We
hear all sides of the arguments for and against membership “drives.”
Although we are in the
business of facilitating exciting and successful Membership Events, you don’t
have to listen to us, but before you dismiss membership
“drives” as non-productive, read what one Chamber staffer
responsible for membership has to say;
“I've worked in two different sales environments for
Chambers. One chose to hire a sales person, pay them 40-50% of their sales and
have them pounding the pavement day in and day out selling memberships. In a good year, one sales person in our
active Chamber with good programs could bring in about 80K - 90K. Then they
hired a staff person to work on the retention side to keep the members on
board. The attrition rate was great, 17%, but the income spent to sell and
maintain them caused them to pretty much break even.
The second
Chamber chose to hire a Membership Manager that handles walk in and call in
sales and then conduct membership events each year using volunteers to recruit
memberships for them. The
latter produces so much more in results and income! Some years generating more than
200K! The attrition rate is lower when using volunteers, but the income is
much, much greater. It's the nature of the beast. We just budget for the
loss in members each year and do another membership event to make up the
numbers and income. Events
generate income,
you don't get to keep using the money from last year's golf tournament for next
year, you just do another one or something else like it to generate that income
again. We will
continue to conduct Membership Events each year for not only the fantastic
results in membership numbers and income, but also the dynamic sense of
community created for our city and our volunteers.”
Ellie Jackson,
Director of Membership Sales
WHERE’S MORGAN DEPT?
We got a number of emails congratulating Jimmy and Melissa on the birth of Calista. We thank you on behalf of them for your kind
words. Some of you asked about baby #1, Morgan, and why you don’t see her in any of the
Membership Event photos.
Well, if you look
closely, you will see Jimmy’s little princess every now and then.
A funny thing
happened to Jimmy at one of the 3 pre-Event meetings we hold
with the Chamber before its actual Membership Event. Funny because in the last
issue we talked about using hats for a Chamber mixer and charity fund raiser,
and the question of hats unexpectedly popped up again at Jimmy’s meeting.
An elderly volunteer
carrying a ball cap arrived early at the meeting and approached Jimmy. He had been asked to be a leader for the
Membership Event and, of course, had no idea how differently from the old days
we facilitated Membership Events. He knew the Chamber had hired a company to bring
in new members and increase the Chamber budget. He knew Jimmy was the front man
for this company and wanted to make sure that Jimmy didn’t start off on the
wrong foot.
He said, “Son, whenever
we have to excite our members, we auction off hats. I thought I would make sure
you had a good one for the auction. It’s my favorite.”
Jimmy thanked the
gentleman, took the hat, and started the meeting, hoping the gentleman would
not be embarrassed or disappointed that there would be no hat sales at a YCC
Membership Event.
What Jimmy wanted to say
to the Chamber was
that if you have to rely on hat auctions to increase membership or your budget,
you have a big problem.
He wanted to say that,
but he couldn’t. However I can!
If you have to rely on an old hat to sell memberships
or are stifled into doing things the old way, you do have a problem. We do not
promise miracles; it
just seems that’s what happens when Chambers do it our way.
Call us at 800/678-6241.
QUOTE OF THE MOMENT DEPT:
We wanted you to know how much we enjoyed working with you both during our very
successful Membership Event last month. We’re still catching our breath and
counting new members!
When we first talked with you and heard your concept of combining fun and
membership recruitment, we decided to meet with you to learn more. After
hearing your presentation and seeing videotapes of other cities’ events, we
decided to try it in our conservative community and “hope for the best.” But
from the first moment that you met with our Chairmen until the last goodbye was
said at the volunteer wrapup party, your enthusiasm
spilled over and generated unbelievable participation from our volunteers. We
had over 200 volunteers help us during the two-and-a-half day event and brought
in 334 new members at the close. New members have continued to come in as a
result of contacts made during the drive and as of today, we have added 348 new
members to our Chamber.
Both of you (and Marilyn) were great to work with – you were fair and honest,
and let us call the shots along the way – we received everything we expected
and more. Our volunteers had a ball and are still talking about their
experiences 5 weeks later. Thank you again for everything.
