Canvassing glossary

Plain-language definitions for door-to-door and canvassing vocabulary. Use these pages to align teams on turf, outcomes, and field workflows.

• Canvassing

  Canvassing is organised face-to-face outreach, usually along assigned streets or addresses, where teams record who was contacted and what happened at each stop.

• Canvassing software

  Canvassing software is a tool that helps door-to-door and field sales teams plan territories, record a result at every address they visit, and see what's actually been covered, instead of relying on paper knock sheets or a shared spreadsheet.

• Turf cutting

  Turf cutting is the process of splitting a wider area, such as wards, postcodes, or corridors, into smaller walkable patches assigned to individuals or teams.

• Knock disposition

  A knock disposition (or door outcome) is the standardised label for the result of a visit: whether anyone answered, showed interest, asked not to return, and similar states.

• Knocksheet

  A knocksheet is the working list of addresses a canvasser or field rep works through on a shift, with a result recorded against each one as they go.

• Double-knocking

  Double-knocking is when two different reps or canvassers visit the same address, usually because the territory wasn't clearly assigned to just one of them.