What I learned from handing out Slim-jims

[ASayre]

(For the sake of narration, when I say I, that's reffering to the members of the Santa Barbara meetup who was out with me handing stuffs out today)

We handed out about 600 slim-jims today, give or take, and mailed off about two dozen Tax-Free tips fliers with hand written notes to a lot of local restaurants.

Here's what I learned:

Smile. It makes a world of difference in both the positive responses from others and your morale.

Bring a friend or another meetup member. Having someone else to talk to in between the lulls, to share in happiness when converting someone, or to chuckle about someone who freaks out when they hear the word 'republican'.

Have a sign. The 2' x 4' signs work great - we just propped it up against a hedge near where we were standing. Since not everyone will take a slimjim, or are preoccupied and aren't listening, they'll atleast see the sign and see support.

Don't bring the '9/11 truther' stuff into it. it does brings a negative perception of Dr. Paul. One person I was able to dissuade from that notion, saying that it's jsut a small subsection of his followers, but another wouldn't hear of anything else.

You can't win 'em all. Realize that some people just can't be converted. There are people who are just so fanatically apathetic, and people who are close-minded because they see that he's running on the republican ticket.

Be Mindful. If their hands are full, don't hand them anything. If they're on a cell phone, don't try and talk at 'em, just smile and hold out a slim-jim.

Remind people about the Primaries and the registration requirements. If you run into a supporter or libertarian, or someone receptive to Dr. Paul's ideas, remind them about the primary dates and the voter registration requirement. (Varying by state of course)

You'll find all kinds of unexpected people. I handed out a slim-jim (and he took it!), to someone who identified themselves as one of the CA Giuliani Co-Chair people. I was too flabbergasted to do anything other than smaile as it was so unexpected.

Mention that he's running for president. With many city elections just happening, a number of people originally thought he was running for a local position.

Embrace the handout philosophy. Sign waving and posting are great for name recognition, but they don't get his message out all too well. To do that, you need to hand stuff out and talk to people. The number of positive responses/hr from sign waving is about the same as the number of slim-jims that we hand out per hour. Many of the people honking maye know who he already is, while the slim jims get the message out to those who haven't heard of him.

[ctb619]

Nice work. Were you guys handing out slim-jims on State St.?

[aroberso]

(For the sake of narration, when I say I, that's reffering to the members of the Santa Barbara meetup who was out with me handing stuffs out today)

We handed out about 600 slim-jims today, give or take, and mailed off about two dozen Tax-Free tips fliers with hand written notes to a lot of local restaurants.

Here's what I learned:

Smile. It makes a world of difference in both the positive responses from others and your morale.

Bring a friend or another meetup member. Having someone else to talk to in between the lulls, to share in happiness when converting someone, or to chuckle about someone who freaks out when they hear the word 'republican'.

Have a sign. The 2' x 4' signs work great - we just propped it up against a hedge near where we were standing. Since not everyone will take a slimjim, or are preoccupied and aren't listening, they'll atleast see the sign and see support.

Don't bring the '9/11 truther' stuff into it. it does brings a negative perception of Dr. Paul. One person I was able to dissuade from that notion, saying that it's jsut a small subsection of his followers, but another wouldn't hear of anything else.

You can't win 'em all. Realize that some people just can't be converted. There are people who are just so fanatically apathetic, and people who are close-minded because they see that he's running on the republican ticket.

Be Mindful. If their hands are full, don't hand them anything. If they're on a cell phone, don't try and talk at 'em, just smile and hold out a slim-jim.

Remind people about the Primaries and the registration requirements. If you run into a supporter or libertarian, or someone receptive to Dr. Paul's ideas, remind them about the primary dates and the voter registration requirement. (Varying by state of course)

You'll find all kinds of unexpected people. I handed out a slim-jim (and he took it!), to someone who identified themselves as one of the CA Giuliani Co-Chair people. I was too flabbergasted to do anything other than smaile as it was so unexpected.

Mention that he's running for president. With many city elections just happening, a number of people originally thought he was running for a local position.

Embrace the handout philosophy. Sign waving and posting are great for name recognition, but they don't get his message out all too well. To do that, you need to hand stuff out and talk to people. The number of positive responses/hr from sign waving is about the same as the number of slim-jims that we hand out per hour. Many of the people honking maye know who he already is, while the slim jims get the message out to those who haven't heard of him.

Thanks for the practical advice.

