A Real Mentor, or Just a Check in the Box?

Most clubs have the biggest retention problem with newer members. That is, members who have been in the club for less than a year, 1 to 2 years, and 3 to 5 years. The key to hanging on to more of the new members that you put so much effort into is to ENGAGE them!

Engaging new members in the workings of the club is crucial to
 improving New Member retention rates

Assigning a mentor is a good idea, but make sure that you give clear direction on what you want that mentor to do. Too many clubs that I know of just pick a person and say "tag you're it". It is crucial to make sure that your mentors are not over loaded, understand the expectations from them, are WILLING to do the job, and finally, report back to the membership committee on a periodic basis. 




You don't have to start from scratch, there is great information available on our website. Just click the link below and view it! There is additional information on engaging new members there as well.

https://district5190.egnyte.com/fl/VuFK0OXRmM

You can find lots of tools to improve your mentoring program
on the District Website under membership development.

Bottom line is that the first place for most clubs to get started in enhancing their retention is to focus on your newer members.

That's All!

Woody

What's Rotary?

How many times have you been asked the question: "What's Rotary?" only to have a difficult time coming up with a concise way to describe this movement we all know and love. These are great opportunities to reach out and interest potential new members, but we have to be prepared.

Be ready for the opportunity to
answer the question: "What's Rotary?"

When someone asks you "What's Rotary?" you have about 2 seconds to start to say something. After that, you only have about 20 seconds to "set the hook" and generate some interest in Rotary. If you go on much longer and the people are not interested, you'll bore them, if they ARE interested you'll be preventing them from asking questions. Here is a great answer to the question, that is short and succinct, and hits on the primary reasons WHY people join and stay in Rotary.

"It’s a leadership organization…We’re made up of local business, professional and civic leaders. We meet regularly, get to know each other, form friendships, and through that, we’re able to get things done in this community."

This simple answer is a great tool to start a deeper conversation about Rotary with those who are interested. Memorize it and have it at the top of your toolbox to use the next time someone asks you: "So, what's Rotary?"

That's All!

Why Did You Join Rotary?

Why do people join Rotary? This is a great question and the answer holds the key to igniting membership development in your club. Rotary International recently engaged a consulting firm, Sigel and Gale, to get the answer to this question and more. The purpose was to better understand how we as Rotarians can turn around the shrinking of Rotary in North America.

Sigel and Gale interviewed 20,000 Rotarians to come up with some answers that you can use to help your club grow. They found that the majority of people JOIN and STAY in Rotary for two primary reasons. They join to have a positive impact locally, and to forge friendships. They stay for the same reasons. Other factors are networking, personal and professional recognition, training opportunities, and to have a positive impact globally. Local factors make up over 90% of the reasons folks join our great                                                                                     organization. 

Here is the "bottom line of what our members value in Rotary:

1. Friendship
2. Local Impact
3. Vocational Respect (value me and my work)
4. Leaders to work with 

When we think of Rotary as a business, we often think of our customers as the beneficiaries of our service. It follows that our "product" would be the service we provide to our communities. In light of the knowledge provided by Sigel and Gale we need to change the way we look at this if we are to have a resurgence as an organization. Our customers are our members (and prospective members). Our product is friendship, opportunities to have local impact, giving vocational respect, and working together as leaders.

Once we know and understand this, it is simply a matter of making sure our customers (and prospective customers) get what they want out of membership in our clubs. If we weave our product into our approach to Attraction, Engagement, and thus Retention our clubs will grow and prosper like never before. As a result, Rotary will become even more relevant in making the world a better place, one community at a time.

That's All!

Get off to a Great Start!

August is Membership Month. Now that the Rotary year is beginning to settle in with new officers and leaders at the helm, it is a great time to make more progress to develop membership in your club. Developing a written plan and getting it done is critical to a successful year for your club.

Get to know your fellow Rotarians!

