MEMBERSHIP BEST PRACTICES 2010

VALUE What value do you believe your chapter brings to an individual, a group and our organization? Women’s Council of REALTORS® Mission Statement is a good start.

LEADERSHIP How do we teach this to members, what do members learn, what are the ways members learn? – being in positions of responsibility and not just line officers positions. How can members apply this to their business, everyday life and their home life?

FRIENDSHIP We all know that we have made some incredible friendships through involvement in Women’s Council of REALTORS®. We tell people this but do we tell them what we have gained through these friendships, how it has helped us, motivated us, mentored us, etc? Give examples

NETWORKING Networking is an action verb. Set up guidelines to effective networking. This has become a buzz word, but what is it really? Remember you must give to get.

PERSONAL GROWTH Real life stories are great examples. How did someone grow, change, improve from membership and why did this occur? What were the steps in the growth, how did they realize it when it happened? Example would be of someone afraid to speak in front of a group, who now does it with ease because of experiencing it through your chapter.

EDUCATION What are the different education opportunities that we offer? Consider opportunities other than classes, such as chairing a committee, volunteering in the community, negotiating with vendors, budgeting, learning how to develop an agenda and how to run a meeting, etc.

REMEMBER Retention and recruitment is every member’s job and not just a committee’s responsibility. Ask people to get involved because you need their help. Remind all members that they are needed to make the chapter successful.

RETENTION Identify who are your current members. Identify who is involved and who is not very involved. Gather input from your membership about what is important to them and how your chapter can improve. Evaluate the information to formulate a plan of action.

ACTION PLAN FOR RETENTION If they are not involved, find ways to get them involved. If they are not attending, reach out and encourage them to come with calls, , personal notes, video messages, etc. Survey the members who are not renewing and ask them why? Learn from this input and make changes.

ACTION PLAN FOR RETENTION Make members feel welcomed and important. Give value to your members. Recognize members. Task is to Ask - ask different members to become involved instead of relying on the same ones. Develop mentorship programs.

RECRUITING Identify who are your members. Identify who are your target new members. Develop plans of action, steps to achieve those actions to recruit new members.

PLANS OF ACTION FOR RECRUITING Identify who, when, where? Board functions, new realtor orientation, real estate offices, builder events, realtor events, real estate schools, co-workers, friends, expos, seminars, resources that you use in your business, community events, and other real estate related organizations.

PLANS OF ACTION FOR RECRUITMENT Create marketing materials and chapter- related giveaways. Remember to include meeting dates, speakers, location, how to make a reservation for meetings, mission statement, officers, and applications for membership.

OTHER RESOURCES For more ideas on how to implement these Best Practices, please go to the national website and look at Action Kits, Task is to Ask, Message Boards and the numerous other resources that are available to you. Contact other chapters in the state, ask your Texas District Vice President, or get help from the State Membership Chairperson.

CAMPAIGNS TO CONSIDER FOR RECRUITING Contests Drawings Testimonial sharing Mix, mingle, and invite What is Women’s Council of REALTORS®? What is the value of your chapter?