• To find new committed donors/members for our wildlife/woodland conservation charity clients, using the Soft Approach method
  

March-October

• Weekday evenings between 5pm – 9pm
• Weekend afternoons between 2pm - 6pm

Typically, once up and running, you should be aiming to work around 16-20 hours a week/made up of 4-5 four hour sessions - any combination including a minimum of 2 weekdays and weekends is acceptable - e.g. 3 weekday evenings + Saturday/Sunday afternoon OR 4 weekday evenings only - these are the 2 most popular combinations. The best results will come from choosing a weekly routine and then rarely departing from it.

We will give you an exclusive area in which to work

• Urban, suburban and semi-rural/rural residential areas featuring households largely in social/economic classifications A and B (C1) - middle-high income "white collar" professionals
  
• Find out if your immediate area is suitable by typing in your postcode to: http://www.checkmyfile.com/neighbourhood.asp
• At first, you usually work near where you live and extend outwards.
• Although most of the actual work is done on foot, you’ll find that having your own transport – car (essential in winter) or bicycle in the city, will massively increase your productivity. Why? See FAQs

Typically, for the first 2 hours of each “session”, you:

• Walk around the selected area, visiting 50 – 100 houses (the more the better!), speaking briefly and respectfully to residents on their doorsteps.
• Ask a simple YES/NO question to identify those with a general interest in wildlife protection, and then leaving a reusable booklet about the charity with those who express an interest in considering supporting the charity.
  
• Make an informal arrangement to collect the booklet another time, usually the following day.

It's important to resist the temptation to engage residents in a conversation at this stage. The booklet will "do the talking" for you. You need to use your time to get around as many houses as possible in the time available.

After 2 hours hours spent on 1st Call, you spend up to another 2 hours

• Retracing your steps from the previous day's 1st Calls and trying the "no reply" houses again in order to leave more booklets with interested parties, whilst:
  
• Returning to collect booklets that you left during the previous 1st Call sessions.
• Finding out whether residents are interested in becoming members/supporters of the charity.
• Filling in a Direct Debit form for those who wish to contribute.

In all cases, you ensure that your attitude is friendly and informal, and that you are NOT selling, or persuading residents to “do something”. You’ll find that the vast majority of the people you meet on the doorstep will be polite and friendly. Some will even thank you for calling on them in such a pleasant manner. This side of the job is rewarding in itself, even if people have decided not to support the charity!