Random Tips for Vice Presidents of Membership

1. What does the VP Membership need to track?

The VPM needs to track AND FOLLOW UP with guests, new members, and members not attending.
Guests–make sure they are warmly welcomed to return and get feedback from them.
New members–are they having a good experience? Are they getting mentored and feel included in the club?
Members not attending–what could the club do differently to help them return?
In all cases, a little personal attention can make a big difference in results…
…and the officers need the numbers. How many guests visit? What portion of those guests become members? What amount of the members are active? What is the average length of time members stay in the club? These numbers can tell a story of how the club is doing and where weak links are.

2. When should the VP Membership run membership campaigns?

Several times during the year–EVERY year.
Some clubs are cyclical, with membership going up and down. It’s easy to think that membership campaigns are only a priority when membership is low, but they’re actually very important when membership is doing WELL. It’s a lot easier to get people to join a club with 15-20 people in a meeting than when only 5 people are in a meeting; once your membership is low, it’s very very hard to get back up, so it’s important to keep actively recruiting even when you feel there are enough members.
Also note that running a membership campaign counts for CL project 8, which requires members to be either a membership campaign chair or contest chair. Have multiple campaigns throughout the year, each with a different chair. Saves your energy, helps them finish their CLs, and helps the club get DCP points.

3. What is the one key to success at a VP Membership?

YOU are the face of the club. In many clubs, the VP Membership is the contact person when people call or email to ask about the club. You should be one of the people that speaks to them and makes them feel welcome at the club meeting. You are entrusted with making sure their experience makes them want to visit, to come back, to join, and to keep attending and participating. Enthusiasm and a personable nature are vital. Remember: YOU may be the one factor that decides whether or not they become a part of your club.

4. What is the biggest risk VP Memberships should be aware of?

If you are a community club, make very, very sure you are voting members in! It may not be strictly true that “you can only vote them out if you voted them in,” but it is much easier. It’s easy to say “well, we don’t want to make people feel that we distrust them, we’ve been doing this for years and never had a problem.” Sooner or later you’ll meet that one-in-a-hundred Toastmaster that will make themselves unwelcome and cause other people to lose the club. When it comes down to the choice between getting rid of one member or having multiple members leave the club and other members not want to join because of that one person… well, do what is best for the club.
Corporate clubs tend not to have this problem as much because you can always just talk to the manager of a troublemaker, but it doesn’t hurt to follow the process there either.
If you do have to get rid of a member, first have the officers talk to that person. It’s much better for everyone, especially that person, if they quietly walk away then if there’s the club-shaking drama of formally voting someone out of the club.

5. What is the most common failing of VP Memberships?

Not submitting membership apps on time and not following up on them!
In some clubs, the VP Membership takes care of everything regarding new membership apps. In others, the Secretary or Treasurer plays a role. But it is very, very important to make sure the app is taken care of promptly. I’ve been in clubs where new members complained that, after being a member for over a month, they still hadn’t received their manuals… and it would turn out their application had not been submitted or had not been paid! It only takes a minute; make a special effort to be professional and file them fast.

