3. What is Phone Banking? Phone Banks are a critical element to any political program. They are one of the most inexpensive, effective, and resource-efficient ways to contact voters and deliver your message.
9. What is Canvassing? To solicit political support or to determine opinions or sentiments. To seek votes. A personal solicitation of votes or survey the public opinion. -- Webster’s Dictionary AKA: “Door Knocking” or “Block Walking”
FOCUS is on mobilizing 9 Regions : Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso/Socorro, Travis County (including Austin, Bastrop, Round Rock, and Pflugerville), San Antonio (Bexar County and N. ISD), Fort Bend (Sugarland, Suburb of the Houston Region), Cypress Fairbanks (Cy-Fair-Suburb of Houston Region), Corpus Christi, La Joya/ McAllen/Edinburg, and Waco. We will be having weekly conference calls to discuss progress and plan.
Making contacts over the phone is the fastest way to reach a large # of members. A volunteer can average anywhere between 30-50 calls/dials per hour, and of that, the contact rate (actually answers), can vary widely. Efficiency and volume win campaigns. Step 1: Look at friends, co-workers, family, fellow church-goers. All good groups to search from. Step 2: Aim to put as many people together as resources (phone lines, space) will allow. More People= More Energy= More PRODUCTIVITY and OUTPUT Step 3: Preparation can take longer that you might expect. Very important to show respect to your volunteers time to be prepared before they arrive. Step 4: Explain what they will be doing and how this helps the campaign and the importance of accuracy.
Step 5: Coach them and help them with any questions they may have. Constant encouragement and positive feedback is critical, not only for the success of the current session, but to ensure they will return in the future. They need to feel comfortable and not intimidated. Step 6: Data collected by the volunteers is critical. Be mindful to not misplace it and have a designated spot or routine for your volunteers to return the data. Consistency is key. Chase Cards need to be sent in a timely manner. Don’t fall into a pattern of putting them off and get behind.
Call sheets will be generated by the VAN system Scripts will be provided by Deathstar team Supplies will be each regions responsibility to provide. Each region needs to put together a set of talking points for the races that we are targeting. Needs to include a short background on the candidate, election dates, early voting sites, and contact info to identify where the supporter can vote. Tally sheets will also be provided by the Deathstar Team.
Block walking is the most effective and influential way to persuade a voter. The drawback is that the rate of contact per hour is much lower than phone banking. It is critical to be well prepared for block walking. Time is limited. Some regions have a lower member density than others, so reaching these members will require more time and a car. Things to keep in mind when looking for volunteers. Step 1: May be difficult to persuade a volunteer to block walk, but stressing the importance of how effective it is may be the best way to encourage them when you are facing resistance. Step 2: It is important to get started early, which usually means 10am on Saturday’s and Noon on Sunday’s. Location can be more variable than a phone bank. It is not impossible to run a block walk from the back of a car. Step 3: Make sure to bring enough literature and walk sheets. (should be prepared by the night before).
Step 4: Be sure to give a thorough explanation of how they fill out the paperwork correctly. Remind your volunteers that it is ILLEGAL to put any materials in anyone’s mailbox. Step 5: If you are going to block walk as well, make sure to get back to your end meeting destination to pick up paperwork from all of the block walkers. Don’t forget to bring your cell phone with you so that your volunteers can reach you if they have any issues or questions. Step 6: Make sure to collect all information after the block walk is finished. Don’t forget to thank your volunteers.
Solutions to getting out of long discussions: Use the "acknowledge, refocus and move forward" tactic . Try to use neutral body language while you are door knocking. That means no crossed arms, no furrowed brow (bringing the eyebrows together), things of that nature. Face the person you're talking with, use hand gestures that are open palmed (where palms face the person you're talking to), nod when appropriate but don't over do it. Also slowing things down - eye blinking and speech patterns - while it's counter intuitive, can have a positive effect in that it slows down the flow of discussion. Usually this helps step back heated situations. Do not become argumentative with the member. You can say something like "I want to understand what you're saying and I don't understand when you talk that way. And I want to understand what you are saying." Use an extremely neutral tone and a slow, steady and neutral pace. Respect the boundaries of those who you are visiting. Thank them for their time… whether they are supporters or not.
Solutions to getting out of long discussions: Use the "acknowledge, refocus and move forward" tactic . Try to use neutral body language while you are door knocking. That means no crossed arms, no furrowed brow (bringing the eyebrows together), things of that nature. Face the person you're talking with, use hand gestures that are open palmed (where palms face the person you're talking to), nod when appropriate but don't over do it. Also slowing things down - eye blinking and speech patterns - while it's counter intuitive, can have a positive effect in that it slows down the flow of discussion. Usually this helps step back heated situations. Do not become argumentative with the member. You can say something like "I want to understand what you're saying and I don't understand when you talk that way. And I want to understand what you are saying." Use an extremely neutral tone and a slow, steady and neutral pace. Respect the boundaries of those who you are visiting. Thank them for their time… whether they are supporters or not.
Cards that are hand-written and mailed in a hand-addressed envelope are not only more likely to be opened, but they are also more influential when read than a typical direct mail piece. Sometimes it helps with volunteer retention to organize a group session where volunteers can sit around a table together to write cards. Good volunteer activity when it is too late to make calls and you still have volunteers. Volunteers may also prefer to work on them at home on their own time, this is fine if they are held accountable to meet specific deadlines set by the office. Must be sure the cards are sent out in a timely manner or else they lose their effectiveness. Mail the cards NO LATER than: Oct. 15 so voters receive them in time for early voting, which begins October 18. Suggested messages: We’ve done our homework- CANDIDATE will stand up for students and public schools. Please vote for him/her for school board. I’m a school employee who would like to urge you to vote for a new voice on the school board- someone who prioritizes our students and employees. Please vote for CANDIDATE. School employees ask that you vote for the best education candidate- CANDIDATE. As a long time (ie. El Paso) ISD educator, I ask for your support for our students and school employees. Vote for CANDIDATE for OFFICE.
If a volunteer is willing to either block walk or phone bank, but that person can only give an hour or 2 per week, it might be better to have that person work the phones. Or if the volunteer is phone banking, but has difficulty delivering the script or fielding questions from the callers, it might be better to ask them to help with the Educator- to-Voter cards. Management of volunteer hours is critical. Scheduling and making sure you have recruited enough volunteers for each project is what leads to successful endeavors. Thank you’s and follow up with volunteers are powerful forces. It instills a sense of responsibility and accountability. It makes your volunteers feel like they are important and the work that they do is appreciated and makes a difference. Preparation for your volunteers is a sign of respect. They appreciate it and they also are more productive with their time. If they are waiting around for 10 -30 minutes, that is 5-15 calls they could have made and potential ID’d some key supporters/ voters.
If doing things that were most effective also happened to be the easiest, then your job would be easy, but that is not the case. The most effective method of voter contact is also the hardest to do, physically and mentally and not everyone volunteer can or is willing to do it. More people would rather phone bank than block walk, and just about anyone is willing to write 30 E2V cards.
Data entry directions can be found in their welcome packets.
Accurate Reporting is CRITICAL and CRUTIAL to our success. Planning our approach for early voting and ELECTION DAY is based largely on the contacts and responses from your phone banks and block walks. The schedule of reporting may vary, and frequency will increase dramatically as time progresses. DO NOT MAKE UP NUMBERS… if you have misplaced a tally, or a volunteer forgot to record their calls, avoid the temptation to approximate the data. Be honest, and prepare better for next time.