How to Approach, What to Say

9. How to Approach:

* Pray hard to your Guru Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada, the Parampara and the Panca Tattva. Beg for their mercy on the souls you're about to approach, beg for mercy for yourself to stay in the right consciousness of being a humble instrument in Their hands.
* It's best to approach a house in a group of ideally two or maximum, three. More than that is crowd and may be intimidating to the person.
* Approach the door and ring the door-bell if there is one. If there is not one, then firmly knock on the door two or three times. Then wait for a minute. While you wait, stand right in front of the peep-hole with your partner so the person inside can see you clearly. Smile while you wait. If there is no response, then knock firmly again after waiting for a minute. Sometimes, if there is TV playing loud, you may have to knock hard.

10. What to Say:

What to say when they don't open the door:

Sometimes, people will yell from inside, "Who is it?" This is a very common response you'll get to your knocking. Your answer should be something short and generic:

"We're monks giving out books on yoga and meditation in the neighborhood."

OR

"We're monks increasing awareness about the benefits of yoga and passing out some books."
OR

Come up with something short and sweet, honest & direct, something they can relate to in a second.

Many times they will shout back, "No thank you," from inside. Just thank them and move on. This is the worst response you'll get from people.

What to say when they open their door:

Basic Principles:

* Explain what benefit (something they can relate to, e.g. reduction in stress, anxiety; happiness, peace) they will get from the books.
* Complement: Pass some complements about them – their appearance, their hair, their clothes, their house décor, their child. Every one likes to hear a complement. It opens their heart and starts you with an upper (giving) hand.
* Don't preach to them. Just keep the conversation very light and focused on them (what they do, their job, their lives).
* Use Examples: Use simple examples that they can relate to: "Modern life streeses taking care of the cage but neglects the bird inside; these books show how to feed the bird, our spirit"; or "In material consciousness we are like fish out of water: nothing brings true enjoyment in the material realm".
* Smile: Have a big smile and positive body language.
* Thank: Always thank them by looking them in the eye no matter whether they take a book or not.
* Don't be under the pressure to sell them a book (or many books to get a big score) in your mind. This will distort your body language. Be detached and relaxed. This greatly helps.
* Don't be in a fruitive mood. Preach and Laxmi will come (look below on how much to ask for a book); don't haggle if they give less than you'd like. Be satisfied with what they give. Someone else inevitably gives more than you ask for and that makes up for any underpayments. Keep your goal firmly in front of you: "Leave them with a good impression."

Say with a big smile and positive body language:

"Hi! We're Yoga monks giving out books to increase awareness about yoga and mediation. These books talk about how to get rid of stress and anxiety. You have heard about stress, haven't you?

Their reply: (usually with a smile) "ya!" or "never heard of it"

You say:

"You don't look stressed out. You look peaceful and happy! What work do you do?"

Their Reply: "I'm a housewife, a teacher, a student, a construction worker etc."

You say something nice complementing their profession:
To a professional, student: "You look very intelligent. "
To a housewife: "You look very caring and organized."

Then switch back to telling them how the book will help them:
"These books are about how to become free from stress and anxiety and how to take care of our soul. Just like when someone has a bird in a cage and they polish the cage but forget the bird, then soon they have a distressed bird and a polished cage. These books show how to take care of the bird, the soul, as well the cage — both will benefit."

How to ask for money; and how much to ask:

"We distribute these books as gifts and accept ANY donation people give us to help with our work or printing and distribution. "

[Alternative: "We print these books ourselves and distribute them widely. It all goes on by donations."

Sometimes people don't know how much to give. To help them you can add (for a big book like BG, or hardbound): "Most people give 10 to 20. But just give the most you can."

They may say, "I don't have any money." [Many times what they mean is "I don't know how much to give."]

Your reply, "No problem. Just give what you can. We also accept checks or credit cards." (To set up credit card acceptance see FAQ's.)

If they still insist they don't have any money, you can say, "Just give a penny or a dime; it's really only the thought that counts."

Usually, after hearing this they will go inside and get some change. That's enough to cover a small book. If you sense that they are not attached to the book and don't are just giving a donation, you can ask: "Would you like to keep the hardback book or would you rather have a smaller one?"

Our experience is that most people give more than the cost of the book.