6. What is the difference between new, reinstated, transfer and dual members?

Many VPs of Membership only ever deal with new members; pro-rate the international dues, charge local dues and add the $20 fee for the new member kit.
The others do not get new member kits. If they’ve lost their manuals, they can certainly get a new member kit, but it would be more cost-effective for them to purchase the missing manuals online. (Tip: the new member kit now ONLY includes a CC and CL manual).
It’s helpful to have the member numbers for the other three types (remind them that their member number is what they used to login to toastmasters.org with and is on every Toastmasters magazine they’ve received), but Toastmasters International generally can look up the number when you submit the app… as long as they know what type of member that person is.
A reinstated member ended their Toastmasters membership; they didn’t renew, they became “graced” and then disappeared from the member rolls completely. They can pick up where they left off, retaining their old educational levels. If they are from a different club, you treat them as reinstated as soon as they’ve missed the dues deadline in their club. If they are from your club and are a few months past dues collection, you can either renew them normally (paying six months dues) or treat them as reinstated (paying a pro-rated amount from that month forward).
A transfer member is someone who is currently an active (paid) a member at another club and wants to move his or her membership to a different club. Make sure they no longer want to be a part of their old club.
Dual members belong to one (or more) other club, and want to join your club as well. DUAL MEMBERS PAY FEES FOR EACH CLUB. This is a common question: yes, you have to pay dues for every club you belong to, unfortunately.
Make sure to ask people, when they join, if they have any Toastmasters experience. If so, find out whether they want to transfer from their club, if they used to be a Toastmaster, or want to be an active member in multiple clubs. If you don’t do this, then the Toastmaster could end up with multiple member numbers and may have trouble being credited properly for their educational achievements.
Note: you cannot transfer members online and would then have to mail or fax the application. You can process dual, reinstated or new members online (as of February this year–beforehand, only new members could be processed online). For dual and reinstated members you need to look them up by last name and member number. If you don’t have the member number, call TI and have them look it up. Remember: if they have not paid for the current dues period in their old club, you treat them as a reinstated member and can file them online. If they are paid up with their old club, then you need to mail or fax their application as a transfer member.
Fun fact: clubs trying to be chartered need 20 members, but at least 17 must be new, transfer or reinstated members. You can have any number of dual members you want, but only three will count for the 20 you need to charter. However, if those dual members choose to leave their old club (transfer) then they will count for the 17 you need.

7. How does the VP Membership interact with other officers?

The VP Membership may, depending on the club, work with the Secretary or Treasurer on filing membership applications.
In some clubs, the Secretary is charged with keeping some records for the VPM, such as who is attending meetings.
If the VPM sees that the club meetings could be doing more to attract and retain members, the VPM may want to work with the VPE to discover what the members need and provide it to them.
The VPM may want to follow up with new members and ensure that the mentoring program is working well for them. Essentially, the VPM hands new members to the VPE for assigning a mentor to guide them as a new member, so it can behoove the VPM to ensure new members are having a good experience upon joining the club.
The VPM may work with the VPPR on the website and newsletter; for that matter, there may be a lot of crossover between membership and public relations campaign.
The VPM should be involved in any special event of the club. A club contest isn’t just a contest, for example; it’s a special event that can potentially draw in guests that may become members.
Are all the officers taking pains to make guests feel welcome? The VPM may want to work with them on that.

8. How does membership relate to the DCP?

The VP Membership has an extremely important role with the DCP.
First off, unless the club has 20 members (or a net growth of 5) they could have 10 DCP points and still not count as Distinguished. You need those members!
Secondly, two of the DCP points relate to getting members; once you get four members, you get a DCP point; when you get another four members, you get another DCP point.
New, reinstated and dual members coun for the DCP point. Transfer members do NOT count, because they may count for DCP credit of their old club.
New club tip: starting a club and have 24 members want to join, instead of the base 20 you need to charter? If you charter with 20 and then, immediately after chartering, add the other 4, then that’s one of your DCP points achieved. If you charter with 24, then your base membership for the year is 24 and you have to add four MORE members to get that membership DCP point.
reinstated, dual, new count for DCP, not transfer

9. What is the new member process?

A good VP Membership should not simply let things “happen.” Instead, there should be a quality process to convert strangers to guests to members to long-term, active members. A sample process may look like this:
a. When someone asks about the club, briefly explain the benefit of Toastmasters, what makes that specific club different, and ask about the individual’s goals–what they’re looking for and what they want to get out of Toastmasters.
b. Invite the person to a meeting, asking which week they can make it and striving to be sure to attend that meeting
c. Talking with the guest before the meeting, seeing if they have any questions and encouraging them in advance to volunteer for table topics.
d. After the meeting, seeing if the guest has any questions, providing them with an application and a copy of the Toastmasters magazine.
e. Two days after the meeting, following up with a phone call or personal note (NOT a form letter) to see what they thought of the meeting and asking if they can return and take some specific, small role in the next meeting.
f. Two weeks after the member joins, follow up and ask them what they think of the club and how their mentoring process is going.
g. …
This is not THE process. This is A process. The point is that there are details, not that these are necessarily the best details. A good VP Membership has a set process to follow, one that works best for their club, one where they have the steps written down and have reminders in place so they remember to provide individual attention to everyone. This process may be short, or it may be long, including steps to follow up with members when they do not show up to meetings or to encourage them to step up to officer positions.
What could you be doing for your members? And how can you make sure you do that for every guest and new member, not just when you remember?

