Help!! We Only Have 8 Members Left!

1. Help!! We Only Have 8 Members Left! by Rick Sharon, ATM-S, CLrasharon@midpa.com

2. First Steps • Step #1 • Step #2 – Take a deep breathRelax,others have been there before.They dealt with it, so can you. • Step #3 – Plan and Do …

3. Planning and DoingWhat will we talk about today? • Decisions, Decisions • Where can we get help? • Short Term – How Do We Survive?How can we run a meeting with so few people? • Long Term – How Do We Grow Our Club?How can we get enough members to run a meeting the way it’s supposed to be? • Q&A with our panel of expertsLet their hindsight be your foresight

4. Decision Time Save Its Life? Let it die? Here Lies Our Toastmasters Club We Let It Die Will your Phoenixrise from its ashes? or Wimp out? Quit? Walk away? Hunker down & make it happen?

5. Where Can We Get Help?The Toastmasters Organization • Toastmasters International • www.toastmasters.org • District 25 Toastmasters • www.d25toastmasters.orgSee the “My Club Needs Help”and “Help A Club” pages • Find your Area Governorvia the “Club/Area Alignment” and “Contacts” pages • District assigned Sponsors, Coaches, and Mentors • Email the District 25 Lt. Governor of Marketing at LGMKT@d25toastmasters.org

6. Where Can We Get Help?Toastmasters Publications • “How To Rebuild A Toastmasters Club” • “Membership Growth” • “Membership 101” • “Membership Building Kit” • “Moments of Truth” • Various Promotional Brochures • Order from Supply Catalog or download from www.toastmasters.org

7. Where Can We Get Help?Other Toastmasters Clubs Can nearby clubs provide helpers? • Clubs in your area? In neighboring areas? • More “warm bodies” to help run the meeting! • Will they join your club? • Joint meetings? • Contact them and ask!Worst they can do is say no & you’re no worse off if they do. • What will you do for them?How can you return the favor? How can you help them?I’ll join yours if you join mine?Help other clubs in the same situation?

8. Where Can We Get Help?Other Toastmasters Clubs Find them: • www.toastmasters.org “Find A Club” link • www.d25toastmasters.orgClub/Area Alignment & Area Contact pages • Network at TLIs & District Conferences • Ask your Area Governor • Ask other Toastmasters • Check your newspaper’s event & club lists • Search the internet e.g. www.google.com

9. Where Can We Get Help?You! Who do you know? • Hunker down and figure it out • Your club members • Your friends and neighbors • Your co-workers • Your family • Your company management “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” Own it, do it, make it happen!

10. SurvivalDo the math, how do you assign roles? • Presiding Officer • Toastmaster • Table Topics Master • Vote Counter • 2-3 Speakers • 2-3 Evaluators • General Evaluator • Listener • Grammarian • AH Counter • Timer • 3-4 People? Not every member will make it to every meeting

11. SurvivalHow do you assign roles? Double Up • Presiding Officer & anything else • Toastmaster & Topics Master • Vote Counter & Timer • General Evaluator & Listener • Grammarian & AH Counter • Everyone evaluates “round robin” – around the tableinstead of Individual Evaluators • Speakers & any other duties? Generally no. Just speaking is enough!!Experienced members can speak & do other roles(somebody else covers for them while they’re speaking)

12. SurvivalHow do you assign roles? Eliminate Keep what you can • Presiding Officer & Toastmaster & Topics Master(one person can do all three) • Speakers • Timer • Everyone evaluates “round robin”or each member speaks AND evaluates another member Drop the rest • General Evaluator, Listener, Vote Counter, Grammarian, AH Counter Temporarily! Resume doing when club growth permits!

13. SurvivalWhat if only 1-2 people show up? • Speech writing clinicbrainstorm and outline next 3-4 speeches • One on one mentoring and orientation • Moments of Truth module (soul searching) • How do we get more members to the meeting? • How do we operate the club more effectively? • Listen to an audio program • From supply catalog or World Champions

14. SurvivalWhat if only 1-2 people show up? • Watch a Toastmasters video • Educational programs from supply catalog • Educational programs from past world champions • “Magic Moments” by David Brooks www.davidbrookstexas.com/products.htm • “How I Went From Chump to Champ” by Darren Lacrioxwww.humor411.com/books/ • Often available at district conferences • From Bill Stephens Productions www.billspro.com • International convention sessions • Internal speech contest finals going back several years • You may need to bring a TV and DVD or VCR Player

15. Growing Your ClubWhy did members leave? Ask them! • Some things you probably can’t fix • Layoffs decimating a company club? • Moving away? Job relocation? Retirement? • Some things you can fix • Inconvenient day, time or location? • Club wasn’t helping them attain goals? What are their goals? Ask! • Disruptive member chasing people away?Council or get rid of the disruptive member? • What does the club need to do differently?

