5 MYTHS about phonebanking

I understand that the idea of phonebanking can be intimidating.  You may be worried that you’ll get some lunatic on the other end who wants to vent all their frustrations on you or you'll get a lot of people slamming the phone down, but the reality of phonebanking  is much different.  

Some of you may also wonder if it really makes a difference.

So I thought I’d post a few mythbusters about phonebanking to help encourage some of you who may be on the fence along with a few quick tips for those of you who have some experience but may want some pointers.  

These notes are based on my experience making hundreds of calls to states from coast to coast as well as reports I’ve heard from members of some of the communities I belong to.  

MYTH #1: People will argue / rant / scream / curse at you.

The fact is that you are much more likely to hear mean-spirited comments on the internet than you are over the phone

People can say some pretty nasty things on the internet where they are somewhat undercover but I have yet to come across this in speaking with anyone live.  (Also keep in mind you’d be calling democrats and- on occasion a few independents- but no Republicans).  .

In the highly unlikely event that you do get that one a**hole who wants to let loose on a total stranger you simply say "thanks for your time" and move on.

No big deal.  Not the end of the world.  Move on.

MYTH #2: A lot of people will hang up on you

The reality is that I usually get more people thanking me for calling than I do hang-ups.

I’m not going to lie, you will get a few of these but in most cases it appears to have little if anything to do with the nature of the call.  These are usually people that just don’t like to get ANY calls and would do the same thing if you were calling for Clinton or McCain.  

The truth is that most people who don’t want to talk are usually polite enough to at least say "I’m busy / not interested / cooking dinner" etc. rather than just hanging up.

MYTH #3: You’re not going to change anyone’s mind

This is probably the biggest myth of them all.  
Every time I call I get at least a few more people in the Obama column as well as a few undecideds leaning more in his direction.  So, bottom line: calling works!  

MYTH #4: Ok, it might help some but it won’t make a BIG difference

In addition to the above, phonebanking does 3 other very important things:

a. Helps identify Obama supporters who want to volunteer but don’t know how to sign up (barackobama.com) or haven’t been asked.

b. You help Obama’s ground team identify where their strong and weak areas are so they know where to concentrate their efforts.

c. You inspire others to get more involved.  I’ve talked with dozens of people who say that they are encouraged by my call and are now inspired to do more themselves.

MYTH #5: I have to be an expert on the issues / policies to be effective

**See my super-tip below for an effective and easy way to deal ANY issue**

The phonebanking page has scripts for you to follow and is super easy.  Only rarely will you ever get into any kind of serious discussion about a certain issue. If you do though an easy way to deal with this is to keep the barackobama.com page open and click on "issues" to see his stance on the issue.  It’s also ok to say that you aren’t familiar with the specifics on that particular issue.  People can’t expect you to know everything.

Note: In many cases you can even call people of certain demographic groups similar to your own such as: students, women, etc. where you probably share some issues in common.  

A few quick tips:

1. Be natural- change a word or two in the script and talk like you would to a friend.

2. Stay positive- focus on why you’re for Obama not why you’re against someone else.

3. Empathize first.  Say "I hear ya" or "I understand" then say "that’s why I like..."

4. Now for the super-tip! You can use this with ANY issue that comes up:

Let's face it, Obama and Clinton’s policies are 95% identical.  So ‘who has the best policy’ is not really that important.  It’s who is most likely to be able to IMPLEMENT that policy that really matters.

What good is a good policy if it never gets implemented?  A great policy on paper is like giving someone a car that doesn’t run.  Who wants a great looking car that sits in the garage?

As Obama has famously said:

Our problem is not a lack of good ideas.  The problem is that Washington is a place where good ideas go to die.

Obama is much more likely to actually get these policies in place for 3 main reasons:

1. He doesn’t take money from lobbyists or special interests who block policies from getting through.

2. He has a broad appeal- brings independents and republicans on board so we can have the majority votes needed to get them passed.

3. He inspires the American people to get engaged in politics.  When more people wake up, start paying attention and demanding that their elected officials take action that is when we’ll see more being done.

So there you have it folks.  

Now what are you waiting for? Go make some calls!

http://my.barackobama.com/...

Every new vote you get for Obama means Hillary is that much less likely to eke out a win in the popular vote and have an argument for getting the nomination.

YES WE CAN!!