10. Why do people stop attending Toastmasters?

There are many good reasons why people are no longer able to attend: lack of time, lack of money, getting a job in another city, and so on. However, most of the time people simply feel that Toastmasters is less of a priority than other matters in their life; that it is less valuable, and/or less enjoyable.
Perhaps an evaluator was not simply straightforward, but actually harsh.
Or maybe they feel they are not growing–they are not getting good material to learn from and improve as a speaker in evaluations.
Maybe they do not feel a personal connection in meetings… they may feel unwanted, or that their presence doesn’t matter. The difference between Toastmasters and most other business organizations is that in Toastmasters people INTERACT and build connections that they do not when simply attending an event with other people in a different group. They need to feel that people care about them and that they matter in the club.
Maybe the meetings are not reliable enough. Maybe they are not fun enough; a bored Toastmaster may not be a Toastmaster for long.
Track your numbers. Are fewer guests becoming members than you expected? Are more Toastmasters attending less regularly? Talk to people and find out why so you can work with the other officers to improve the club.

11. What goals should I set as a VP Membership?

Goals are vital to set. Any manager knows that you get what you track. Not having and tracking goals is simply leaving things to chance instead of trying to actually make a difference as a VP Membership.
The officer manual for the VP Membership role suggests 1 new member a month. Some Toastmasters suggest 3/4 of a member or 1/2 of a member each month, but those goals require power saws and achieving them can be messy.
One goal isn’t enough. Have several goals; some may be more specific than others. Some may be goals to discuss in officer meetings, some may be just for yourself. Here are example goals you might set for yourself as a VP Membership:
A membership campaign every quarter.
5 guests at fall and spring club contests.
1 new member each month.
Get 50% of guests to join after their first meeting.
Have four guests attend each month.
Have the average member last 24 months in the club.
Get six new members under 40.
Personally follow up with each first-time guest within 48 hours to get their thoughts on the meeting and invite them back.
These are not necessarily the best goals for you; they are just examples. Your own goals may be different… but in many cases, unless you track numbers, you will not know what is a good goal or whether you achieved it.
Keep good records–future VPs of Membership may want to compare their performance to yours and see if the club is doing better or worse.

12. What kind of events will bring people in?

Special events can potentially get people to visit so you can try to get them to join. But what gets them to join and keeps them in are professionalism and fun.

These are not polar opposites: by “professional,” I do not mean “stiff, formal and wear suits to every meeting.” I mean quality and reliability. Do you meet in the same place, the same day and time, do people know their roles before they walk into the meeting, is there a strong mentoring program, are evaluations encouraging while giving valuable feedback, are people easy to talk to and deal with? That is professional.

If you meet on different days of the week, or change your meeting room, or cancel meetings, or are completely disorganized in a meeting, or are not providing value, that is not professional. Some of this you do have control over. Saying “we’re canceling our meeting six weeks from now for the holidays” is better than “well, I guess nobody wants to show up next week, let’s cancel.” Saying “There are several changes to the agenda for today’s meeting. Do we have a volunteer for ah counter?” is better than “oh, I totally forgot that David said Denise wouldn’t be able to make it! Um, I guess we need someone to take that role.” Just like with a speech, it’s important to display confidence… but of course, it’s even better to have everything taken care of properly to begin with.

People want reliability. This is very, very important: many people will not attend if they feel the group does not know what they are doing or cannot be relied upon to adhere to a fixed schedule.
The meeting must also be fun! People go to Toastmasters because they want to. If people aren’t learning and laughing, they’ll be leaving.

13. How do I run an effective membership campaign?

First, who are you looking for? Few clubs think about this. It’s like any business: who is your target market? If you try to appeal to everybody, you’ll appeal to nobody.

