STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS

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CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS Toastmasters International recognizes the efforts and words of the many Toastmasters who have contributed to the creation of this guide.

1 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS Toastmasters International recognizes the efforts and words of the many Toastmasters who have contributed to the creation of this guide. TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL P.O. Box 9052 Mission Viejo, CA USA Phone: Fax: Toastmasters International. All rights reserved. Toastmasters International, the Toastmasters International logo, and all other Toastmasters International t rademarks and copyrights are the sole property of Toastmasters International and may be used only with permission. Item 122 Rev. 6/2015 WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE

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3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...4 The Club-building Team...4 Size and Composition Training Your Team...5 Motivating and Recognizing Your Team...5 Strategies for Obtaining New Club Leads...7 Map and Fill...7 Leads from World Headquarters...7 Leads from District Leaders, Club Officers and Members...8 Direct Contact Company Clubs...8 Organizing a Community Club...9 Urban Area Community Club...10 Appendix A Sample Referral Form...11 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS 3

4 INTRODUCTION Organizing new clubs is a Toastmasters district s primary responsibility. Often viewed as a challenging activity, it can also be rewarding when done correctly. This guide provides the background and ideas a district needs to successfully build new clubs, whether the reader is an experienced club builder or is new to the process. To learn more about the club chartering process, see How to Build a Toastmasters Club: A Step-by-Step Guide (Item 121). To learn more about your district s club-building goals for a specific year, contact your district director. In this guide, you ll learn more about: The club-building team Strategies Making contact Club-building resources Undoubtedly, many good club-building ideas are not included in this guide. If you know of one that does not appear here, please send it to the Marketing Department at Toastmasters International (marketing@toastmasters.org) for possible inclusion in future versions. Good Luck! The Mission of a Toastmasters Club is to provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth. The Mission of the District is to build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence. 4 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS

5 THE CLUB-BUILDING TEAM Perhaps the most important step to club-building success in your district is the creation of an effective club-building team. Let s consider the characteristics of an effective club-building team. SIZE AND COMPOSITION The team should be large enough so that the work can be shared between several team members to avoid burnout. The number of team members is unique to each district and depends on its size. Many districts have at least one person from each division (some even from each area) on the team to ensure local support for prospective and newly chartered clubs. This person is often the division/area director but can also be someone whose only role is to serve on the club-building team. Districts often refer to this person as the club extension chair (CEC). This is an effective way to give individuals who are new to leadership in Toastmasters the opportunity to be part of a team. You can also look for people who have achieved Advanced Communicator Bronze or higher and have achieved Competent Leader. These members can serve as sponsor or mentor of a new club to fulfill an Advanced Leader award requirement. In most cases, the district director and club growth director are on the team, with the club growth director serving as marketing committee chairman, the team s leader. However, in some districts a past district director will serve as chairman. Whatever the case may be in your district, make sure that someone is in charge. The person needs to be committed to building clubs, diligent in follow-up, and able to communicate easily and effectively with team members. TRAINING YOUR TEAM Once you ve assembled a team, clarify its goals and processes. This training should be done by the marketing committee chairman at a special session held in conjunction with area/division director training or at a district conference or other event. Be sure to give club-building training top billing. Don t schedule a concurrent session unless it s membership building. In the training session, share the district s expectations for the year. What is your club-building goal? How will you accomplish it? When and how will you measure progress? What do you expect from each team member? Share these points, along with others specific to your district, with team members. Many team members will be completely new to club building. To introduce them to the process, present Establish and Support New Clubs, a club-building training program created specifically with this type of session in mind. This training material is available on our website at Many other materials also can aid your club-building efforts. For ideas, go to and MOTIVATING AND RECOGNIZING YOUR TEAM Now for the challenging part! You ve assembled your team, shared your expectations, and given them the basic skills and knowledge they need. Now they need motivation! You may be fortunate enough to have a team that s ready, willing, able and motivated. It s likely they will need your encouragement even incentive if they are to work hard at achieving your district s club-building goal. Discuss with your team the Toastmasters International mission statement, specifically the organization s goal to provide as many people as possible the opportunity to participate in Toastmasters. To do this, new clubs need to be formed. Talk about the district mission as well. Even though you know that growth is an integral part of Toastmasters, it is likely that the members of your team will not. CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS 5

6 Several districts have been successful in motivating club growth by creating contests between divisions. Challenge divisions to do their part by helping them set a specific goal, usually based on a portion of the district s goal. Then, set a time period for achievement. A successful district recently created a program that challenged divisions to reach their goal by April 30. Most reached their goal well before June 30. The result? A President s Distinguished District. The motivation? Competition between divisions for bragging rights and a copy of a Toastmasters International book for those who met their goal. Other districts may specifically recognize all new club sponsors and mentors during their conferences as a way of promoting the importance of club growth. In addition to programs and recognition created to motivate participation in the club-building process, you ll need a few more things: examples, enthusiasm and commitment from the district s leaders. Team members quickly discern if the leaders truly buy into a program or if they re simply giving out information. District leaders, be sure that you work with your team, continuously talk up the process, and demonstrate your commitment to the team members and the program. Perhaps more than anything this will determine your success. The district director and club growth director determine the type of training, motivation and recognition that will be implemented in your district. 6 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS

