Preparation is key to launch a powerful political canvass.
Canvassing is a personal interaction with the community on behalf of a candidate or advocacy. It enables a direct touchpoint for information dissemination, campaign visibility, and data collection in the field.
But what can make your canvass powerful?
The key is preparation.
Well-prepared canvassers feel confident in discussing policy points and hold a great understanding of the movement they are representing. Though different campaigns may require customized training curriculums, there tends to be an intersection for the prep work required for each phase of the canvassing process.
The 4 Phases of Canvassing are:
Initial Prep and Organization
Roll-Out
Data Collection / Supervision
Debriefing
This week, we’ll be focusing on the first phase.
Initial Prep: 5-7 Days Prior
The most important milestone to hit a few days prior to the canvass launch is finalizing the turf. Though field captains are cognizant of properly cutting turf, novices tend to overlook the influence of terrain and its actual walkability.
Field captains should also work on finalizing and communicating the following to their team:
Meet-up Points
Shift Schedules
Written Commitments from the rest of the team
Organization: 24 Hours Prior
Close team communication is key in the 24 hours preceding the roll-out of canvassers. After obtaining each canvasser’s commitment for the following day, field captains should ensure that everything else is ironed out:
Walk packets and literature
List numbers
Pre-cut turfs
Weather reports
Launching powerful field operations takes things a step further than traditional canvassing: it turns canvassers into informed ambassadors that can actually hold a conversation. Dynamic canvassers are able to contextualize the campaign platform with individual voters and recognize the importance of good data.
Do you want to make your political canvass more powerful? Let’s talk.
About Sole Strategies:
Sole strategies is a woman and minority–owned organization built by a team of political experts who specialize in strengthening grassroots campaigns at the community level. Running a race is tough on a shoestring budget– but we’re here to make that possible. You shouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for consultants who tell you how to do the work they themselves have never done. Here at sole strategies, we know that words of guidance are empty if they’re not backed by real support and tangible results