By Carol Kasparek
Phone-banking works. It’s that simple. You can do it from the convenience of your home (because these days most phonebanks are on Zoom) — using software that makes sure you don’t waste time with unanswered calls. And it gets results. It gets supporters to the polls on Election Day. What more could you ask?
Unfortunately, for many people, phone-banking is also akin their least favorite healthy vegetable. They know it’s good to do…but they don’t enjoy doing it. They worry about not knowing how to answer questions or that people on the other end of the line will be annoyed. And on and on. And so, when asked to phone-bank, even our most dedicated supporters too often respond “No way. Not me.”
How do we overcome this resistance? How do we get progressives to eat that vegetable — and maybe even come to like it?
That, in a nutshell, was the focus of Rise Up to Phone Banking — a two hour workshop held by IEB’s phone-banking team on May 4 (at the lovely home of Joan Cardellino). Its goal was to give people the confidence to grab a phone (and a computer), make calls in order to persuade conflicted voters to vote for Democrats, and to mobilize the demoralized people who don’t think voting is worth it. And, in the end, to find it so rewarding that they sign up to do it again.
How does one accomplish such magic? By having IEB Call Crew members Nancy Latham, Carol Kasparek, and Marsha Gelt kick into high gear. At the workshop, they provided the inside scoop on the effectiveness of phone banking, tactics to handle a variety of exchanges (such as how to “hook” a voter) and the ability to practice making calls. Nancy presented compelling data that showed how phone calls can boost support. In tight races, where margins are 3% or less, contacting voters on curated phone lists can be the difference that swings victory to our side. “We have the data,” Nancy affirmed.
Phone-banking can also provide positive connections and inspiration for the people being called. You may think you’re just “preaching to the choir” — but sometimes the choir needs to be reminded that they are not alone — that there are many others out there that think the same way they do. Phone-banking offers this opportunity.
Directly addressing the reasons folks shy away from phone-banking, Carol guided participants into sharing their concerns and followed up with advice and practical options for responding to uncomfortable situations. Carol walked attendees through the step-by-step of phone-banking — assuring attendees that they would receive an orientation before each session and ongoing support as they are making calls.
Marsha led the group through practice exercises and provided tools to use when making calls. One particularly helpful tool, called “Rolling with Resistance,” involves listening, persisting without debating, and hanging in there to the point where the voter engages and commits to taking action.
As a parting gift, each participant received a packet of handouts that covered the material from the workshop — including links to the topics mentioned in the training.
In case you were wondering, the workshop was a big success. Even though about a third of the attendees had never participated in a phone bank before, signup sheets passed around at the end of the training quickly filled up. Here’s what three of the participants had to say:
“You guys did an amazing job to make all of us feel comfortable enough to plan phone banking and enjoy learning at the same time?!!”
“I wish I’d been to the workshop before I’d phone-banked for the first time! The workshop gave me a lot more confidence by giving me concrete tools ….”
“I loved the workshop – I thought it was really well organized. Your points were hard-hitting and the exercises were very helpful. And it was fun which is so important! So kudos to the team for a great training! It really inspired me to want to do phone banking so thank you!”
Visiting the workshop, Denessa Atiles (Indivisible Organizing Manager for California Central Valley & Northern) was especially impressed with the energetic exchanges among the participants.
Has this convinced you to give phone-banking a try? Great! Just click here to get started. If you’d rather attend a workshop like this before making your decision, that’s fine too. We’ve already scheduled an encore. Click here to sign up.
