Training a new knocker
Teach structure rather than scripts, get them to doors early with someone alongside, and give feedback the same day. The most useful early lesson is the difference between a not-home and a refusal, because a rep who conflates them will rewrite a working pitch and conclude they are bad at the job.
Structure, not lines
A memorised script is audible and it breaks the moment a homeowner improvises. Teaching who you are, why this street, and one easy question gives a new rep something that survives contact.
Teach the two-number diagnosis first
Contact rate and close rate. A rep who can tell a timing problem from a pitch problem in week two will fix the right thing, and a rep who cannot will spend the season fixing the wrong one.
Same-day feedback
Feedback a week later is about a conversation nobody remembers accurately. Short, specific and same-day beats a thorough weekly review, which is mostly a review of reconstructions.
Common questions
- Should I give new reps a script?
- Give them a structure. Scripts are audible and they collapse the moment the conversation goes off-plan.
- What should I teach first?
- That a not-home is not a rejection. Reps who miss this rewrite a working pitch and blame themselves.
- How often should I give feedback?
- Daily and briefly while the conversations are still accurate in memory.
More on building a team
The manager side: recruiting, onboarding, retention and the cost of losing a rep. Where the paid tier eventually lives.