16. Growing Your ClubYour Meeting Is Your Best Sales Tool Keep it well structured and organized • Roles assigned and published in advance • Every meeting needs • Printed agendas and a theme • Room set-up before guests arrivelectern, banner, flag, ballots and agendas circulated • Name tents or name tags for everyone • Display club materials • Member progress charts, brochures, guest book, Toastmaster magazines, Club and District newsletters

17. Growing Your ClubYour Meeting Is Your Best Sales Tool Members need to be learning & growing • Every speech a manual speech • Include assignment goals in introductions • Mention experimenting, trying new things • Evaluate every speech, the meeting, evaluators • Provide non-threatening constructive feedback • Reinforce what members did well • Suggest how they could have done better – specifics

18. Growing Your ClubYour Meeting Is Your Best Sales Tool • Have participants at various levels of talent and experience • Be energetic, excited, and exciting • Be passionate about what you’re doing • Be playful, tease, laugh, enjoy, celebrate • But not disruptively • “If it ain’t fun, you’re not doing it right” • Acknowledge and welcome mistakes • They’re part of the process • Study and learn from them, try not to repeat them

19. Growing Your ClubGuests Are Future Members Find Them, Help Them Find You • Some techniques work well for any club • Some techniques work best for: • Closed / company clubs • Open / community clubs

20. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Any Club • Word of mouth • Invite your friends, co-workers, neighbors, family • Conduct a Speechcraft • An 8 week public speaking class • Speechcraft kit sold through supply catalog • Speechcrafters give speeches • Club members do everything else • Invite Speechcrafters to join your clubmost will join • Coordinator gets credit towards ATM-G

21. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Any Club • Toastmasters International Publicity Handbook • Download from International’s website • Or order from the supply catalog • DFW Media Guide • How to get publicity in the DFW Metroplex • Contacts at Newspapers, Radio and TV Stations • Sample announcements • Helpful Internet Sites • Email rasharon@midpa.com and I’ll send you a copy

22. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Any Club • Advertising Brochures and Posters • From International’s websiteor supply catalogsome are free!! • Make your own • Club newsletters • Recycled Toastmaster magazines • Brand everything with your club info. e.g. meeting day, time, location, contacts

23. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Any Club • Have club contacts including alternates • Telephone# with voice mail • Email • Club website • Postal mailing address aka Snail Mail • Reply ASAP e.g. within 24-48 hours • “Brand” everything with club contact infoe.g. via mailing labels on all handouts

24. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Any Club • Prepare your 1-2 minute “elevator speech” • How have you benefited from Toastmasters? • What have you accomplished thanks to Toastmasters? • Success stories of your fellow members • Be prepared to give it any time opportunity knocks • Great Conversation Starters • Wear your Toastmasters pin or badge • Wear other Toastmasters clothing • Display ribbons and trophies you’ve won • Display certificates you’ve received • Display your Toastmaster magazine

25. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Any Club • Free Food! • Coffee, tea, soft drinks, water • Cookies, junk food, vegetable tray, fruit • Pot-Luck, order-in pizza or other takeout • Birthday cake to celebrate club charter date? • Might want to delay eating until after meetingmake them stay for entire meeting to get food • Cheaper in bulk from warehouse or discount storese.g. Sam’s, Costco, Wal-Mart • Clean up after yourselvesleave the meeting room nicer than you found it

26. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Closed / Company Club • Get company sponsorship(financial or just sanctioning) • Know your company’s “ground rules”esp. for use of company facilities e.g. rooms, lecterns, projectors, copiers, bulletin boards • Advertising posters in break rooms and on public bulletin boards • Announcements on company Intranet site • Toastmasters table at employee functions

27. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Closed / Company Club • Announcements in departmental newsletters • Bulk E-mail announcementsesp. via company or departmental distribution lists • Club Intranet site • Invite others in your work group • Invite others in surrounding offices • “Secret admirer” invitations • Referrals from HR and training departments • Sales pitch at management training classes

28. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Closed / Company Club • Ask department heads and managers for referrals and donations • Susi McDaniel, DynMasters Toastmasters, raised $1500 to celebrate club achievements just by asking the HR department and a lot of managers for donations. • If your CEO attends and endorses, attendance won’t be a problem!

29. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Open / Community Club • Club Internet site with links from: • Community and neighborhood websites • Toastmasters District 25 and International Websites • All of your promotional material • Advertising posters • in libraries, businesses, community centers, waiting roomsAsk for permission before posting them • Announcements, Articles and Advertising • Local newspapers • Neighborhood newsletters or websites • Newsletters and websites from other organizations

30. Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests Open / Community Club • Ask local businesses for donations or sponsorship • Use that to buy food, celebrate successes, award prizes, buy advertising, etc. • Be a guest speaker at other groups • Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce • Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Schools, Athletic Teams • City Government, Professional Organizations • Other clubs you attend • Bookings via Speakers Bureaus • Include Toastmasters background in your Introduction

31. Growing Your ClubMembership Contests • Involve your club members • Gives focus to needing to grow the club • Provides incentives for bringing guests, signing up members, and participating • International has 3 Every Year • Feb 1–Mar 31 “Talk Up Toastmasters” • May 1–Jun 30 “Beat The Clock” • Aug 1–Sep 30 “Smedley Award” • District 25 also has contests • 2004 Dream Team phases 1, 2, 3 • Clubs can have contests any time they want • Ours parallel the International and District contests