7 STRATEGIES FOR OBTAINING NEW CLUB LEADS History has shown that successful districts take an active role in chartering new clubs. In this guide, we ll discuss club-building strategy in four sections: Map and Fill, Leads from World Headquarters, Leads from District Leaders, Club Officers and Members, and Direct Contact Company Clubs. MAP AND FILL Use this strategy to find the places in your district where new clubs can be formed. Obtain a map of your district and mark the location of all clubs using a different color of pin or tack for example, blue for community clubs, white for company clubs, and red for current prospective clubs. You can obtain a list of corporations that already support Toastmasters clubs in your district by sending a request to corporaterelations@toastmasters.org. Depending on your district, you also may need to obtain detailed maps of larger cities to make the exercise effective. By examining the map you can determine if any gaps exist. Perhaps you ll find a downtown area with many company clubs that serve large employers, but no community clubs to serve the employees of smaller companies. Let s consider a fictitious city of 100,000 people. It may now support just one community club and one company club. Are the needs of the many potential members being met? Certainly not. In Figure 1, current club locations are shown. As shown in Figure 2, this town should be able to support at least two more community clubs and up to three company clubs. Clubs can usually be formed in: Cities with a population of 10,000 or more Businesses with at least 50 management or supervisory personnel Military installations, colleges and universities Special groups or associations such as insurance agents, Realtors, Lions and Kiwanis clubs, and government offices. Of course, circumstances vary from place to place, but generally the above groups can support a club. When determining if a community that currently does not have a Toastmasters club can support one, consider using someone else s FIGURE 2 homework. For example, identify a city with a McDonald s hamburger franchise. McDonald s has obviously performed preliminary market research and determined that a franchise can survive there. What Toastmasters and McDonald s have to offer differs greatly, but both require approximately 10,000 people to function effectively. However, keep in mind that many cities with a population of less than 10,000 can also support clubs, especially when members can be drawn from several neighboring towns. LEADS FROM WORLD HEADQUARTERS FIGURE 1 Districts regularly receive new club leads from World Headquarters. Copies of the leads are sent to the district director, club growth director and club extension chair. Make sure to let the person you received the from know who your main district contact is. The leads come from inquiries received through the Toastmasters International website, trade shows, , telephone, mail, or fax. World Headquarters informs the district director, club growth director, program quality director or the club extension chair of all new leads. CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS 7

8 Also, a response is sent to the lead letting them know that a district leader will be contacting them. For inquiries sent via mail or fax, a New Club Information Kit (Item 123) with a cover letter that includes the district leader s name and contact information is sent to the inquirer. Many of these leads will be hot the party is interested in forming a club and wants to get started as soon as possible. Assign someone in your district to contact them immediately to answer questions and arrange a demonstration meeting. Some of the leads will be cold the party is vaguely interested or perhaps not interested at all. Offer assistance in the future if they so desire. Be positive! Ensure that all leads are left with a good impression of the Toastmasters organization. Be sure to send an update to share the results with World Headquarters via at corporaterelations@toastmasters.org. LEADS FROM DISTRICT LEADERS, CLUB OFFICERS AND MEMBERS Leads from district leaders, club officers and members may be your best method for finding new club opportunities. Simply ask everyone for leads! Experienced district leaders understand the importance of new clubs to the district s success and typically search for them continually. However, members and officers who are new to Toastmasters may know of new club opportunities but don t realize it and don t understand their value to the district. Ask for leads at every opportunity! Some districts hand out referral forms (see Appendix A for an e xample) at all district events. Other districts use the referral forms as entry forms for a door prize. By completing and submitting a referral form, the person is automatically entered into a drawing. Assign a member of your marketing team to follow up with individuals who submitted the referral forms to discuss the new club possibility. They can immediately begin to talk about a date and location for a demonstration meeting. An added advantage to this method is that the person providing the lead can probably serve as one of the new club s sponsors or mentors. For more information about club sponsors or club mentors, go to DIRECT CONTACT COMPANY CLUBS Initiating direct contact with a corporation or government agency to convince them to organize and support an in-house Toastmasters club is a challenging, yet often effective club-building method. In most cases, the best way to approach a company is through its employees. If a current Toastmasters member is employed there, they may have the authority needed to approve the club, be able to speak with and influence the decision maker, or at least know who it is and how to contact them. However, in some cases, a district representative may need to contact the company by making a cold call. When considering this type of contact, selecting the right person to make the call is important. Optimally, the person will be experienced in making corporate sales calls and can bring their own experience and expertise to the situation. The person should be outgoing, personable and able to easily handle rejection. They must be an experienced Toastmaster who is able to discuss the features, benefits and value of the Toastmasters program without hesitation. The right person with the right approach is the key to success. By now, you have obtained a lead for a company club, or perhaps the marketing committee determined which companies in your district to target. If needed, the pre-selected cold caller contacts the company, finds out who the decision maker is and requests an appointment. After determining the appropriate company contact, the pre-selected caller should send the Corporate Marketing Letter ( corporatemarketingletter) which includes the features, benefits and values of the Toastmasters program. When meeting face-to-face, it is important to provide all of the information a decision maker needs to determine if Toastmasters is right for their organization. Be sure to review the Guide to Corporate Visits ( to know what should be presented at this type of initial meeting. 8 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS

