Rotary Express – Marie's Blog

This is the second installment in a multi-part series devoted to an easily implemented membership development plan.  The first post is here.  Following this step-wise process virtually assures successful club growth.

Step 3

Generate leads. Hold a club assembly.  Ask each member to bring their smart phone and stack of business cards they have collected from contacts.

• Allocate 20-30 minutes to collect names, email addresses and cell phone numbers of potential Rotarians.
• Each member should be encouraged to identify at 10-20 leads (minimum of 5). Consider distributing Chamber of Commerce directories or classification sheets to help jog memories.  (Find examples of classification lists through a web search.)
• Ask members to circle their ‘top 5 leads’.
• Have members take a picture of their lead sheet for their records and then turn in their leads to the Club President or Lead Generation Chair.
• Having a large potential member/lead database is KEY to success. Impress upon members the importance of this activity and that everyone is expected to contribute at least 5 names.

Add Potential Members to the District and Club Database (DACdb). Identify a member to serve as Lead Generation Chair.  Give them Security Level 4 privileges in DACdb so that they can enter leads into the database.  Using the lead generation sheets from the club assembly, add all leads, including at least:  name, email address, cell phone number and sponsor into DACdb, with a Member Type of ‘Potential Member’ (make sure they are not entered as Active members, which is the default, or club membership statistics will be corrupted).

• The Lead Generation Chair informs members/sponsors of any duplicate leads and the members decide who will serve as the sponsor for the potential member.

The Lead Generation Chair should maintain a Potential Member Database of at least 3 times the current club membership. Lead generation activities may be conducted as needed (2-4 times/year) to maintain the database at that level.

Step 4

Create a simple club description. While a formal vision statement and strategic plan are worthwhile goals, if your club doesn’t have these documents, start with a simple club description.  Example:

The Rotary Club of My Town makes a difference in our community through service projects focused on youth leadership development and improving literacy.  Our members are encouraged to use Rotary to develop professional skills and expand friendships and professional networks. 

• Distribute your club description to all members and include it on your website and social media sites.
• Perhaps create:
  • A club business card including current logo, meeting day, time, location, email, website, club description and ‘invited by_______________’
  • Club brochure with club description

Begin marketing to potential members. Email (Pmail through DACdb) the club bulletin 1-2 times a month to potential members, highlighting the special member events scheduled for the next 4-6 weeks.

• Expand your reach through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor.

If you have followed the Membership Jumpstart template this far, you have defined your club membership goals; received buy-in from the Board of Directors and club membership to actively pursue membership expansion; scheduled membership activities for the next several months; collected a large number of leads, and have begun to publicize membership events and contacted potential members.  You are on the way to successfully growing membership!

Next time I’ll review how to conduct an effective membership event.