VPM CORE DUTIES
WELCOME PACKETS
keep/maintain welcome packet to be distributed to guests
contents include:
- membership application
- TM flyers
- sample magazine
When you run low on brochures, get more from the Toastmasters shop on the website; the club budget should shoulder the expense.
NEW MEMBER ENGAGEMENT
be early to meetings (in case guests are present) and approach any new faces and make them welcome.
have a pitch/introductory spiel ready for new guests that quickly introduces them to our club in a personal manner.
plan to stay late at meetings (when guests are present), and ask them if they have questions.
invite them to more meetings, and employ your practiced introduction to further interest them.
GUEST FOLLOW UP
Make yourself available to interested parties to answer any questions they have. While our club is strong in this, you should ensure that the visitors feel welcome and are encouraged to return. Ask for their email or give them yours to facilitate THIS follow up.
NEW MEMBER SIGNUP
Work with the treasurer to ensure a fluid and issue-free sign up process. How that is constructed varies from term to term but the key is to have an understanding about how to handle new members from the engagement process to the signup process so they never feel in limbo.
The two key things to ascertain here is
- who will collect the membership form
- who will follow up with the member once they are enrolled
The mechanics around those two points should be invisible to the member, intentionally so.
MEETING FIDELITY
The biggest key to member engagement deals with the meeting content and focus. While the VP PR can get people in the room, if the meetings lack energy, content, and structure, then those guests will not likely join, which obviously cripples the ability to meet your goals.
Troy’s proactive response to this was to work to pre-seed good meetings by namely working to ensure:
– we had prepared speakers
– we had meeting roles filled in advance: no last minute scrambling.
We have such a great community which means who did/does what is largely irrelevant. The key is to avoid looking scattered or disorganized at meeting time.
Another key is to make sure the meeting starts promptly. Get to the “content” as soon as possible, and respect the time our members and guests are giving us.
MEMBERSHIP CONTESTS / QUOTAS
If membership starts waning to worrisome levels, proactive steps should be taken. There is no one-size fits all answer to that problem; Each/any hiccup needs to be analyzed and responded to accordingly.
If membership is strong, then the focus should be assisting the VPE in conducting vibrant and possibly diverse (e.g. workshops) meetings to protect the member-interest we have.
If we offer a lively and engaging product, membership will take care of itself, and will move people though their projects.