9 During the visit you ll want to share the Introductory Meeting Presentation ( corporatepresentation) that highlights the Toastmasters program, cost and benefits. Also, be sure to have promotional items that you can leave behind. Some recommended resources are: All About Toastmasters (Item 124), Clear Communication: Your organization needs it (Item 103), and the Features, Benefits and Value chart ( Once you have obtained the philosophical support of the company, your next step is to obtain financial commitment and support. Here are some suggestions: Arrange a time and place to conduct a demonstration meeting. Nearly all companies and government organizations have conference rooms which are suitable for Toastmasters meetings. Invite company officials to attend the demonstration meeting to show prospective members that the organization supports the new club. Arrange to publicize the meeting on company bulletin boards, via , and in the organization s newsletter. Some companies will put Toastmasters information in employees pay envelopes as long as you supply the fliers or brochures. Determine what portion of the club costs the company will pay. This varies widely. The most common situation involves the organization paying the charter fee and the new member fee, while members pay their own dues. Many companies may also cover the costs of a banner and other club materials. Once these steps are finished, you re ready to complete the process. See How to Build a Toastmasters Club: A Step-by-Step Guide (Item 121) for demonstration meeting guidelines, club charter paperwork and instructions. ORGANIZING A COMMUNITY CLUB The following hints have been effective for many clubs, but don t feel restricted to these ideas. Improve ments, suggestions and comments are welcomed simply by ing marketing@toastmasters.org. Find out if there are other Toastmasters or former Toastmasters living in your target community. You can do this by contacting your district director. Solicit the assistance and support of these Toastmasters. Appoint a person (or persons) to serve as a local contact. That person preferably an individual with Toastmasters experience should arrange the time and place for the demonstration meeting, be available to answer questions from potential members prior to the meeting and coordinate local publicity. (See How to Build a Toastmasters Club: A Step-by-Step Guide (Item 121) to learn more about demonstration meetings.) Set up the demonstration meeting two to four weeks in advance. This provides enough time for publicity and promotion. Publicize the demonstration meeting in all local newspapers. If the community has radio and/or television stations, submit public service announcements with taglines that refer to the demonstration meeting. Television and radio spot announcements are available from Toastmasters International. Contact your local chamber of commerce and obtain a list of organizations such as Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, Jaycees, etc., and send a demonstration meeting invitation to their club officers. Promote extensively by using brochures, posters, etc. CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS 9

10 Look for membership clusters. These are groups of people employees, church groups, military personnel, members of other clubs, etc. which by themselves can t support a Toastmasters club but can contribute a strong nucleus of potential members. At the demonstration meeting, closing the sale is essential because you and the other Toastmasters helping form the club may have to travel long distances to attend meetings. The more you can accomplish at the first meeting, the less travel will be necessary. If possible, collect each prospective member s share of the charter fee, as well as the service charge and dues. Encourage those individuals who commit to the club to elect temporary officers and to make firm plans for the second meeting. Have extra copies of Competent Communication (Item 225) and Competent Leader ship (Item 265) for the club to use while it awaits receipt of the charter kit. 10 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS

11 APPENDIX A SAMPLE REFERRAL FORM Yes! I believe I know where a new club can be organized! Hints: Clubs can be formed within a company, in a business area where there are several small or mediumsized companies, or in a traditional community, whether it s a small town or a suburb. At or near my place of business: Company name: Location: In a community I m familiar with: Community name: Referral submitted by: Name: Address: Club number/name: Phone: Work Home CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS 11

12 NOTES 12 CLUB-BUILDING STRATEGY GUIDE FOR DISTRICTS

The Three R s for Adding & Involving New Members RECRUIT, RECOGNIZE & RETAIN

The Three R s for Adding & Involving New Members RECRUIT, RECOGNIZE & RETAIN Recruit Who When Where How Recruit Who List people you can talk to about joining your club. Friends & Neighbors Relatives Church