Meeting Chair: Gerd Wengler
Marbelous Draw Peter
Won By Dahni. $5.00 only I'm afraid.
Sgt at Arm Gordon Brown
All members contributed to the Happy Bucks about their summer vacation.
Our own Barry Smith presented on Membership
August is Rotary Membership Month, but that's not the only, and not even the major, reason that I'm talking to you today. The reason is that we have a major membership crisis that needs to be addressed!
Our Perspective Goin Forward
- Membership Growth is Vital - Our club was over 50 members when I joined and is now at 26 members. Through attrition alone, our club will in time disappear, ifno new members are added to the mix soon.
- We are already seeing the extra challenges of a small club. Most meeting locations are now
insisting on a minimum of 15 people per meeting, and it looks like we will soon have to cover this minimum. The average number who attend on any one week is about 50% of the total membership. That's only 13. We need to bring more people through the door. Since the club will pay for at least the first lunch for prospective members, let's bring in at least 5 prospective members to each meeting. That way, we are getting a benefit from having to cover our minimum.
Membership Committee Requires Assistance of All Members
- So, are you looking at the Membership Committee right now?
- No. Visualize a mirror across this wall behind me. Who you would see in that mirror is our Membership Committee. Each and every club member is needed on this committee. Don't worry. There will only be one committee meeting... this one!
- Rotary, and our club in particular, is a wonderful group of very positive people who make a real difference in our world. We all know people who would love to get involved with such an organization. Why are we denying them the opportunity? We have to spread the word, because our future members are out there, and I hope to provide you with a way of reaching them through today's presentation, but we need the participation of all members.
Prospect List
Hand out paper and pens. Please divide the page into 2 columns. Write down the numbers 1-5 on the first 5 lines of the page. Then, add the title "Members"to the first column. Now, take a minute to fill in 5 potential members in the first column... ((pause to do)). (Check to see how many have 5, how many have none in either, etc.) Now, add the title "Contacts'' to the second column. You would list here those people who may know potential members.
Keep your paper and pen handy, because, hopefully, during my talk, names will come to you, and you are not limited to 5 names per column. Please write down every name that comes into your head over the next 15 minutes in one column or the other.
What is Our Membership Plan?
Any marketing person worth their salt will tell you that sales/promotion/membership is a numbers game. In sales, if you approach O prospects, how many sales are you going to make? 0 If you approach 10 people, how many potential sales will you have? 10
On average most people know at least 100 people, but each of those people also know 100 people. So, we all have quite a pool of people to draw upon. In fact, ifwe use the method that I
am proposing, we can introduce Rotary to people we do not even know through people who they know. That's where the 'Contacts' come in. You may live in Aurora and all your contacts maybe there, but who do they know in Scarborough who may be interested in Rotary?
In the 90's, we had a member for a brief time... let's call him Mario. Mario's greatest contribution to Rotary in my opinion was the introduction to Rotary of his brother, Rocco. Rocco Colangelo has now been a very active member of our club for almost 20 years, but we had to find Mario in order to find Rocco. Contacts can be just as important as potential members when we're looking at growing our membership.
Now, does anyone need help coming up with more names? Let's do some brainstorming!
- Qualifying members are business or professional people, who would include managers of businesses, banks, etc. We are no longer limited to one person from each profession, so feel free to approach lawyers, for example, even though we already have a lawyer in the club. So everyone must know a lawyer, doctor, dentist, bank manager, accountant, etc. or know someone who is a professional, or owns or manages a business. If you know a lawyer in Aurora, see ifhe or she has a colleague in Scarborough who would be a good fit for Rotary.
Let me tell you about my morning... I had to take my cat to the vet this morning. I approached him about Rotary and he's considering it. He'll do his research on the Internet like everyone does, and I'll follow-up with him when we have an interesting speaker and invite him out. Then, I needed some medicine for this throat of mine. So, when I was at the pharmacy, I asked the pharmacist if she would be interested in taking a look at Rotary. Her friend and Rotaractor had already approached her, but she doesn't even get a lunch break. Well, if you do not ask, you do not find out. It certainly didn't hurt to ask. So, when you come in contact with qualified prospective members in your usual daily schedule, remember to mention Rotary.
Neighbours are another source of members: (Dave Hardy is in our Club because his neighbour, Fran Smith, introduced him to Rotary)
Okay, most members are now located outside of Scarborough, but those who still live in Scarborough or in neighbouring Markham, Pickering, etc. can consider your neighbours. What about former neighbours who still live or work in or close to Scarborough?
Also, your out-of-town neighbours and friends can be Contacts, because they may know qualifying prospects in Scarborough.
Other prospects or contacts in Scarborough? One good source of potential members are your TV Auction contacts, since they already know a little about Rotary and the work that we do. Plus, over the next few weeks, you'll be in contact with them anyway. Why not invite them out to a meeting.
Friends - who are your friends? Do any qualify? That's why Past President Mike Mushet is in our club. I figured that he'd be a good fit for Rotary, so I invited him out to a meeting.
Out-of-town friends - Do they have adult children who live or work in Scarborough and are qualified membership material? People love to talk about their children, i.e. My son the lawyer.
Relatives? Who are you hiding in your family. We had a member named Bill who did not stay in the club long, but he introduced his nephew to the club, Kevin Manuel! The rest is history.
We come in contact with people all of the time. Who owns the business where you get your hair cut? who cleans your teeth? Who looks after your pets? Who manages the dealership where you bought your car or where you have it serviced? Who runs the company who replaced your roof? Look at how many great members we've had just from the heating and air-conditioning industry alone? People are out there, and we come in contact with them each and every day. It only takes a moment to let them know what a great organization Rotary is and that you think that they would be an excellent addition to our club.
The Updated List
So, I hope you've been jotting down names. How many now have 5 names on your list?
The Approach and Invitation:
Keep it simple and low key. Do not sound desperate. After all, you are offering them a fantastic opportunity to be part of this wonderful, fun-loving group! So, you can simply say:
--Our Rotary Club is looking for a few more qualified members, and I think you would be a really good fit. Can you come.out for lunch on Thursday?
- Try to select a non-business meeting to invite them to with an interesting guest speaker. A meeting such as this one may put too much pressure on a prospective member.
Prospecting Contacts:
--Our Rotary Club in Scarborough is looking for a few more qualified members. Do you know any colleagues in the Scarborough area who may be interested in setting aside some time to give back to their community and have fun doing it?
The Follow-Up
- Remember to follow up after introducing the prospective member to the club. If you can't personally follow up, and lead them to the next step, contact me and I will follow up or have another club member follow up to answer the prospective member's questions and provide a membership application.
In Summary, each and..every one of you now has a prospect and contact list, or know how to create one. So, over the next few weeks, invite everyone from your list to a meeting. Let's get as many people as possible through that door and enlighten them as to all of the fun and fellowship they are missing, and all the good that they can be doing for our community! Let's grow our club and guaranty its future.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4kz67ygyjf677sb/B.%20Smith%20membership.MP3?dl=0
Aug 23 in History
- 1305 William Wallace, Scottish patriot, is executed for high treason by Edward I of England.
- 1914 -24] German troops plunder Belgium