32. Growing Your ClubMembership Contests • What if they don’t want to? • I could not convince past VP’s of Membership to conduct membership contests • I ran for VP of Membership just to do contests“If you won’t listen to me, WATCH me” • This year we supplemented every International membership contest with our own contests & prizes • How did we do it? …

33. Growing Your ClubMembership Contests How do you score it? • Guidelines in various WHQ publications • My scoring: member’s earn: • 5 points for each guest’s first visit • 1 point for each guest’s return visit as a guest • 5 points if guest joins • 2 points for every speech they present • 1 point if member attends and does any role(s) other than presenting a speech(1 point for that meeting, not each role) • Guest scores tracked but don’t count unless they join

34. Growing Your ClubMembership Contests • How do you make it exciting? Publicize it? • I hyped it every meeting & after via E-mail • More members  stronger club • Same new members count towards Club, District,AND International Contests • Free stuff & club recognition from District and International • Who’s in first place, second, third – plenty of time left!! • I Published a contest web page • Rules, prizes, member scores updated weekly • Concurrent contests (International, District) • Results: • 11 new members January-June 2004! • Good guest/prospects are visiting almost every week

35. Growing Your ClubGuest Followup • Make guests feel special, welcome, wanted • Welcome them as they arrive • Introduce them to members • Chat with them before & after the meeting • Address them, by name, during the meeting“Mary, during our Table Topics Session we …” • Give them orientation and promotional materials • Guest orientation booklet • Toastmasters brochures • Sample Toastmaster magazines • Have them fill in the guest book esp. with ways to contact them • Sit near guest during meeting to answer questions • Ask guest for comments at end of meeting & invite them back

36. Growing Your ClubGuest Followup • Contact guests within 1-2 days after meeting • By phone or email or hallwayconversation or invite them to lunchor meet over coffee • What did they think of the meeting? • Do they have any questions? • Do they see how Toastmasters might benefit them? • What are their goals?This is how Toastmasters could help! • Refer them to club contacts

37. Growing Your ClubGuest Followup • Invite them to return as a guest until they feel they want to join • Invite them to join • Discuss dues structure with them • Have application forms ready • Help them fill out the forms • If they’re joining 1-2 months before a renewal, go ahead and collect their 6 month renewal “up front”. That guarantees they will renew and you won’t nag them for more dues just a few weeks after they join.

38. Growing Your ClubWelcome That New Member • If they do join • Keep an inventory of “Loaner” Basic Manuals • Give them one immediately • They keep it, write in it, use it • Ask them to give back to the club the manual Toastmasters eventually mails to them. • Return their mailed manual to the “Loaner Pool” • Have them fill out a new member survey ASAP • What are their goals? Preferences? Interests? • How often do they want to speak? • Find ways to help them achieve those goals • Assign them a mentor • Who proactively coaches them & answers questions

39. Growing Your ClubWelcome That New Member • If they do join • Announce and welcome them to the club • During the Meeting • In Newsletters • Emails to the membership • Club Website • Conduct a “Member Induction” ceremonya sample script is in the VP of Membership Manual • Give them a membership Pin • Schedule them to speak ASAP – within 2-3 weeksThe longer they wait, the harder it gets

40. Growing Your ClubCelebrate Every Member • Announce and celebrate their accomplishments • Halfway to CTM, earning CTM • ATM-B, ATM-S, ATM-G • CL, AL, DTM • Holding District Offices • Winning Speech Contests • Judging Speech Contests • Outstanding “anything” • Rookie of the Year, Most Improved • Publish a “Hall of Fame”

41. Growing Your ClubHow do you save your club? • Get Help – from the District, other clubs, anyone • Figure out why members leave • Ask them • Do something about it, tell them what you’ve done • Plan how to cope with low attendance • Make your meeting your best sales tool • Get guests to the meeting to see it • Follow-up with the guests, invite them to join • Make everyone feel special, appreciated, supported, and wanted! • Guests, New Members, ALL members

42. Q&AWhat are your unique challenges? Every club is different, every situation has some unique aspects, how can we help you? What did we forget to mention today? What do you want more detail about?

43. Q&AAsk Our Panel of Experts Our “Phoenix” Team • Kim & Robert Lee, Denton Toastmasters • Once down to 4 members • Presidents Distinguished each of the last 4 years • Susi McDaniel, Dynmasters • Last October down to 5-6 members • Now at 30 members and growing • Cheryl Mason, Early Birds Toastmasters • Club almost died • Has been Distinguished Club the last 3 years • Added 19 new members since April!! • Joe Nagy, North Arlington Toastmasters • Club was down to just 5-6 members, only 3-4 were attending regularly • Now they have 30 members and 18 members attended a recent meeting • Rick Sharon, Solana Classic Toastmasters • Club was down to about 6 members, some meetings had 1-3 attendees • Added 11+ new members year to date and still growing, 8-12 people attending each meeting • Contact: rasharon@midpa.com

44. Action TimeWhat Will I Do? What specific actions will I try at my club? • _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________