The Ultimate Campaign Tool
Door-to-Door
What is the ultimate campaign tool? It's a pretty interesting question - and one that's important to many people involved in campaigns. What is that thing that can transform a candidate from an also-ran into a serious contender or better yet, a champion?
No, it's not money. Lots of people might think it is. (What am I saying? Lots of people do). They think that if you spread enough cash around you are guaranteed victory.
I say "No. That's not correct."
The ultimate campaign tool? Plain old fashioned door-to-door. If there was a substitute that served the same need adequately, it would have been found. But it doesn't exist. In the years I've worked campaigns, there are two things candidates consistently hate to do. Raise money and go door-to-door. But door-to-door is the one of the two that candidates shouldn't do without.
Door-to-door is name identification. It's advertising. It's introducing issues. It's making a personal connection with voters on an individual basis that all the newspapers, radio and television in the world can't beat. People are going to vote for a candidate that they feel a personal connection with. What's more personal than introducing yourself?
With all that said, the question remains "How do you do it effectively?" As opposed to coming up with this myself, I went out looking for corroborating information on the Internet, and I really didn't find anything that was simple and to the point. So, solely according to the SDWC, here is what I would recommend as the basic, basic steps for effective door to door campaigning:
Introduce - You simply need to introduce yourself and why you are there. "Hi, I'm Jim Jones and I'm running for city council."
Ingratiate - Be friendly and cordial, and give them a brief - with the emphasis on brief- vision statement. Tell them why you are running. "I'm running for city council to help keep our city safe and clean." And remember to smile, too.
Ask - IMPORTANT! Most people will give you the shirt off their back if you just ask. So ask for their vote. "On June 6th, I'd like your vote for City council. I'd really appreciate it."
Leave your mark - Give them a campaign card, brochure, pencil, notepad, or whatever material you are leaving in your door to door travels. "I'd like to leave you with my brochure in case you want more information. If you have any other questions, my e-mail and phone number are in the brochure."
Extricate - People are friendly and like to talk. And some will talk and talk and talk, and before you know it, you've had tea, and burned up an hour that you needed to spend walking doors. You need to Introduce, Ingratiate, Ask, Leave Your Mark and then GET OUT OF THERE! Be polite, and let them know how you'd be happy to stop back another time, but you have to knock on another hundred doors that evening. They'll understand.
As you go door to door, depending on your resources, you may also want to tag voters for follow up with a mailing or other contact. I'm not going to get into targeting or anything else in this discussion because I want to keep it as basic as possible. And nothing is more basic than grabbing a bunch of campaign cards and starting off door to door.
Don't be afraid to use family and friends if you have a lot of ground to cover. When Representative Cooper Garnos first ran, I believe I heard reports of students going door to door for him. Many candidates use their family and friends to help cover ground. It's not as effective as meeting the candidate themselves, but it makes a positive impression.
Door-to-door can be massively time consuming, but it's the best guarantee of success that a candidate can have. And that's in South Dakota or anywhere.
For further reading on the topic, this article from the Washington Post is pretty good. Good luck, and start pounding the sidewalk.
No, it's not money. Lots of people might think it is. (What am I saying? Lots of people do). They think that if you spread enough cash around you are guaranteed victory.
I say "No. That's not correct."
The ultimate campaign tool? Plain old fashioned door-to-door. If there was a substitute that served the same need adequately, it would have been found. But it doesn't exist. In the years I've worked campaigns, there are two things candidates consistently hate to do. Raise money and go door-to-door. But door-to-door is the one of the two that candidates shouldn't do without.
Door-to-door is name identification. It's advertising. It's introducing issues. It's making a personal connection with voters on an individual basis that all the newspapers, radio and television in the world can't beat. People are going to vote for a candidate that they feel a personal connection with. What's more personal than introducing yourself?
With all that said, the question remains "How do you do it effectively?" As opposed to coming up with this myself, I went out looking for corroborating information on the Internet, and I really didn't find anything that was simple and to the point. So, solely according to the SDWC, here is what I would recommend as the basic, basic steps for effective door to door campaigning:
Introduce - You simply need to introduce yourself and why you are there. "Hi, I'm Jim Jones and I'm running for city council."
Ingratiate - Be friendly and cordial, and give them a brief - with the emphasis on brief- vision statement. Tell them why you are running. "I'm running for city council to help keep our city safe and clean." And remember to smile, too.
Ask - IMPORTANT! Most people will give you the shirt off their back if you just ask. So ask for their vote. "On June 6th, I'd like your vote for City council. I'd really appreciate it."
Leave your mark - Give them a campaign card, brochure, pencil, notepad, or whatever material you are leaving in your door to door travels. "I'd like to leave you with my brochure in case you want more information. If you have any other questions, my e-mail and phone number are in the brochure."
Extricate - People are friendly and like to talk. And some will talk and talk and talk, and before you know it, you've had tea, and burned up an hour that you needed to spend walking doors. You need to Introduce, Ingratiate, Ask, Leave Your Mark and then GET OUT OF THERE! Be polite, and let them know how you'd be happy to stop back another time, but you have to knock on another hundred doors that evening. They'll understand.
As you go door to door, depending on your resources, you may also want to tag voters for follow up with a mailing or other contact. I'm not going to get into targeting or anything else in this discussion because I want to keep it as basic as possible. And nothing is more basic than grabbing a bunch of campaign cards and starting off door to door.
Don't be afraid to use family and friends if you have a lot of ground to cover. When Representative Cooper Garnos first ran, I believe I heard reports of students going door to door for him. Many candidates use their family and friends to help cover ground. It's not as effective as meeting the candidate themselves, but it makes a positive impression.
Door-to-door can be massively time consuming, but it's the best guarantee of success that a candidate can have. And that's in South Dakota or anywhere.
For further reading on the topic, this article from the Washington Post is pretty good. Good luck, and start pounding the sidewalk.
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