When we talk about membership development we usually think of the broad categories of Attraction (bringing in new members), Engagment (making sure that ALL of our members are engaging to get what they desire out of Rotary), and Retention (a product of being an attractive and engaging club). In the broader sense, membership development is simply about building great relationships with our fellow Rotarians, and sharing our Rotary experience with others. Membership development is the glue that binds our clubs together into fun, productive and stable units. A Membership Development Plan is the biggest thing you can do to help make your club stronger and more effective.

To view the plan in detail, click the link below:

Quick Start Membership Development Plan

The plan is divided into three time frames, NOW, 30 Days, and 90 Days. A few examples of the NOW action items are:

1. Identify all of your new members (24 months or less)
2. Reach out to them and identify or clarify their interests and expectations from membership.
3. Start "New Members Letters" (for more on this, click this link: here)

What a great place to start. Usually members in your club for two years or less are the most vulnerable to dropping out. 

A few of the 30 day items are:

1. Review and update your club website and or Facebook page.
2. All members develop and practice how they would ask a prospective member to come to a meeting.
3. Assign a greeter, and establish protocols for making all feel warmly welcomed.

By 90 days the results will start to show if the plan is being implemented.

1. Members have learned more about each other, and laid the groundwork for stronger friendships.
2. Guests/visitors consistently feel welcome to the club meetings.
3. All members are engaged with an assignment.

Use this plan to get a start on a great year in your club! Remember, this is a great way to get a quick start, and then later develop some more action items to enhance the plan and develop membership. Plan to come to the Membership Seminar on September 19th to get more information that will help your club grow and have the best year of service yet!

That's All!

Develop Your Membership: Make a Plan!

August is Membership Month. Now that the Rotary year is beginning to settle in with new officers and leaders at the helm, it is a great time to make more progress to develop membership in your club. Developing a written plan and getting it done is critical to a successful year for your club.

Our meetings are a great place to get to know each other.

When we talk about membership development we usually think of the broad categories of Attraction (bringing in new members), Engagment (making sure that ALL of our members are engaging to get what they desire out of Rotary), and Retention (a product of being an attractive and engaging club). In the broader sense, membership development is simply about building great relationships with our fellow Rotarians, and sharing our Rotary experience with others. Membership development is the glue that binds our clubs together into fun, productive and stable units.

At the Membership Seminar held this month, a short and ready made plan for enhancing membership development in your club was presented. To view the entire plan, click the link below:

Quick Start Membership Development Plan

The plan is divided into three time frames, NOW, 30 Days, and 90 Days. A few examples of the NOW action items are:

1. Identify all of your new members (24 months or less)
2. Reach out to them and identify or clarify their interests and expectations from membership.
3. Start "New Members Letters" (for more on this, click this link: here)

What a great place to start. Members in your club for two years or less are the most vulnerable to dropping out. 

A few of the 30 day items are:

1. Review and update your club website and or Facebook page.
2. All members develop and practice how they would ask a prospective member to come to a meeting.
3. Assign a greeter, and establish protocols for making all feel warmly welcomed.

By 90 days the results will start to show if the plan is being implemented.

1. Members have learned more about each other, and laid the groundwork for stronger friendships.
2. Guests/visitors consistently feel welcome to the club meetings.
3. All members are engaged with an assignment.

Develop a plan for this year and put it into action!

Use this plan to get a start on a great year in your club! Remember, this is a great way to get a quick start, and then later develop some more action items to enhance the plan and develop membership.

That's All! 

Is your "Elevator Speech" ready?

One of the key aspects of membership development is getting prospective new members interested. Often we stumble into an opportunity when someone asks us: "What is Rotary?" (Maybe they saw that pin that you always wear so proudly.) When the opportunity arises, it is very important to have a short, succinct, and accurate answer to this proverbial question. The answer must also include our personal "Why" of Rotary membership.

Often, caught unprepared, we may expound on the internationality of Rotary, the size and scope of our service, or that we meet every week and eat together. None of these are particularly good at catching someone's interest in 15 to 30 seconds. So, first ask yourself: why did you join and what keeps you coming back? If you are like many Rotarians, the two most cited reasons that people join are for the networking and friendship, and to make their LOCAL communities a better place for all. About 75% of Rotarians joined (and stay) for these reasons.

