The Joy of Canvassing! part 1

Happy Monday!    You remember the man in the picture...right?  His name is Bob Ross and he was a former military man turned artist.     As a young child, a rainy Saturday afternoon would have me sitting in front of the television (before cable!) with four programming choices...CBS, NBC, ABC...and PBS.   Sesame Street would just be signing off and Bob Ross had a show called "The Joy of Painting".  He would stand in front of a blank canvas and say..."What do I see today?"    "A happy little tree could go right here"..."A singing bird would go perfect there."    His soft spoken, "don't worry, be happy" demeanor belied his military background and was part of the charm of the show.  At the end of 30 minutes, there would be an amazing scene that evolved and transformed right before your eyes...from a blank canvas.  He believed you could do the same...if you could find your happy place.    Prospecting is also an art...and it starts with a blank canvas.  Canvassing is basic.  Primal.  To be good at canvassing you have to find your happy place.   Depending on your age and industry, it could be called door-knocking, soliciting (be careful!), clover-leafing, hot-knocking, cold-calling and gold-calling.  The more contemporary names (to make it feel more dignified) are grass-roots, community-based outreach and B2B.   Make no mistake, no matter what you call it - canvassing boils down to you meeting a stranger, engaging them in a conversation about your business/product and hoping that interaction evolves into a sale...and doing that dozens of times a day!     When you hear it said like that, no wonder most sales people "turn up their nose" at it.  But there is one thing you need to know before you get a nose bleed...   IT WORKS!   While I was in college I needed money.  I needed a flexible schedule and a chance to make $10-$15 an hour.  By chance, I saw an ad on the corner of Georgia Tech and North Avenue:   College Students Earn $10-$15 an hour Flexible Schedule Call Today!    My prayers were answered! I went for the interview and they told me I fit the profile...young, good looking (duh!) and energetic (duh again!).  They partnered me with an extremely attractive (before Natalie!) "manager" who was going to take me out in the field and show me the ropes.   I had no idea of the product or where we were going but when this manager smiled and said, "It is going to be a great day" something on the inside of me said, "Yes, I agree!"   I left my car at the office and drove with the manager to "the hood"...and I do mean..."da hood".  She had nerves of steel as she went door to door with an attaché case that I had no idea what was inside.   "Is the lady of the house in today?"  she would say if a man answered the door.  If he answered "no" then she hit another speed...   "As I am sure you treat your woman like a queen, what I have today would be perfect for the person in your life."   She took a velvet bag out of the attaché and pulled out an exotic bottle of perfume.  She sprayed a light mist in her direction.  She then stepped closer to the man as the door opened wider and she tilted her head to the side and back to give him a whiff of her neck.   "Smells amazing, doesn't it?"    Ok, it really doesn't matter what was said next (this is not a romance blog!).    All I know is at the end of 6 hours, 200 knocks (she put tic marks on a page), 40 people answering (she tic marked that too!)...she sold 9 bottles at $25.  Her cost was $6 a bottle for her daily profit of $171 (cash!) for an hourly rate of $28.50.   Lesson?   You could say that sex sells...and it does, but this was not that simple..   You could say men buy from beautiful women...and they do, but many men said "no" and she sold to women too..  She was not overt nor distasteful...she just exuded a confidence that I had never seen before...or since.   The real lesson is that canvassing works when you work it with boldness, have an approach built to your product/personality and measure your results.    To be effective you must find your happy place and embrace...   The Joys of Canvassing!   "I believe every day is a good day when you paint."    Bob Ross    Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!