Finding Membership

 

The twenty clubs in Division D added 49 new members July-January.  Six clubs have received a distinguished club program (DCP) point for adding new members—Sunrisers, Speakeasy, Whole Wheat and Crosstown Talkers.   Two clubs have received both DCP points for adding eight new members—Allianz and Pillsbury.  

I asked these clubs for their secrets.  I expected to hear about open houses and Speechcraft, since they have always been the one, two go to approaches.  I was amazed at the breadth of response and the detail of the plans.  

Joanne Boche of Whole Wheat says “follow up” with inquiries and guests.  Eugene Banks points out that Whole Wheat has a good location and start time that is reasonable for working people.  A club has to be convenient for people. Whole Wheat makes strong points.  In my club roles, three new members joined out of the back and forth of emailing visitors and prospective guests.  

Callan Korpi of Allianz sent a detailed plan with various activities for each month of the year.   Here is what Callan says:

“We are a corporate club, which allows us avenues for growth that some clubs may not have access to, and our success this year could not have happened without the success of the year before. The things that have contributed to our success are as follows:

1.       Member Drive

a.       In the beginning of 2022 (before I was elected VPPR) many of our Toastmasters members volunteer to give a Member Drive speech to the many different areas of the company during their team meetings. This was wildly successful. So much so that we did not do one this year for fear of having too many members!

b.       We were faced with the good problem of having to consider adding additional meetings, lengthening meetings, or potentially splitting into two clubs.

c.       This year we decided to go without due to the success of the following.

 

2.       Our Company Home Page – Blue Pages

a.       We are fortunate enough to have the support of one of the members of our Employee Leadership Group. She got us connected with our corporate communication contact who created [a detailed] Promotional Plan.

b.       We’ve had two articles already come out this year, and were even gifted the skills of an employee who writes for the Blue Pages.

        i.      The first was a feature on two of our members, myself being on the newer side, and one of our experienced and decorated members. Our emphasis on the fun to be had and the leadership and presentation skills to be gained were a big draw for people.

        ii.      The second just issued yesterday, so we have yet to see the full effect, but it is certainly coming at the right time as everyone company-wide is setting their goals for the year.

Another avenue we are going to explore after the Spring Speech Contest is having a Bring-a-Guest Contest with a small award such as a gift card for coffee for the person that brings the most guests over a certain time frame.

We’ve come a long way in the almost two years since I’ve joined, and I am willing to bet that come June 30th we will not only have reached Distinguished, but Select Distinguished as well."

Achieving membership goals (twenty or plus-three compared to base) often is the most challenging aspect of becoming a distinguished club.  Congratulations to these clubs for their DCP progress.  Is membership a challenge for your club?  If so, consider modeling your approach based on the success of Whole Wheat, Allianz and the other clubs demonstrating success.  I learned from asking that success comes to those who have a strategy and put in the effort.

David Rasmussen

Division D Director

https://ddd2023.blogspot.com/