[maxmerkel]

thread killer club :confused:

not this time ;)

[ASayre]

Nice work. Were you guys handing out slim-jims on State St.?

Yup, on State St. near one of the entrances to Paseo Nuevo

[ctb619]

Yup, on State St. near one of the entrances to Paseo Nuevo

perfect

[DealzOnWheelz]

Great job!

I myself am a sales professional and love handing out slim jims it comes naturally with my professional experience. But your right SMILING is key, the other majorly important part is enthusiasm. If you are just standing there handed them to people its not going to be very effective.

couple tips:

1) say Hello to everyone no matter how mean they look.

2) a good thing that 85% of the time works well with the people that just wanna walk by is say "Bring home our troops" while handing them a slim jim( the key is to hold the slim jim side ways so they cannot read it until it is in their possesion) this way your less likely to be declined

3) for the peope that do just walk by and don't have time to talk you can staple a peice of paper to the slim jim with important upcoming dates(ie voter reg. deadline, next meetup event, next fundraising event, and even possible some website links such as you tube or RonPaul2008.com)

and the #1 tip I can give is DO NOT I repeat DO NOT get in long debates with people who are set in their ways Thank them and move on You can't get them all

remember you must have some failure to make the victory that much sweeter.

[Primbs]

La Cumbra Plaza is near some nice republican areas of Hope Ranch.

The shopping centers in Montecito are good too.

[ASayre]

La Cumbra Plaza is near some nice republican areas of Hope Ranch.

The shopping centers in Montecito are good too.

I've been staying away from private property to hand stuffs out on - I realize there is legal precedence with regards to handing stuff to publicly accessible ares on private property, but for the sake of being non-confrontational... that does bring up another good idea:

Tables at the Farmers Markets - Maybe once the new Small Farms slimjims become available for purchase

[Eric21ND]

great info here!

[wgadget]

If you're slimjimming in a long line of traffic at a traffic light, ALWAYS, ALWAYS fight to get that first car in line to accept the literature. I've found time after time that if the first car takes it, the rest will fall in place as well. And vice versa. This is all-important.

And yes, stand up straight, exhibit ENERGY, and smile!

Look happy, generally speaking. After all, there IS hope for America with Ron Paul!

[freedom_junkie]

Tip # ?

6 of us were handing out flyers at a festival. 1 of us hardly handed out any, me I passed out about 400. Difference is I was excited: "have you heard about Ron Paul?" "Did I give you one of these yet?" "Are you tired of Politics as Usual?" "Do you want to change Politics?", The one that didn't pass many out had a puss on her face stood in one spot and said "Ron Paul?", "Ron Paul?" etc. etc.

Be yourself, don't let the ones who don't take them get ya down! Know that you are not from the campaign and let other people know how you got involved.

A lot of people thought Ron Paul was my dad or something LOL. I say no I'm just really behind this guy, he's honest & wants sincere change, here read about him, I bet you like him too.

[ronpaulhawaii]

The points made here are great. A smile is contagious and enthusiasm is magnetic.

We are giving away gold. Remember that, and keep it simple

Two simple hand made signs I would add to any activity include (along with official RP4Pres/Hope for...)

"Dr Ron Paul cured my Apathy"

"We are not getting paid"

my2¢

m

[sedele]

A bunch of us helped handout about 2000 Rally slim jims on South Street in Philly Friday night and on Saturday morning before the rally.

When handing out slim jims be bold. Don't ask them to take on. Tell them to take one.

Last but not least, whenever you hand someone a slim jim always use the Phrase that Pays:

HELP US BRING THE TROOPS HOME!:)

95% of people will always accept one!

[sandersondavis]

(For the sake of narration, when I say I, that's reffering to the members of the Santa Barbara meetup who was out with me handing stuffs out today)

We handed out about 600 slim-jims today, give or take, and mailed off about two dozen Tax-Free tips fliers with hand written notes to a lot of local restaurants.

<Lots of good stuff snipped>



Bless you! Each slim jim given to a voter is worth $3.00 to the campaign. Thank you for your $1,800.00 contribution.

[Adamsa]

Just say the 9/11 truthers thing is in like any other campaign, we shouldn't have to make excuses for someone else.

[LBT]

Some great advice!

While I am mainly in marketing / advertising (not so much one on one sales), I had a good chat with a friend of mine who is very good at sales today.

