Successful Membership Recruitment Ideas

Set Up a Membership Committee

• Select outgoing individuals who converse easily with other people. Consider adding some non-bankers who are actively involved in networking with bankers.
• Realize that some people have a talent for convincing others to join an association, while some people don't. Recognize your stars and get them to help out in face-to-face opportunities.
• Involve professionals who are on your Membership Committee.
• Set up the Membership Committee before the year begins and encourage the Membership Committee chair to attend the RMA Leaders Conference in June.
• Select a committee chairperson, but make sure the board realizes that membership recruitment is everyone's responsibility.
• Make sure that all committee volunteers and board members are Associate or Professional members of RMA. If not, recommend they join personally (so that they are aware of the full benefits of membership and can more effectively recruit others to join).

Set Goals and Use Incentives

• Each year prior to starting a membership campaign, get your Membership Committee chair to provide an overview/refresher to the board on RMA membership, including: types of membership, dues, and benefits.
• At your planning meeting, get your entire board involved in setting membership goals, and enlist your board's support to meet those goals.
  • Brainstorm at your first board planning meeting. Develop a list of prospective institutions and associates to target for membership.
  • If your chapter maintains a database or records of past attendees, use this as a base or starting point for developing a prospect list.
• Challenge board members to a membership recruiting contest and offer prizes, e.g. dinner for two at a nice restaurant, iPod, or movie passes to whoever recruits the most members. Each board member is expected to recruit at least two new Associate Members per year.
• Establish a schedule of regular meetings for the Membership Committee, so its committee members can share results, exchange ideas, and track progress on a regular basis.
• Make it a regular item on the agenda at all board meetings to report recruitment progress. This may result in new leads for prospective institutional and Associate Members, and will also remind all board members of their membership development responsibilities.
• Try to coordinate/synchronize your chapter's new member campaign with the national RMA's membership campaigns. That way you can capitalize on any extra benefit offered by RMA HQ, and maximize the incentives your chapter offers.

Consider These Recruitment Tips

• Institute a "buddy system." Each board member should select two nonmember institutions (or professional firms) and serve as their "buddy" for the year. Board members should call these institutions, invite them to meetings, and highlight upcoming educational activities. Offer free attendance, if you think that is needed to get a prospect to attend and event.
• As Credit Risk Certification (CRC) becomes better understood and accepted, more banks will value the programming and educational opportunities provided by your chapter. Use certification as a "door opener" to begin your conversation about membership in RMA.
• Ask each member to accept responsibility for recruiting within his or her own company.
• Keep nonmembers on your mailing list. Send them newsletters and meeting notices. Invite them to join RMA when they attend any event.
• Immediately following every event, send letters and applications to all nonmembers who attended and invite them to join RMA. These people are your BEST prospects for membership. (This means you need to build into the event registration a way to capture every registrant's mailing and e-mail address, and other contact information.
• Offer two-tiered pricing, one price for members and a higher price for nonmembers to show the value of RMA membership
  • Associate membership in RMA costs $50, of which $20 goes back to the chapter. Consider pricing your event, so that the price for nonmembers is sufficiently higher than the price for members that it encourages attendees to become members right away so they can take advantage of the lower member price for that event. That way they can recoup the $50 membership charge after paying the lower member price for just one or two events.
• Use RMA resources! The Membership Toolbox has applications, sample membership recruitment letters, tips sheets, and contact info for RMA staff.
• You can also order an RMA Product Box (free of charge) from HQ. The Product Box includes applications, brochures, educational info, and a variety of information related to RMA's initiatives and services.
• Invite your Regional Executive (RE) to join you or another board/committee member for onsite calls to prospective member institutions while he/she is visiting your chapter. RE's are very knowledgeable about the latest products and services that RMA offers, while you know the benefits of RMA membership specific to local institutions.
• Consider a members-only event that features a high profile speaker. Allow nonmembers to become members at the door or when they register for the event.
• Suggest that the chapter use local bankers' banks to help recruit new members. Bankers at those institutions know all the players and can be a good source of hot prospects.
• Correspondent banking departments at larger banks are another good source of high-quality referrals.
• Fostering relationships with local graduate schools of banking (Stonier, SWGSB, LSU, etc.) can result in good publicity for both your chapter and the school. And it could also generate new members.

Follow Up and Recognize

• Track new members and make sure you add them to the chapter's mailing lists. Share the results with each person on the Membership Committee and recognize individual efforts.
• Introduce new members at each general membership meeting. Encourage the committee member who recruited the new member to make the introduction.
• Make special mention of new members in your local newsletter or on your chapter Web site.
• Recognize the recruitment successes of each board member at an awards lunch.

Most Important of All...Make Sure You Are Involved!

For more information and for additional resources, please contact William Githens at bgithens@rmahq.org or 215-446-4124 or contact the Regional Manager for your area.