Public relations, get the guest in.- A good show, let them see what they’re getting.
Now perhaps I over-simplify a bit, but if you get these two things right, your club will be overflowing with eager guests and members. I can hear you now, “But how do we create good PR?”
In my experience, guests show up at a meeting mostly through one of two ways:
- Word of mouth, a personal invitation from someone they know
- Via the Toastmasters International “find a club” page and (if it exists) the club web site
So this tells us that we need to get our members to invite their friends, family, co-workers, barista, bus driver, and nanny. At the next club meeting, hand out a blank sheet of paper and without telling them why, ask each person to write down the names of ten people they know.
After they do so, ask them to pick five of them to invite to the next meeting (this lets them leave out some people they might think wouldn’t be such a good membership candidate). Follow up and keep score on who brings guests, split into several teams and recognize achievement.
At the same time, make sure your club details on the TI “find a club” page are accurate (like meeting days and address!), that the phone number and e-mail address go to someone who is ready to return messages promptly and sell the guest on coming to the meeting. Be sure the club web site is attractive and up-to-date, and includes some recent pictures of the meetings and membership. Include something unique about your club, especially if you’re near other clubs. (Club web sites could be the topic of a whole article itself, and probably will be.)
Now, we’ve got lots of guests coming to the meeting, what’s next? Put on a good show! Let them see what the Toastmasters program is all about. Be sure every meeting is demo quality, as you never know who might show up. Manual speeches with constructive positive evaluations are the key, and then table topics to get everyone else involved and practicing off-the-cuff speaking too.
Have a guest welcome packet that includes:
- a welcome letter from the club president
- a brief outline of the Toastmasters program and the benefits members derive from it; remember “what’s in it for me”!
- important contacts (president, VP-Education VP-Membership, and treasurer, at a minimum) with e-mail and phone
- the exact amount of the dues for each of the 12 months of the year (don’t make them do the math), who to make the check out to, who to give it to
- a membership application with the essentials already filled in (club name and number, district, etc.)
Be sure to conclude the meeting with asking guests what they thought about it, and invite them to fill out a membership application.
Yes, your club can grow, you can draw more guests and sign them up — every club can and should be at 20+ members and distinguished!