Location is a big factor. What are people in your neck of the woods like?

• Do you meet in the afternoon, or have a long lunch meeting? You’ll probably get people with flexible schedules–self-employed, retirees or other groups.
• Do you meet in a restaurant with $20 plates? Some people will be attracted to that; some will not.
• Do you meet early in the morning? There’s a certain crowd you’re looking for.

Those are just a few examples of how clubs are differentiated.

What are your current members like? What are your meetings like? What is your meeting location like? Perhaps it’s formal. Perhaps it’s conservative. Perhaps it’s supportive. Perhaps it’s youthful. Perhaps it’s technologically advanced. Perhaps it’s fun-loving.

What sort of people are attracted to your meeting location–or what sort of meeting location would attract your target market?

Like attracts like; it will be easiest to get people like those you have.

Are your members very advanced, or quite new? New Toastmasters can be intimidated when everyone seems to be far more skilled than them, but some people will want to seek out people they feel they can learn the most from.

When you know WHO you are looking for, then you will have a much better idea of what will attract them.. A special session on job interviewing can appeal to students, those reentering the workforce or those preparing for bad economic climates, but will likely hold no appeal to the retired or self-employed. A comedy night could be barrels of fun for some people, but may rub overly professional people the wrong way. Watching video clips of great contemporary speakers and dissecting their skills can be invaluable to motivated speakers, but may not sound fun to those who want to learn the very basics.

When you know who you are looking for, you will also know how to find them. People working on their business skills are likely to be on LinkedIn. College students may be on Facebook, of course, but there will be college-specific resources (electronic or not) to make use of. Does your target market browse Meetup.com, look at the bulletin board in the library, go to the YMCA? Make sure to think about where they are looking.

For corporate clubs, most of this still applies. Before-work meetings, during-lunch meetings and after-work meetings attract different people. Your club may attract managers or line employees. People who man phone lines or do face-to-face customer service often have their own challenges and less flexible schedules. Unless you are in a very, very small company, there is no way your club will work for everyone… so who are you targeting?

14. What are effective membership campaigns?

The answer is different for every club, but here are some ideas.

Corporate clubs:

• Post an article on the corporate intranet. One corporate club actually managed to somehow get an article to show automatically every six months on the front page of their company intranet, resulting in a burst of interest at regular intervals with no work.
• Set up a display in the cafeteria and man it. Distribute flyers among the tables. (Your company may have policies about this, make sure to ask.)
• Talk to managers, invite them to meetings, get their support. Have a special “boss night”!
• One Toastmaster mentioned holding a “memorial service” for those who suffered from “death by powerpoint,” complete with an attention-getting display in the cafeteria. It was different, it caught people’s attention and interested them in learning a valuable skill: giving interesting professional presentations.

Any club:

• Bring in guest speakers. A name can bring people in, but even just getting Toastmasters from other clubs can provide some pleasant variety and a fresh perspective.
• Comedy night
• Speech-a-thon
• Table topics marathon
• Backwards meeting
• Potluck
• Movie night (learning about speakers)
• Themes! A theme can be enough to bring people in, if it sounds fun and interesting just from the short name of the theme. If your meeting has entertaining and lively themes, that can help when people invite their friends.

15. What makes a corporate club succeed or fail?

The managers. Plain and simple. Direction and influence does come from above; executive or upper management approval can trickle down; but ultimately, it comes down to your basic manager. If the manager says “your communication skills need work. Do you know we have a Toastmasters club here?” employees go to the club. If the manager says “I want you 100% focused on this project. Why are you spending your lunch hour going to Toastmasters instead of working?” employees leave the club. Often this happens with different managers in the same company.
Management needs to understand the value of Toastmasters to their employees. Have you talked to them about Toastmasters? Invited them? Do you send them emails to commend members for attaining educational awards or for their service as an officer or for how much they’ve improved in self confidence, speaking or leadership?

Apart from that, the basic directives for any club apply: hold your meetings consistently, run them professionally, make it valuable, make it fun. Bring in Toastmaster guests from other clubs to liven things up!