The thing that he said made him a very good salesman was advice from a colleague to let the customer lead themselves into the sale.

For example: He would ask the customer if the were looking for a low end or high end video recorder, then if they wanted a slow play or long play recording etc etc. After a few questions he could narrow them down to one or two models and then make the model he prefered to sell appealing to them.

In the same way, to sell Ron Paul, you could try asking the people what they care about in politics and then narrow that down to understand their thoughts on the issue. At that point you can offer them an explanation about Ron Paul's policy that can resonate with them.

Nothing works better that face to face sales. If you get the chance to talk to people the conversion rate can be much higher if you use this technique.

[ASayre]

Some great advice!

While I am mainly in marketing / advertising (not so much one on one sales), I had a good chat with a friend of mine who is very good at sales today.

The thing that he said made him a very good salesman was advice from a colleague to let the customer lead themselves into the sale.

For example: He would ask the customer if the were looking for a low end or high end video recorder, then if they wanted a slow play or long play recording etc etc. After a few questions he could narrow them down to one or two models and then make the model he prefered to sell appealing to them.

In the same way, to sell Ron Paul, you could try asking the people what they care about in politics and then narrow that down to understand their thoughts on the issue. At that point you can offer them an explanation about Ron Paul's policy that can resonate with them.

Nothing works better that face to face sales. If you get the chance to talk to people the conversion rate can be much higher if you use this technique.

Agreed, but that's only if they stop for a moment - when handing stuffs out, he people that take it oft just go on their way and don't want to talk for more than a moment if even that.

Asking them what is important works well though when going door-to-door

[spivey378]

definately agree you need to find out what makes a person tick before you push their buttons


paul has so many different appeals, its hard to tell


why not ASK?

[xRedfoxx]

Great work!! I love to read these stories of folks getting out and preaching Ron Paul, then passing on lessons learned!! Great stuff!!

[ASayre]

What I learned Pt. 2 - after Farmers Market & Tabling on State St.


Have a table. Even if it's a small one and it's on the sidewalk, have it anyways. Put materials there for people to choose and take from, hang signs from, and a place to set things down and rest (bring a chair too.) Provides a place for someone to fill out registration forms.

Be sure to bring promotional materials. Bumper Stickers, Lapel Stickers, Buttons. Don't be afraid to give them out. Casual supporters who haven't bought items from the store still want to show their support. Also, other people walking along seeing the RP buttons will pique their interest. Bring more than you think you'll need.

Have plenty of voter Registration forms. Goto your local county office and get a couple hundred. There will be people who want to switch. Have pens available, and be sure to research your local election laws so that you are informed and you can inform potential RP supporters. Ask people who say they are supporters, to confirm that they're registered in the correct party. (If applicable)

Bring an assortment of slim-jims, and don't be afraid to target people. Have them quickly available on said table. If someone's walking around with apparel that identifies them as a vet, give them a Vet slimjim. If they're a vet, talk about his military donations. If they look like a likely wealthy person, talk about his fiscal conservative issues. Not to generalize too much, but the key is targeting.

Don't hide. Come out from behind the table, don't be afraid to come in front and talk to someone face to face. Also makes it look like there's more people there. People love crowds.

Don't solicit to the local crazy-bum-person who will ramble on about everything for an hour because they found someone to talk to. Not to be rude, but your time can be better spent talking to more people. Having transients around will discourage other people because they don't want to be near them.

Wave signs as well. If you have extra people, target the people on the street with signs. Two birds with one stone.

Ask people if there are any issues that are of particular importance of 'em. Target message. Taxes? Fiscal conservative. Iraq? Duh. Immigration? Seal borders, remove benefits. etc

Be knowledgeable. About Ron Paul and the issues. There are many quixotic questions out there. Know Dr. Paul's bio and general history. Know the issues front and back, especially the ones where people have been force-fed inaccuracies by the media, ie, Abortion, Dept. of Education, Social Security, etc.

Have a copy of the recent straw poll results, or newspaper clips about Dr. Paul. Things to discredit that awful statement that 'he won't win'. Print out the straw poll results from the website.

Don't be afraid to give someone who's slightly interested, or even someone who was willing to converse for a minute, a more expensive handout. Example, the 12 page bio booklet, or a Ron Paul DVD. If they'd take the time to talk with you, they'll likely take the time to look into it further.

Optional: Bring a portable DVD player and have it playing ron paul clips on the table. People like moving things.