Sincerely,” Michael Dalby,
President
Peggy Arnold, Vice President of Chamber
Operations
ONE CAN ONLY WISH DEPT: After his
death, Osama bin Laden went to Heaven. There he was
greeted by George Washington, who proceeded to slap him across the face and
yell at him, "How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped
conceive!"
Patrick Henry approached and punched Osama in the
nose and shouted, "You wanted to end our liberties, but you failed."
James Madison entered, kicked Osama in the groin, and
said," This is why I allowed our government to provide for the common
defense!"
Thomas Jefferson came in and proceeded to beat Osama
many times with a long cane and said, "It was evil men like you that
provided me the inspiration to pen the Declaration of Independence!"
These beatings and thrashings continued as John Rudolph, James Monroe, and 66
other early Americans came in and unleashed their anger on the Muslim terrorist
leader.
As Osama lay bleeding and
writhing in unbearable pain, an angel appeared. Bin Laden wept in pain and said
to the angel, "This is not what you promised me."
The angel replied, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting
for you in Heaven. What did you think I said?"
GOOD ADVICE DEPT: Every
now and then, besides the spam and the pages and pages of unwanted email,
something good will reach you. This happened to me last month when someone sent
me some advice on protecting yourself from identity theft. At least it made
sense to me, and to my attorney.
1. The next time you
order checks, use your 1st and middle initials, plus your last name only.
Thieves may hesitate to use your account if they don’t know how the bank
accepts your signature.
2. When writing a check
to pay a credit card bill, don’t put down the complete account number on the
“For” line. Just use the last 4 digits of the account. The credit card company
knows the full number.
3. Put your work number
on the checks instead of your home number.
4. If you have a PO Box,
print that instead of your home address. You can even use your work address if
you want.
5. Never include your
social security or your drivers license numbers on
your checks.
6. Photo copy (both
sides) of the contents of your wallet and then keep those copies in a safe
place, (not your wallet). Make sure you can read the numbers on the credit
cards and the phone numbers to call if they are stolen. It’s probably a good
idea to copy your passport and other I.D.’s as well.
Now that you have gone
to the trouble to protect yourself, here’s what you need to know when Murphy’s
Law smacks you across the side of your head.
1. You don’t have to
cancel your credit cards immediately. What you have to do is immediately call
the 800 numbers on that photo copy which you so cleverly kept in a safe place.
The credit card companies will take the action to cancel and send you new
credit cards.
2. File a police report
immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards were stolen. This will
prove to the credit card companies that you were diligent, and they will start
an investigation into the theft.
3. Protect your credit
by calling the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately. DON’T
WAIT! You want them to place a fraud alert on your name and social security
number.
The companies are Equifax
at 800/525-6285; Experian at 888/397-3742; and Trans
Union at 800/680-7289.
The Social Security
Administration Fraud Line is 800/269-0271.
(Ed. Note: Another precaution! If someone comes to your front door saying he or she is conducting a
survey and asks you to take your clothes off, do not do it!!! This is a scam;
he or she only wants to see you naked. I wish I'd gotten this warning
yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap now..…)
BOARD NOTES DEPT: This goes
back to our very first newsletter in July of 1994. It was as timely then as it
is now. TIME MARCHES ON: No matter what time of day your board meets, you want
to be time conscious especially if you have early morning meetings. Like
you, your board members have a lot of fires to put out, a number of snakes to
kill, as well as the rest of their job description, so you don’t want to lose
them because board meetings last indefinitely.
One board president,
with the blessing of the executive director, brought in an old, loud alarm
clock to the board meetings. She would set the alarm and put it in front of
her, facing the seated board members and guests.
If a board member
arrived late, he or she knew it immediately because the first thing he or she
saw was the clock face. The constant ticking was a reminder that time was
running.
When the alarm went off,
the decision was made to continue the meeting or table any items left until the
next meeting. They made every attempt to stay within the time constraints and
still complete the agenda.
Now, both the alarm clock and the meeting gavel are transferred to the incoming president!