Winning Support From Voters: How A First-Time Candidate Can Get Ahead With Political Phone Banking
Marketing yourself as a first-time candidate is tough, whether you're vying for local office or a national seat. You need name recognition and an effective way to get your message out to potential voters in an expeditious and economical way. If you're supporting a first-time candidate, your objective is the same and you take advantage of every opportunity to get out the vote. In either case, from the first-person or supportive position, political phone banking is the key to success.
As you map out a strategy to reach the voters, consider the following ways in which you can be more effective in the intensely competitive election process. Most every voter has a phone, and it may be your best tool toward victory.
Prepare Your Platform In Script
Whatever your stance on the issues that matter most to the voters in your area, compact it into a few concise sentences. While it may sound challenging to narrow down your entire political platform, it's necessary to deliver a fast and accurate message to the people you want to convince to vote for you. This script will be given to the callers on your phone banking campaign, and they can use it to represent you in general conversation and for specific questions they may be asked about you.
Call At The Most Opportune Times
The scheduling of your phone banking campaign should be done around the people getting the calls, not those making them or even you. Despite how busy you might be and especially if you don't currently have a name that's getting the recognition it needs to win, you need to launch your phone efforts at the time when the most people will be receptive to the call.
Consider the day itself, the time and even the weather for the area you'll be calling. You want people available, not in the middle of dinner, and at a time when they'll be most receptive to listening. This could be after traditional dinner time on a weeknight, particularly if it's raining out or some other weather situation is keeping them indoors. Be aware of sporting and other local events that will otherwise occupy the population, too. If you're targeting a certain sector of the general population, such as Millennials, make an exact science out of it, as different people prefer different methods of communication, as well as times to talk.
Let Constituents Have Their Say—Even If They Oppose You
While you don't want to waste your valuable resources, it's important that people, even those who may not support you or your candidate, be given the opportunity to speak. Your callers should take notes, to help the campaign learn about what's going on in the minds of voters. If someone is against your platform, discover why and how you can find common ground. You or the candidate you support could even use that information in a later speech, emphasizing the common threads that connect the two opposing points. That voter, who voiced their discontent on the call, and others like them, could be watching and actually be swayed to your side.
Expect Heated Responses And Hang-Ups
In the current and ever-changing political climate, people are apt to act in a very unpleasant manner, even if they're normally very polite and affable. You and your callers should expect just about anything, including hang-ups, swearing, accusations, and screaming. Although most would-be voters that are called may be civilized, many may not be; however, just because there's anger and hostility, that doesn't mean your caller can't bring a voter around,or at the very least, leave a very good impression on them.
Start Early In Your Campaign
Political phone banking isn't just for the days leading up to an election; it provides an ongoing opportunity to connect with real people you'd otherwise never be able to connect with on your own. Just think about 10 people making calls on your behalf, each calling 10 potential voters an hour. Then imagine 20 or more callers and you get the idea of how truly exponential political phone banking is. If you start early and keep up with the calling campaign, you're going to garner a much greater number of voters—the real people who will head to the polls on your behalf come election day, than any other method of campaigning.
Contact a company like Political Robo Calling to learn more.