4 Tips for Perfect Door to Door Canvassing

Canvassing is the bread and butter of many political campaigns but it isn't as straightforward as simply knocking on doors. Check out our guide to perfecting your canvassing technique.

With the right amount of planning and preparation, your door-knocking interactions can become seamless until you eventually perfect the art of door to door canvassing. 

Here are our top 4 tips to help you improve your door-to-door canvassing.

1. Set door-to-door canvassing goals

First, you need to define your goal to manage your door-to-door canvassing efforts. Goal setting defines the roadmap of your door to door campaign.

Secondly, define the voter cohort you are targeting. Are you targeting constituents in specific geographic areas? Do you have a voter file for targeting?  Map out those areas and voter contacts.

With the Ecanvasser and L2 Data integration, you can seamlessly import voter information into your Eanvasser account. Learn more about this integration here.

Thirdly, divide goals into individual and collective team goals. Ask yourself, how many interactions need to take place before you are satisfied that you have done enough? This, of course, is dependent on your team size but we should aim to canvass everyone on the electoral register at least once. This involves various rounds targeting the same territory, which, without technology, can be difficult to keep track of interactions.

For larger campaigns and teams, we advise drafting up a simple plan to track dates and responses at the door. If using Ecanvasser software, this can all be tracked on your mobile app.

2. Prepare a door-to-door canvassing script

A canvas is a conversation between two people. Structuring the conversation with a canvassing script can help you to extract the right information. Every conversation, canvassing or not, generally follows the same five steps:

1. Introduce yourself. This is your opening one-liner or a bit of chit-chat that helps to create trust and build rapport.

 2. Tell a brief story. Establish yourself, ask for people at the residence who are on your outreach list, and just begin a normal conversation.

3. A brief presentation. Discuss the key policy points as prescribed by your Campaign Manager. You will find a helpful reminder on your Ecanvasser mobile app. These talking points will ensure you stay on track even if you find yourself under pressure.

Invite engagement and interaction with voters and ask voters if they have any questions surrounding your policy. Track their concerns or issues through the app, this shows your voter that you are professional and care about them on an individual level.

4. Begin closing the conversation. When they are feeling positive about the interaction, perhaps because you have found common ground or you have overturned their objections, you should begin to establish a closing point at a natural break in the conversation. You should be able to read their reaction and determine if you can count on their support based on this encounter, albeit brief.

5. Repeat the main points of the conversation. Thank them for their time and advise them on how they can get in touch with the campaign.

3. Start door-to-door canvassing early

The earlier in the political campaign that you knock on doors, the better. Every conversation you and your team have at the doors identifies key issues and motivations of the people with which you are speaking. 

While each political campaign will have its own strategy and needs, you’ll likely be looking to gather most, if not all, of the following:

1. Supporter level: who does the voter support, and how committed are they to them? At a minimum, get a star rating for your candidate here, for example, 1 star for weak support, and 5 stars for vote pledged. However, you can be as detailed as you like and capture reasons for support pledged or reasons for voting against the candidate. 

2. Expected turnout: what are the expected votes cast in this election? Often you can determine how many voters will vote by looking at past elections. If there was a 60% turnout in the last city election and there are no added factors this time to change the situation, you might figure that about 60% would vote in the city election this time.

3. Which topics are your audience passionate about? Are there any potential issues that might prevent a supporter from casting their ballot? Perhaps they might need assistance with transport to their polling station, or with attaining a postal/proxy ballot. This brings us along nicely to our final tip.

4. Use door to door canvassing software

Removing the pen and paper from knocking on doors helps you streamline your canvassing efforts with your broader political campaign. 

Through canvassing in advance of voting day, your team can capture information at the doors, easily relay it back to your campaign manager via a mobile app, and enable your campaign manager to address any potential issues that might arise. Door to door canvassing software, such as Ecanvasser’s mobile apps, enables you to capture those vital conversations, track field progress, and review real-time information that provides insights about voter issues.

Political campaign software also allows you to segment your voters and reach out to them after the initial doorstep interaction. You can, for example, segment voters by the opinions they expressed about a topic and follow up via SMS, email, or phone call, making it easier than ever before to integrate door-to-door canvassing insights into your broader political campaign.

Ready to take your door to door campaign to the next level? – Get Started today!