later). Let them know that you plan to show them a short DVD and give a presentation.

Fundrace / Google. An invaluable source is a google map that plots out the contributions given to the 2 major parties on a map, showing the name, address, how much was contributed, and to whom or what party. The URL is:

All you have to do is enter a zip code and you are on your way! Don’t rely on this instead of going door to door, but write down the information of the givers who are on the turf you plan to canvass on the Tracking Form. That way, when you knock on their door, you already know that they gave $2,500 to Dennis Kucinich in 2004.

D.I.Y. The best resources are the ones you create yourself. Whether it is a collection of articles on your clipboard to which you refer during the course of your 1st and 2nd responses, or stickers that you give out to contributors, or a book light rigged to your clipboard, people dig that sort of thing. Make it your own, and you will be more natural and invested, and therefore more successful.

Clipboard Materials. These are included at the end of this Guide in Appendices A-E. Feel free to build upon them and make them better. That being said, it does help if they are official looking.

Other gear. When canvassing, carry a messenger bag or backpack. Inside of the messenger bag, keep a folder with extra materials, water bottle, extra pens, the NYT ad (in a prominent and easy to access outside pocket), breath mints or gum, downloads from the website, DVDs of past demonstrations and whatever else seems useful.

5

Setting Up Your Canvass

[Coming soon]

6

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)

7

THE WORLD CAN’T WAIT – DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME

Email: info@ Phone: (866) 973 – 4463

In signing, I support “the call” of The World Cant Wait and call on others to join the movement to Drive Out The Bush Regime.

Name and affiliation Address Phone Email

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* 305 W. Broadway #185 New York NY 10013 * 866-973-4463

Appendix A

Script:

Intro:  Hi, How are you doing this evening/afternoon?  [Address their response as positively as possible] My name is [name] and I am a volunteer organizer for the World Can't Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime.  We're looking to speak with people who want to join the movement to drive out the Bush Regime.  Is that you?

 

[We want to know right away if this is someone who is willing to join us.  If not, it's goodbye, here's some info, see ya.  The more supporters you talk to, the more money you raise.  If they say yes, then celebrate that "That's wonderful!" and go onto the next part.]

 

Problem:  Well as you know, the Bush regime is radically changing our society and the world.  [Then go on to talk about the seven your governments]

 

Solution:  There is a national movement growing in this country to create a political situation where the bush regime is driven from office. So far this summer World Can't Wait ha: go on to talk about the Bus tour, youth trainings, etc

Currently we are mobilizing people for Oct 5 a day of massive resistance where we…

We have just placed our third Ad in the New York Times, but we need to saturate the National Media. This must be followed by printing it in the Washington Post, LA Times, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle.  Here, check this out.  [Hand over the AD.]

 

It is absolutely critical for people such as yourself, who are a part of the majority of us who know how dangerous this regime is, to join this movement and to contribute generously to the movement.  We need x number of people to donate x in order for us to be able to x. WILL YOU DO THAT?

 

After speaking these four words, silence.  If they say no, empathetically address their concerns.  Think of their concern as a gift.  They are telling you that if you can just solve this dilemma, they'd be glad to contribute.  So address their concern, but repoliticize them, showing one fact (perhaps an article on the clip board) and then get the clipboard in their hands, and speak to how World Can't Wait – Drive Out The Bush Regime is the only way to make this a reality.  They indicated they wanted to be a part of this movement, so will they give $X?  (Don't back down too much on the ask.  They may surprise you.)

Appendix B

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Send checks to:

World Can't Wait, 305 W. Broadway #185 New York NY 10013

• Contributions of $100 or more may be made tax deductible if the donor sends a check made out to World Can't Wait/AGJ to World Can't Wait, 305 W. Broadway #185 New York NY 10013. 

• At this time, online donations are not tax deductible.

• The Alliance for Global Justice, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the fiscal sponsor of World Can't Wait. AFGJ will acknowledge contributions in writing, and furnish evidence of its status as an exempt organization upon request. Their latest financial report is available at their offices, 1247 E Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003.

If you can’t get involved this way, there are other ways to contribute, for instance you can donate via Paypal at

[pic] Date:

Thank you for your generous donation of _______ to the World Can't Wait- Drive out the Bush Regime. Your contribution will help make Oct 5- day of mass resistance possible. Please check our constantly updated website for more information .

Your donation was/was not tax-deductible.

House# |$/N |Street name / notes |House# |$/N |Street name / notes |House# |$/N |Street name / notes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Appendix D

Name_____________ Date _________ Start and Finish Time _________ Zip _________

Hours ______ Amount in checks _____

Doors ______ Amount in cash _____

Completes ______ Number of handouts distributed _____

Yeses ______ Number of phone numbers _____

Signatures ______ Number of Emails _____

Amount

Raised ______

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