Make the script your own. A phonebank script is essential for success. It helps to keep every caller in sync on the same talking points and information about the subject of the phonebank. However, you rarely want to go word for word on your script. This will help you avoid coming off flat or robotic and allow you to connect to your contact. This will also give your message more weight as the contact will be able to tell that you are speaking from the heart and not just reading from a script that someone else wrote.

Being a volunteer is better than being an expert. You never need to feel like you know everything. Many phonebankers are wary about getting started because they feel like they will hurt the campaign by not being able to answer every question. If you run into a question you can’t answer, no biggie, you can always let your contact know that you are a grassroots leader, not a political expert but that you’ll relay their question to someone who can address it.

Practice the script. While everything we mentioned in the “Be Yourself” section is 100% true and important to understand, just being yourself won’t be enough to find success on the phone. You’ll also need to have a good understanding of the script so you know:

• Where to find key talking points when you need explain or answer a question
• The general flow of an ideal conversation and all the information you need to communicate and record.
• Where you can find extra resources like FAQs, follow-up asks and more information.

Do your research on the current campaign. This doesn’t need to be extensive, though you want to have a general understanding of the greater campaign that you are supporting. This will help inform your approach to the conversation, your tone and all of the possible twists and turns that your conversation could take.

Know the Plan. The most important thing to have completely internalized is the specific mission of the phonebank you are joining. Everything you do on the phones should be in the service of this mission and fully understanding the mission will help you stay 100% on the path to many successful calls.

You are not asking for a favor. This is big. So many phonebankers have a tough time on the phone because they are nervous about asking for a favor from someone they don’t know. This is 100% understandable. If we were asking for favors from random people that would be WEIRD. But phone banking is not about favors.

You are bringing value! Making calls is a service to your community. You are making it easy for your audience to get key information and take action on issues of importance to them. As a phonebanker if we can go into each conversation with this level of confidence and self-assurance we’ll find much more success. Your contact will be able to pick up on this and thus be more inclined to engage with the call. No one wants to do random favors for an organization, but people really want to do things that will help give them more power and representation.

It’s not personal. No answer, hang ups and even a cranky contact here and there are totally normal parts of every phonebank. Don’t take any of this personally.

Nothing to do with you. Who knows what’s going on on the other side of the line. We’ll never be able to reach everyone on the phone and it’s likely that no matter who made the call, the call would have ended up like this.

It could be a bad day… move on. Have a tough call or lots of no pick ups? Hang in there and in most cases your luck will turn. Being able to sift through the challenging calls is a great service to the team because it will allow others to get to the folks who may be a supporter.

“Dan!” or “Hey Dan”. One awesome tip is to avoid sounding like your calling from an organization or campaign at the outset of the call. Start the call with a friendly, upbeat tone and act as if you just connected to an old friend who you’ve been trying to get a hold of. Say their first name as if you know them.

Honesty and transparency. Sometimes as phonebankers we feel as though we need to hide the purpose of the call and wait until later in the script to describe what we are calling about. You should always strive to do the opposite. Come right out and as soon as possible let them know why you are calling and what your intentions are.

“I’m not calling to ask for money.” Unless you are doing a fundraising phonebank, this is something you want to mention right away. So many people are wary of fundraising calls, that if they hear you are from an organization they’ll assume that’s what you are calling about.

Trial and error. Ultimately, it is important to understand that each list is different. So as long as you’re sticking to the talking points, experiment with what works for you on this particular list.

The set up is the thrust of the call. This is where you can answer questions, communicate information and build tension toward your ask by explaining the problem at hand, the urgency for action and the solution that it will lead to.

Listening & intuition. One of the best things to do at the front of the call is to ask questions. Get your contact talking and sharing with you. This will help engage them on the call and help you avoid talking “at” them rather than “with” them. You’ll also have an opportunity to learn more about who you are talking to which you can use to help connect them to the issue you are calling about.

Share the disdain for the problem. A great way to build rapport with your contact, is to connect over the frustration that you both feel. Allow your contact to elaborate on how this affects them and validate that feeling with them by hearing them out and expressing your concern.

Use this to transition into the “ask”. Everything you are doing in the second part of the call including sharing information, asking questions and explaining your campaign, should be in service of leading into your main ask for the call. A successful set up should make your ask easy and natural.

Your ask is your grand finale. It’s where you take all of the great things that you have done on the call (including, introducing yourself, introducing the campaign, making a connection, building rapport, answering questions and explaining the need for action) and put everything together with a hard ask for action.

Thank them regardless of outcome with sincerity. We always want to increase the positive image of the campaign and thus it’s important you do whatever it takes to leave your contact off and feel the best possible feeling about your interaction. Approach the conversation with grace, empathy, and appreciation for their time.

“You really helped us all out today.” For successful calls, explain the impact they are making and make them feel proud for doing their part. This will help encourage them to do more in the future.