2008/2009 Membership Presentation

Conference Call Summary - March 2008

Ladies, Membership is exciting! Membership impacts the politics of Texas and our country.  TFRW is the largest political women’s organization in the state and second largest in the country.  We have all been given the privilege of leading TFRW and the Local Clubs; and the greatest legacy we can leave is record Membership.

The TFRW Membership theme is Membership is a Lifestyle, not an Event!

What does that mean? We all have wonderful membership luncheons or dinners or receptions once and some clubs twice a year. These are Events and very important to the growth of your club. But even more important is making Membership a Lifestyle, meaning you, your board and club members need to think about bringing in new members every month.  For all of us, we need to make Membership a Lifestyle, not an Event!

When I founded the Bulverde Area Republican Women in 2003, I didn’t even know ten women in the area to start the club (the minimum needed to federate with TFRW).  So I had to step out of my comfort zone and talk to strangers about the need for a Republican Women’s club in Western Comal County.  My favorite recruit was a local gift store owner (she is now my best friend).  It was early December and I went in to buy a gift.  While shopping, it occurred to me to ask her if, first off, she was a Dem or Rep and when she adamantly declared she was a Republican, I asked her if she would like to be one of the founding members of a local club.  She quickly said yes.  Then I informed her that since at the beginning we would be a small club, I needed her to also be an officer.  She a little less quickly said yes. Her store became the drop point for the Bar-W and four years later she became the President. That first year was exciting for all the members and together we grew the Bar-W to 201 members.  For me, recruiting for Bar-W was a great way to meet people and over 75 people joined because I stepped out of my comfort zone.  While it was a lot of people, it wasn’t frenzied activity and I was very surprised at the end of the year to learn the number. That whole year, Membership was a Lifestyle, not an Event!

All the clubs have committees: Membership, Programs, Campaign Activities, Caring for America and a variety of others.  Why is Membership so important to the success of your club?  Because without members, who would care for America? Without members, who would work on the campaigns and who would go to the conventions? Without members, who would attend your meetings and hear the great programs you have?  As you can tell, Membership is the lifeblood of any organization.

Below is the outline used in the Membership presentation.  Please consider having this presentation as your program at one of your meetings. A few clubs have already done so and those in attendance left enthused about recruiting new members.

Membership Presentation Agenda/Outline

1.      How do we Succeed?

A)    Four Necessary Steps for Success

1)      A Clear Goal to Work Toward (A clear goal for your club would be to make “Membership a Lifestyle, not an Event”.  If you did that, then we could easily increase membership by 24% in the next 24 months.)

2)      Unity (All of us would have to agree that it is the #1 goal for the next two years.)

3)      Excellent Communication (We need to clearly and simply communicate the goal.)

4)      Good Goals (If our goal is to serve this Grand Old Party of ours, to elect honest, moral leaders to our great state and country, then that’s a very good goal.)

2.   Goal is to Build Membership: 24% in 24 months

A)  This is a Very Achievable Goal:

 for a Club with 100 Members = One New Member a Month

3.   Membership is a Great Opportunity to Impact Texas = Members = Votes (Gaining one new member can easily be more than gaining one vote because they influence others.)

4.   Steps to Achieve Goal

      A)  Success depends on the Local Clubs

1)   Attend Membership Workshops (But attending isn’t enough, you need to take what you learn and implement a game plan.)

2)   Learn Successful Traits of other clubs (They are unified, organized, communicators and not afraid to step out and meet new people.)

3)   Share Successful Tips (One tip is to recognize and reward; have an award for the member who brings in the most new members.  It doesn’t have to be expensive; the Bulverde Area RW just gave an hour massage to a member who brought in 15 new TFRW members in 2007!)

4)   Set Goals for Membership (We have all heard the old saying “he who has no goal hits it.”  Set a goal and be realistic.  Remember success builds momentum and momentum builds success.)

5)   Communicate Regularly (Communicate constantly the goal of increasing club membership and making your club and TFRW stronger so that your voice is heard throughout Texas and the Nation.)

5._ The Most Successful Recruiting Tool is YOU!

Before we end, here are a few tips and every month I will list a few more in the President’s newsletter, so please share them with your Membership VP.

·        Involve your members. Involved members renew and ask others to join.

·        Have a “Members at Work” tri-fold display board to showcase members’ business cards.

·        Emphasize the 3-in-1 membership.  With one fee, members receive membership in a Local Club, TFRW and NFRW.  Great conventions!

·        Ask the Chamber of Commerce to include information from your club to the packets they send out to people and businesses interested in your area.

·        Leave club information at campaign headquarters and the county headquarters.

·        Promote your club by using promotional items (like ink pens).

·        We have all seen “Ask me About” buttons clerks wear in stores to promote sales, promote your club by wearing an “Ask me About my Republican Club” button. (This is especially good if you are a little shy, because people ask you about your club instead of you approaching them. But remember to have membership forms in your purse so they can join on the spot.)

·        Ask your County Chairmen for lists of women voters, then write and call them.

·        Give Club membership to friends, family, even strangers! (An associate member of my local club was in an auto repair shop visiting with another customer about Bar-W and he paid for the first year’s due for a stranger who then became active in the club.)

·        Provide name badges for members and guests at all meetings and wear a smile.

·        Definitely wear a smile if you sit at the head table, wear an expression that says I am glad to be here serving you.

·        Be friendly, professional and organized!

·        Send postcards and e-mails to inform members of meetings and events.

·        Send “Miss You” letters. (Last week our Membership VP mailed “Miss You” letters, along with completed renewal forms, to members who haven’t renewed this year. In less than one week, over 12 people renewed. Your members want to renew, they just need to be reminded.)

·        Utilize your telephone committee. A personal contact is always appreciated.

·        Send in new membership names to TFRW Treasurer as soon as possible, even if only one. Make it a point to send in monthly reports of new/renewed members. (If the names are not submitted, then your new members do not receive the full benefit of TFRW and NFRW - no e-mails or newsletters.)

·        YOU are THE reason that members want to continue membership and attend meetings!  Because The Most Successful Recruiting Tool is YOU!

Please add my e-mail (TFRWMemberVP@aol.com) to your newsletter list so that I can keep up with the happenings in your club. Thank you so much for your time and attention today!

Hazel Roman

TFRW VP-Membership