CLOSING THE SALETHE PATH FROM PROSPECT TO NEW CLUB

Eileen Wolfe, DTM, PIDRegion Advisor 2013 -2014Region 8

WHY CLUBS ARE BUILTTwo Fundamental Goals Stated in The District

MissionEnhance the performance

of Toastmasters

clubs

Extend the network of

clubs

WHY CLUBS ARE BUILT

Increased clubs mean a greater number of people will experience

the benefits of Toastmasters educational program

Provides district officers with an opportunity to develop and extend their own leadership

skills

Excellent way to promote the public’s awareness of

Toastmasters

TYPES OF CLUBS

Community ClubsThose

meeting in the

community which do not have corporate affiliations

Usually meet in

community rooms,

restaurants, churches,

schools, libraries or where ever community

groups meet

Usually open to all interested persons over the age of 18

However a few are

restricted to

residents or

membership of a

particular community or people sharing a special interest

Open Clubs• Membership

is these clubs is open to people 18 years or older, subject to a vote of the club membership

• Most community clubs are open clubs

TYPES OF CLUBSClosed Clubs• If a club is limited to a certain group of people, it is a closed club• A typical reason for a club to be closed is to allow only employees to join• There is some practical reason for a corporation to have a closed club

• Corporation is furnishing part or all of the dues• Compensating employees in some way , bonus, education credit, time off• Security issues – sites restricted to corporate badges, ID

• A club may be closed to the public and be open only to any group that is not specifically outlined in Toastmaster International policy as being discriminatory.

• Bylaws of the club should spell out clearly to whom the club is open, to avoid problems

• Most corporate clubs are closed clubs• Since many companies do not want non-employees on the premises, the

bylaws of these clubs limit membership to employees only• Membership in any club is never restricted because of race, color, creed,

gender, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or physical or mental disability

TYPES OF CLUBSEmployer wishes to sponsor a club for their employees

Club meetings usually held on company premises

Most operate during business hours or at lunch time

Open only to employees:• Dues and supplies are paid

by the company• Club meets on company

premises

Corporate Clubs

PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLUBS

Find out about existing clubs in the area or division.

Target communities large enough to support a club.

Convince major corporations or other large organizations to form new clubs.

Follow up on leads sent from World Headquarters.

40+ clubs can often be split into two.

Select your prospects wisely Spend some time researching your community

and determining the most likely prospects Spend your valuable time selling toastmasters to

companies that are most likely to need one Don’t spend time selling to the wrong customer

PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLUBS

Qualify your prospects further What is the company’s size, location and revenue? Who are the key contacts that can be isolated in

departments such as personnel, training, HR Finance or the office of the president?

Does the company invest in training for employees? What are the companies priorities? Is the company conservative? Into high growth with

executives willing to take risks with products and services offered?

What are the company’s strategies, mission, key initiatives?

Is there any recent research, recent news or a web site about the company?

What is the business focus

PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLUBS

Brush up on features and benefits. You are marketing to corporate executives, you need to sell the benefits Boosting their return on investment Reducing turnover Refining employees presentation skills Achieving more effective meetings Improving leadership skills Promoting better teamwork Increasing loyalty

PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLUBS

Send a letter of introduction Send a nicely written letter of introduction to the

executive you need to meet Letter identifies you as a volunteer in

Toastmasters and explains why you are asking for an appointment

Explain the benefits of the introductory meeting to the executive

Make first contact Pick up the phone and call the contact. Introductory letter was your “warm-up” Can’t close the sale if you don’t meet Stress the benefits of the program and request

20 minutes with the executive

PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLUBS

Present TI’s program to the Executive Be prepared, do your homework Offer several excellent brochures especially those

focused on corporate club building Reiterate benefits and give examples of TI’s

success with other corporations Answer questions and respond politely to any

objections Confirm their support for an in-house club – CLOSE

THE SALE Get them to sign the application form Discuss dues and what the company is prepared to

pay Schedule the Demonstration meeting

PROSPECTING FOR NEW CLUBS

FORMING A COMMUNITY CLUB

Step 1: Ensure your support team is in place Step 2: Identify the main stakeholder whom you will

be working with Step 3: Plan a demonstration meeting that

demonstrates the benefits of Toastmasters and how a club meeting should be conducted

Step 4: Publicize the demonstration meeting Send personal invitations to colleagues and friends Submit announcements to local newspaper and broadcast

media Post notices on community websites, bulletin boards,

social networking channels Invite anyone who would benefit from improved

communication & Leadership skills, such as: Employees of local businesses, church groups, military personnel

FORMING AN ADVANCED CLUB

Advanced Clubs• Special club to focus on developing advanced

skills• Members hear advanced-level presenters and

receive evaluations and feedback from experienced members

• Must have minimum of 20 members• Some insist on membership in another club (dual

membership)• Most require members to have received the

Competent Communicator or the Advanced Communicator Bronze award

• They follow the same charter requirements as other clubs

• If dual membership is required only 3 of the first 20 can be Transfer members

• If the club chooses not to have dual membership, only 3 of the first 20 can be Dual members