Rotarian Michael Angelo Caruso

Jim Henry, a Rotarian from Florida, says that your response must address your club's "target audience" of business, professional, and community leaders. If they are in one of these categories, your club would most likely benefit from their membership. So, what is Rotary?  Henry's approach would be to answer: "Rotary is a network of active and retired business, professional, and community leaders, committed to making our community a better place to live." If the person who is asking is an active or retired business, professional or community leader who cares about your community, they will probably ask for more information.

Rotarian Michael Angelo Caruso customizes his "elevator speech" for specific target audiences. He simply
says: "Rotary is the best decision I ever made!" That certainly will spark interest in almost anyone. Play the video below for more from Michael on his intriguing "elevator speech".

So, the key points are to prepare yourself, think of your "target audience", and be ready to respond in a way that will stimulate further interest and discussion when the right person asks you: "So what is Rotary, anyway?" There is nothing worse than to have someone ask and your response is: "ummmmm..."

That's All!

Woody

Engage Your New Members

Engagement is the key to developing and retaining great Rotary members. Engagement shows them you care, and helps them build a habit of participation with you and your club. It really is the glue of retention!

Engagement is the key to growing great Rotarians and future
club leaders.

There is a new tool that DG Vicki has put together for your use on our website. There are a total of 12 letters all written and ready for you to fill in the blanks and customize. The letters are intended to engage and help orient new members. They are designed to be mailed to a new member weekly (or whatever interval you decide) to help inform and welcome them to your Rotary club, based on the belief that new Rotarians benefit from understanding the basic tenants of Rotary, as well as specific information about your club. This is a fabulous tool! Imagine how your recently inducted member will feel about your club after receiving these letters. You can get your club secretary involved to help you, or appoint a member of your committee to
accomplish this important task. Here is the first one as an example:

Dear new member:

Congratulations on your acceptance to membership in the Rotary Club of Downtown Metro.  It is with great pleasure that every member of our Club welcomes you to this Rotary Club and to our International Organization.

This is the first in a series of twelve letters that you will receive weekly to convey important elements concerning Rotary, its purpose and mission.  We ask that you give careful attention in your reading of the letters to help you understand more about Rotary and to assist you in engaging in the activities of our Club and Organization.

You have been invited to membership because your Sponsor recognized you as a person of good character and reputation, a leader in your profession. a leader in the community and saw in you the “heart of service”.  Although you have been invited to join Rotary, it will be through your own actions that you become a Rotarian—a term that means much more than just being a member of a Rotary club.

The first thing we ask is that you attend the Club meetings each week.  In this way, you will have the best opportunity to meet the other Club members and learn about the activities of our Club.  Each of our members will make an effort to make you feel welcome, will to get to know you and then we ask that you also do your part.  Plan to participate in the weekly meetings as a greeter so that you can become familiar with the other members.  Sit at different tables each week to enhance your exposure to more members.  Volunteer to sell raffle tickets at the door, or to take notes for the weekly newsletter.

There is no probationary period in Rotary.  You are a Rotarian, just like every other Rotarian in our Club or in the world.  First names are the custom that denotes we are all equals in Rotary.  Reach out your hand in friendship to all the other members and introduce yourself.  The members will be interested in learning about you, your profession, your family and your hobbies. Through this interaction, you will also get to know each of our members.

Personal acquaintance and friendship are the cornerstones of Rotary and attendance at each meeting is very important to our Organization.  Rotary meetings are held each week and you are expected to attend at least 50% of the time.  Greater attendance is encouraged because the absence of any member deprives the Club of the value of our diversified membership, contributions of all members to ongoing club projects and the personal fellowship of each member.  You will find that you miss a lot when you miss one of our meetings!

Please speak to me, or to any of the other Rotarians in our Club, with any questions.  I look forward to seeing you at this week’s meeting.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Club President

Think of the impact that receiving these letters would have had on you when you first joined! Make sure you customize them to fit your club, and start engaging your new members right away.

You can download copies of these letters from our membership development section of the district website, or at the following link:

12 Letters

That's All!

Woody