What is an Ambassadors Program?
An Ambassadors Program is a twofold program designed within the chapter to increase contact with existing RMA members and Associates, as well as prospective and nonmember institutions.
The program is intended to distribute the responsibility for membership recruitment among multiple volunteers, as well as to personalize the RMA membership experience for our members and Associates.
The program is a great way to make sure that your flyers are distributed through each bank in your demographic. The program is also intended to assist in the marketing of your events and to ensure notification to all appropriate areas of the banks.
What is an Ambassador’s responsibility?
- Ambassadors are assigned a list of prospective institutions and/or Associates that they are responsible for contacting and recruiting to the organization.
- Ambassadors are also assigned a list of existing institutions and/or Associates that they are responsible for contacting and inviting to upcoming meetings. They also check in with members to ensure that their RMA experience is favorable. RMA members sometimes leave the organization based purely on lack of engagement. Often a simple phone call, especially to new institutions and Associates, improves the level of engagement.
- As a key contact for the bank, the Ambassador would act as the main distribution point for all RMA communications and notifications.
- The Ambassador might also be responsible for overseeing other areas, such as payment of local dues, payment for events, obtaining the appropriate contacts for specific events, and handling any local RMA need.
How do you set up an Ambassadors program?
There are multiple ways to initiate an effective Ambassadors program:
- Divide the chapter footprint geographically. For chapters with large geographic footprints, assigning Ambassador duties regionally is often very effective. By finding key volunteers in clearly defined markets, it is easier for an Ambassador to successfully contact institutions and Associates.
Tip: Ambassadors may use established local contacts, such as CPAs and law firms, for direct recruitment as well as to identify and introduce them to prospective institutions and Associates.
- Divide the chapter footprint by key contacts. It is often difficult for more junior RMA volunteers to make contact with senior members of organizations that are prospective RMA Institutional or Associate members. Assigning calling responsibilities based on peer-to-peer contacts often increases the response rate. Use senior RMA board members to make an initial call to assist a more junior member with making the closing contact.
Tip: Senior members often already have regular contact with peers at other non-RMA organizations. RMA membership is an effective icebreaker to engage more organizations in peer-to-peer contact and round tables.
- Separate the existing RMA membership list from the prospective membership list. It is as important for Ambassadors to call on existing members as it is to recruit new members. Retention of existing members is critically important to the organization’s long-term viability.
Initializing the Effort
- Establish a time frame in which each Ambassador will make contact with existing members and prospective members.
- Although generally more effective, personal phone calls are not the only way to engage existing members. Having board members send out e-mails to each Ambassador introducing themselves and offering themselves as a direct contact person for any specific RMA question often helps personalize the RMA experience. Follow-up phone calls and e-mails inviting Ambassadors and their institutions to chapter events are more likely to be acknowledged after the initial introduction period.
- Ask Ambassadors for representatives from each bank. It is much easier to contact one individual at any given institution and have that person contact others within that institution. It’s much easier to spread the word using the team or pyramid concept.
- Use the RMA Regional Managers (RMs) to initiate calling efforts for institutional Ambassadors. Joint calls with a member of RMA HQ are effective ways to sell the RMA experience to new institutions. RMs can speak fluently to the aggregate benefits of Institutional membership.