How to Deal with Low Enrollment Participation

Key Points to Keep in Mind

• See included RMA HQ Marketing Schedule.
• Flyer is sent out by RMA three months before event. 
• The cancellation date for open enrollments is three weeks from the event date.
• There must be a minimum of six participants registered by the cancellation date for the course to be held.
• Low enrollment notices are e-mailed approximately two weeks prior to the cancellation date.

How Does RMA HQ Market Open Enrollment?

• Professional Development Catalog
• Career Development Catalog – mailed to a limited number of Professional and Associate members on a bimonthly basis.
• RMA website. www.rmahq.org  updated continuously.
• The RMA Journal.
• E-mails & faxes are sent to local Associate and Professional members.
• E-mails sent to nonmembers who have attended open enrollment classes in the past 18 months.

Tips for Your Chapter

• To ensure the chapter is co-sponsoring courses that the membership would like to see, send out chapter education survey to entire e-mail list (members and nonmembers). Be sure to schedule the most requested classes and avoid scheduling courses that were not specifically requested.
• Build relationships with Chief Credit Officers and CEO’s in order to call on them to send attendees.
• Make appointments to meet training directors. Ask them what their banks training needs are. Promote RMA and how it can benefit their bank.
• Ask each board member to commit to obtaining a certain number of attendees.
• Create a committee to assist the education chair, not only to plan courses, but to increase attendance.
• Involve board members and past presidents in local bank visits to promote RMA and upcoming educational events.
• Ask past open-enrollment attendees to speak at general membership meetings to promote the benefits of open enrollment courses. 
• Market open enrollment courses early and often through chapter newsletters and marketing brochures.
• Consider creating personalized e-mails using the open enrollment course description from the Professional Development Catalog and include the website registration link with your e-mail.
• Use your ambassador program to promote open enrollment.
• Distribute the RMA provided flyer via e-mail to the chapter’s entire distribution list. Be sure to include both members and nonmembers. Don’t forget to include your Professional and Student members. 
• Obtain the list of participants from prior open enrollment courses and add them to your distribution list.
• When communicating upcoming open enrollment courses, be sure to include a registration deadline (the cancellation date) to encourage early enrollment.
• Consider using chapter funds to incent the first six attendees who register for an open enrollment course (maybe discount their registration fee or provide them with a free registration to a local chapter event).
• Offer incentives to anyone who refers an attendee to an open enrollment course.
• Be sure to announce upcoming open enrollment courses at all of your chapter functions.
• Send special announcements of upcoming open enrollment courses to the CRCs in your area and surrounding areas. Be sure to include the number of continuing education credits that can be earned.
• Enlist the help of your Regional Manager to contact banks within your market to encourage attendance.

RMA HQ Marketing Schedule for Cosponsored Events

RMA HQ will market your chapter’s cosponsored educational event according to the following schedule. Please note that this is in addition to marketing efforts in the bi-monthly catalog and the RMA website.

Open Enrollment e-mail communications (except chapter heads e-mail) go to the following groups of people:

• Associates
• Training directors
• Chapter prospects
• Non-associates who’ve attended a course in the last 18 months.

Please note: Often, the most successful marketing is done by the local chapter. Your chapter will likely have access to names and contacts in your local area that are not available to RMA HQ. Don’t forget to market to CPA’s who are usually looking to pick-up CPE credits! Be sure to market locally for maximum results!

For more information and for additional resources, please contact the Regional Manager for your area.