This is the third blog post in a membership development series, providing a foolproof template to membership growth. Links to the first two parts of the series Part 1—Why Membership? and Part 2—Lead Generation and Publicity.
A truly successful membership plan involves every club member in the process. Ideally each current member sponsors a new member, but that may not be realistic. Even members that ‘hate sales’ can have an active role in the process as there are more than a dozen components to member event management. This step in the Membership Jumpstart template will identify key roles and responsibilities for successful member growth initiatives.
Step 5
- Assign responsibilities. While it is expected that each Rotarian will provide 5-20 leads, and it is reasonable that every member reaches out to their list of potential Rotarians, likely, some members will not feel comfortable with the ‘ask’ and won’t call their leads. Since the club has the contact information for all potential members, those that are more comfortable with sales can be assigned to other member’s leads.
Best practice: team up ‘sales experts’ with those that need coaching, so that more members learn to become comfortable contacting leads.
- All members should actively participate in the Membership Jumpstart, even if they decline to contact their leads. Members can assist in the following roles:
| Role | Description of Membership Responsibilities |
| Club President | Explains the importance of the Membership Jumpstart initiative and helps to maintain the project’s momentum.
Works with the Membership Chair to assign members to the various roles. Personally, asks the Sales Super Stars to recruit at least 2 members during the year. |
| Membership Chair | Works with the Club President to assign members to the various roles.
Coordinates scheduling of membership events with the Club President and Program Team. Identifies the Sales Super Stars. Develops or purchases new member materials. Coordinates the new member orientation process. Encourages all members to actively participate in the Membership Jumpstart initiative. |
| Lead Generation Chair | Responsible for adding potential member contact information into District and Club Database (DACdb) and maintaining the database at about 3 times the current club membership.
Assigns leads to members for follow-up, as needed. Over time, potential members are converted to Active members upon installation or terminated from DACdb if they request to be ‘unsubscribed’ or indicate that they are not interested in joining Rotary. |
| Newsletter Editor
|
Sends newsletter 1-2 times/month to potential members in the database. |
| Public Image Team | Publicize all membership events 4-6 weeks prior to the event on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor), newsletter, radio, newspaper, etc. |
| Calendar Editor | Enters club meeting information onto the calendar in DACdb.
Best practice: Enable the DACdb registration function for membership events and monitor which members are bringing a guest. Encourage ALL members to bring someone to the membership events. If a member declines to bring a guest, identify the reasons and provide coaching as needed. |
| Program Team | Books high-quality speakers, manages A/V equipment and coordinates with the Calendar Editor. |
| Sales Super Stars | The membership chair identifies the members who have sponsored the most people in the last few years. The Club President personally contacts these individuals and asks if they would be willing to recruit at least 2 people during the year.
Ideally, the club will have at least 3 ‘super stars’. |
| Project Lead | Individual assigned to each specific membership event to coordinate all aspects of the event. |
| Venue Set-Up Team | Assures the venue is ready for the special event—clean, sparkling and welcoming! |
| Food & Beverage | Organizes food service and table decorations. |
| Registration Team | Provides name tags, obtains contact information and welcomes the guests. Has club information—brochure, business card, basic Rotary information available for potential members. |
| Welcome Team | In addition to the potential member’s sponsor, the welcome team members will welcome guests to the membership event, introduce guests to members and follow up by phone and email after the membership event to assess their interest in Rotary. |
| New Member Mentors | In addition to the new member’s sponsor, the mentors will actively participate in the on-boarding process. |
| Club Secretary | Upon acceptance for membership, terminates Potential Member and converts them to Active Members in DACdb. Assures contact information, birth date, sponsor’s name and picture are included in the database.
Maintains all members’ information, including picture in DACdb. |
| Others | The entire club should be welcoming and open to new members. Members are encouraged to move from their usual seating arrangement to meet the guests, and to even get to know other club members better. |
It will take some time to implement this step in the process, but it is vital to spread the workload, involve all members and create enthusiasm! As said by Dr. Seuss, “Oh the Places You’ll Go!”
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