Should we canvas for Initial Appointments or use the phone?  In pure cold calling environments, it’s a question that gets asked a lot. So what’s the answer?

 

We believe that it depends on how we answer thee following parameters:

 

1. How comfortable are we at picking up the phone and calling for an appointment?  The less comfortable, the more canvassing makes sense as most callers seem to find it easier to pick up the phone and make a subsequent call into a company they’ve physically visited.

 
2. How many new names do we need to add to our target list each month?  If it is a lot, purchasing lists makes more sense as canvassing takes a lot of time.

 
3. Are we prospecting into a zip code or something larger?  If we’ve got a multi-state territory, canvassing is problematic.

 
4. Do we practice vertical prospecting, or are we geographic in focus?  Canvassing makes more sense in a horizontal selling environment where we can march down the block and find targets.

 
5. How much are we out on the street anyway?  If we are out and about every day, or at least three days a week, then building in some time to canvas makes sense.

 
6. How much would the receptionist know about what we need to ask?  The more common the information we need to know to qualify, the more canvassing makes sense.

 
7. Security challenges. In New York City, canvassing can’t work as security precludes us from getting into buildings. 

 
8. What is the average size of our sale?  There is a correlation between the cost of making a sale and the value of the sale.  Canvassing is more expensive when one takes into account the cost of driving around and the cost of our time.

  

Do you have any additional thoughts?  Send them to us.