For those who haven't done so yet, I strongly recommend that you open up the August 2015 Toastmasters Magazine, flip to pages 12 and 13, and read the article A 'Top Notch' Turnaround. This article summarizes what one club did to grow their membership from 7 to 27 in just the span of a 1.5 to 2 years. The article looks like this:
So how does a club build its membership base? There are two parts to this: getting guests through the door, and getting guests to come back. Getting guests through the door requires a lot of advertising. People can only visit your club if they know it exists. Below are some ideas for helping you to advertise your club.
What ideas can you add to this list? Are there some other creative ways that your club advertises? Please share your ideas and/or questions regarding getting guests through the door in the comment section at the end of this post.
Before we talk about how to convert guests into members, I want to briefly comment on the importance of making your club accessible to guests. Sometimes clubs suffer from low membership and/or low guest turnout because it's hard for guests to get to your club. For example, meeting at a hard-to-reach venue and/or in the middle of a workday often makes it difficult for guests to visit. These are two challenges that a lot of corporate clubs struggle with. This doesn't mean that meeting at your business and having lunch meetings is a bad idea; many clubs do this and are very successful. However, you should be aware that these elements can make it more difficult to get guests through the door. If your club meets at a hard-to-reach venue or at a time when most people are busy, you may want to consider changing the venue/time or making a plan to compensate for these added challenges.
To convert guests into members, you need to show guests the value of Toastmasters. This can be tricky because, just as we have all joined Toastmasters for our own personal reasons, guests find value in different things. Below are some reasons why people join Toastmasters.
What are the strengths of your club? Diversity? Encouragement? Lots of social events? A professional atmosphere? Identify your club's strengths so that you can market them effectively.
Also, listen to your guests. Find out why they came in the first place. Julie B. Cosgrove ACG, ALB, the author of A 'Top Notch' Turnaround, writes, "One of us sat by each guest...and was more interested in listening to their story than in telling ours. In other words, we listened. Until we knew what made them walk through the door, how were we to know what our club could offer them?" (p. 13, Toastmasters Magazine, August 2015).
Another strategy for converting guests into members is to show genuine interest in your guests. Greet your guests warmly, give them a guest packet with a description of your club and the various roles, invite them to second round, and ask them lots of questions. No one enjoys sitting alone and being ignored, and it can be all too easy for guests to be left out when long-term members are busy catching up with each other.
Finally, follow up with your guests by sending an email or making a phone call to thank them for their attendance and invite them to the next meeting. This demonstrates a welcoming nature and can go a long way in coaxing a shy individual to return to what might be a stressful social situation for them.
What does your club do to convert guests into members? Does your club struggle with any particular challenges in getting guests through the door or growing your membership base? Please share your comments, questions, and feedback below so that we can all learn from each other. I look forward to hearing from you!
- Give out club business cards when you meet new people
- Leave Toastmasters magazines (with a club business card stapled to the cover) in waiting rooms (e.g. for the doctor, dentist, bank, etc.)
- Be active on social media that is open to the public (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Meetup, etc.)
- Keep your club profile/group page/web site current and up-to-date (e.g. if you meeting time or venue changes, you should update this information right away)
- Be active in the community (e.g. sign up the club to run a marathon, volunteer to lead a summer course on public speaking at a low-income school for students and/or teachers, etc.)
What ideas can you add to this list? Are there some other creative ways that your club advertises? Please share your ideas and/or questions regarding getting guests through the door in the comment section at the end of this post.
Before we talk about how to convert guests into members, I want to briefly comment on the importance of making your club accessible to guests. Sometimes clubs suffer from low membership and/or low guest turnout because it's hard for guests to get to your club. For example, meeting at a hard-to-reach venue and/or in the middle of a workday often makes it difficult for guests to visit. These are two challenges that a lot of corporate clubs struggle with. This doesn't mean that meeting at your business and having lunch meetings is a bad idea; many clubs do this and are very successful. However, you should be aware that these elements can make it more difficult to get guests through the door. If your club meets at a hard-to-reach venue or at a time when most people are busy, you may want to consider changing the venue/time or making a plan to compensate for these added challenges.
To convert guests into members, you need to show guests the value of Toastmasters. This can be tricky because, just as we have all joined Toastmasters for our own personal reasons, guests find value in different things. Below are some reasons why people join Toastmasters.
- To overcome fear of public speaking
- To improve public speaking
- To practice and grow leadership
- To socialize
- To practice/learn English (or another language)
- To network
- To make friends from all over the world
What are the strengths of your club? Diversity? Encouragement? Lots of social events? A professional atmosphere? Identify your club's strengths so that you can market them effectively.
Also, listen to your guests. Find out why they came in the first place. Julie B. Cosgrove ACG, ALB, the author of A 'Top Notch' Turnaround, writes, "One of us sat by each guest...and was more interested in listening to their story than in telling ours. In other words, we listened. Until we knew what made them walk through the door, how were we to know what our club could offer them?" (p. 13, Toastmasters Magazine, August 2015).
Another strategy for converting guests into members is to show genuine interest in your guests. Greet your guests warmly, give them a guest packet with a description of your club and the various roles, invite them to second round, and ask them lots of questions. No one enjoys sitting alone and being ignored, and it can be all too easy for guests to be left out when long-term members are busy catching up with each other.
Finally, follow up with your guests by sending an email or making a phone call to thank them for their attendance and invite them to the next meeting. This demonstrates a welcoming nature and can go a long way in coaxing a shy individual to return to what might be a stressful social situation for them.
What does your club do to convert guests into members? Does your club struggle with any particular challenges in getting guests through the door or growing your membership base? Please share your comments, questions, and feedback below so that we can all learn from each other. I look forward to hearing from you!