SPLITTING A CLUB

When a club becomes very

large, it becomes difficult

for the club to provide the

services that are the hallmark of

the Toastmasters program

Members have

difficulty getting on the

agenda to speak

WHEN TO SPLITIf a club approaches 35 members then it becomes very difficult to provide speaking slots for everyoneA typical lunch time club usually only has 2 slots per meeting, 100 per yearThat means that if all goes well less than half its members will earn a CC in a yearToastmasters International recommends that a club has 20 – 30 membersClubs with more than 40 members may benefit from splitting into two clubsBefore the club can split, members must agree to it

Be sure that experienced, active members are evenly divided between both clubs

SPLITTING A CLUB

The Process• Application to organize, - indicate club

split• Club and Officer information report• Charter member list ( indicate club split

and the number of the club from which members are transferring)

• Constitution and standard bylaws for clubs of Toastmasters International

• Charter remittance Notice

FORMING A CORPORATE CLUB The key to success to starting a corporate

club is to gain the support of a decision-maker inside the organization

1. Schedule a meeting with the HR Director or any other high-level executive

2. Prepare for the meetinga. Be ready to discuss the value of Toastmaster

trainingb. Use the features, benefits and values chart to

illustrate your point along with the corporate marketing PowerPoint presentation

3. Ask for the company’s support in starting the new club

FORMING A CORPORATE CLUB4. Determine what portion of the club costs

the company will pay (if any)5. Arrange a time and place to conduct a

demonstration meeting6. Plan a demonstration meeting that

showcases the benefits of Toastmasters both to the individual and to the corporation

7. The Demonstration meeting should also stage how a club meeting is conducted

8. Schedule the meeting at least 2 weeks in advance to allow plenty of time for promotion

FORMING A CORPORATE CLUB Publicize the demonstration meeting

Post notices on the company’s intranet and bulleting board

Invite all employees and extend a special invitation to company officials

Ask your human resource official and any other inter-company contacts to help with promoting the cub

CLOSING THE SALE

Step 1: Set Up A Kick-

Off Meetin

g

• Have the group, community, company arrange for at least 20, ideally a lot more to attend a 1 hour meeting

• The key to this meeting is to:• Get as many

attendees as you can

• Get as many people from the company participating in some way

• If they participate they will want to join

CLOSING THE SALE Step 2: Kick off Meeting

Agenda 1 hour meeting format Objectives

Demonstrate the components of a typical Toastmaster meeting

Illustrate the benefits and value of Toastmasters Discuss the Charter process Assign second meeting responsibilities and review

specific responsibilities with each assignment Topics to cover

Charter process Explanation of key meeting roles

CLOSING THE SALESample Agenda• Welcome• Introduction & explanation of key meeting roles

• Toastmaster• Timer• Ah counter & Grammarian• General Evaluator• Evaluator• Topics Master

• Table Topics Session• Introduction of speaker

• Speaker• Evaluation

• General Evaluation• Discussion of Charter Process

• Toastmasters dues structure• Club dues

CLOSING THE SALE

• Decision as to whether to use new speaker or experienced speaker

• Experience shows that an experienced speaker is much more effective• It shows Toastmasters is not only a professional

organization but attendees have something to aspire to

Speaker

• Have the audience participate in the evaluation• Coach them – give them ideas what to look for,

beginning, body and conclusion, did the speaker connect etc.

• Have the evaluation directly following the speech so it is fresh in their mind

Evaluation

CLOSING THE SALE

Table Topics• Explain about impromptu speaking• Have a long Table Topics session and

included as many people as possible• Have them talk about some thing they

know are excited above• Play the rolled up newspaper game where

the speak about something that truly annoys them and hit a rolled up newspaper in emphasis

• They win as they successfully speak in front of their peers

CLOSING THE SALE

TAG Team• Timer: 2 volunteers work with the timer. One runs the clock

and the other takes down the time and gives the report to the group

• Ah Counter: 2 volunteers count Ahs and ums • Grammarian: At least 1 person works with the Grammarian

focusing on positive aspects of the speech from the perspective of grammarThe Close

• Hand out applications and help them to complete it• If a corporate club, clarify what responsibility the

organization will responsibly take• Make a big deal about being a charter member and implore

everyone to join

FOLLOW-UPArea Governor and mentors and sponsors should be at kickoff meeting.

Set a date for the next club meeting

T first meeting do an orientation of what will be happening in this meeting and subsequent meetings

Send a thank you note and meeting reminder notice to all new members

Send a thank you note and meeting reminder notice to all attendees

Communicate with temporary officers and confirm meeting roles for next meeting

Plan Charter Presentation meeting

CLOSE THE SALE!!