Membership Track: How to Recruit New Members

Membership Track:How to Recruit New Members Presenter: Andrew C. Obermeyer, CPCM, Fellow Washington D.C.& NOVA Chapters

Overview • Understand the vision for the chapter and how membership supports the vision • Making the commitment to Increase Membership • Proven techniques for gaining members • Best Practices • Useful Data on member desires

CHAPTER VISION • HAVE A VISION • The Chapter is a member benefit that adds value to the Association by providing opportunities to members for networking, information on the profession, and educational forums that lead to career enhancement, in a local setting, tailored to local needs. Taken together, Chapters provide the distribution capability of the Association to accomplish the Association’s goals. Chapters deliver the Association’s message. Source: Association Policy 1-4 NCMA Long Range Plan and Strategic Objectives (December 2004)

Principles • Members expect value for their time and money. • Chapters are expected to provide value to members. • NCMA is expected to help chapters provide value to members. • Let chapters decide how they provide value to their members. • NCMA also provides value to members directly.

Who are these people and what do they want from us? • Who are your customers? • Who are your prospective customers? • Market research! • Surveys, focus groups, interviews, directories • Do not assume they want what you want. • Use information already available to you. • Membership roster, attendance lists, NCMA Membership Survey and Salary Survey • Local procurement offices • Small business offices

Need a Commitment to Recruitment By Chapter Board and Leadership Formal Informal Training Board Meetings Motivating Board Members Membership Chair or Vice President

Proven Techniques to Increase Your Membership numbers: • Conduct Corporate Visits to promote membership • Small Business Panels • Outreach opportunities

Corporate Visits: • Identify companies that your members sell to or buy from • Look for local Small Business Award Winners • Schedule a lunch meeting with business owner, local office manager and contract manager • Include your board and related members • Sell your chapter’s annual program • Sell your chapter meeting as an opportunity to meet other buyers and sellers in the market area • Sell the value of membership as an employee benefit • Sell the value of membership as a training investment in the firm’s human capital resources • Ask for corporate support – gifts, refreshments, meeting areas • Ask for volunteers, but be specific about expected tasks • Ask the senior representative to be luncheon speaker

Small Business Panels: • Connect with the local office of the SBA • Support SBA as a means to access potential members • Volunteer members to provide training to small businesses • Volunteer members to consult with small businesses • How to fill out government forms, register for solicitations, etc. • Do and Don’t of successful proposals • Can be very informal and hosted at SBA offices • Use SBA as a conduit to local business forums, attend their luncheons and make a five minute pitch for members • Conduct VIP visits to promote membership • Liaise with other groups (represent NCMA on steering committees, booth at community function); • Participate in NCM Week activities; • Obtain public recognition (radio/TV spots, press releases).

COMMUNICATION WITH THE MEMBERS COMMUNICATION WITH THE MEMBERS • WEBSITE • MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS • IS YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS LIST UP TO DATE? • SHARE HQ LETTERS • ANNOUNCEMENTS –EMAIL AND FLYERS • COMMUNICATE WITH NATIONAL • BOARD OF DIRECTORS PHONE TREE • ANNUAL CHAPTER DIRECTORY

ADOPTING “BEST PRACTICES” • Award prizes for membership recruitment • Offer quantity discounts for workshop and dinner meetings; use Block subscriptions • Update your Chapter Website regularly • Profile a member/officer in each newsletter • Hold free raffles at your meetings • Phone and invite new members to next meeting • Assign a Board member to each new member – serve as a “mentor” • Affiliate with local university for CM classes • Seek out employer support • Seek and praise your volunteers – often!

“BEST PRACTICES” - continued • EVERYONE YOU MEET IS A POTENTIAL MEMBER • CUSTOMERS: DOD/COMMERCIAL • DCAA/DCMA/GAO/DOL/PORT AUTHORITY • CITY, COUNTY,STATE AGENCIES • UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS/ATTORNEYS/CONSULTANTS • SEMINAR PRESENTERS • PLACES YOU VISIT –THEY ALL CONTRACT FOR SOMETHING • ZOO/SEA WORLD/AMUSEMENT PARK • SPORTS AGENTS/TV STATIONS/PUBLISHERS/PRO TEAMS

RECRUITING • RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS • COMMUNICATE WITH THEM • REGISTRATION SHEETS AT EVERY EVENT • INCENTIVES • REIMBURSE INITATION FEES • REAL CASH • NCMA BUCKS • FREE ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS • PARTNER WITH LOCAL UNIVERSITIES

Reasons for Joining NCMA

Factors for Staying in NCMA

What members value and how well we do it.

These issues are interesting to members.

HOW TO RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS • Concluding message • The challenge at the Chapter level mirrors the aging workforce and retirement waive issues facing the contact management profession. We need to replace ourselves in order to maintain our positive, let alone to grow the stature of the organization. • The focus is to maintain a critical mass of participation that enables the association to succeed in leading professional development • The Chapter is the local connection to contract management professionals

Membership Track: How to Recruit New Members