How to Run a Successful Women in Business Program

Women often appreciate events targeted to their particular interests and issues. It is important to target programs to the needs of specific members (just as you do with your young bankers and other affinity groups). You can provide programs geared strictly toward women, or you can offer programs that meet professional women’s needs, but which also serve the needs of the men in your local chapter.  Either way you go, there are some important steps to follow in designing results-oriented programs for the women in your chapter.

Benefits of a Women in Business Group: 

• Fresh perspectives and new ideas.
• Greater awareness of RMA among your member institutions.
• An increased volunteer leadership pool.
• An increase in Associate memberships. 
• Improved attendance at general membership meetings.
• Added value to your women members through
  • Career enhancement.
  • Mentoring opportunities.
  • Networking in a comfortable environment.

How to Get Started: 

• Select a chapter board member to spearhead the committee. Have the board member select a group of individuals to make up the committee. While the entire board must be involved in this initiative, the committee may include people from outside the board. Board members may be able to suggest individuals from their institutions who would be willing to serve and, more importantly, to participate actively.
• Diversify the committee. To provide your members the best networking opportunities, make sure your committee is diverse. A well-rounded committee should include bankers, CPA’s, attorneys, and other women professionals at all stages of their careers.
• Build a database of businesswomen who are in your market. Ask all committee & board members to submit the names and addresses of potential attendees who work in their institutions. Include networking contacts in other professions such as CPA’s and attorneys. 
• Learn from the many RMA chapters that are already on the right track. Many RMA chapters have already launched successful Women in Business Affinity Groups. This means information on program ideas and success stories is readily available from other groups. Ask your Regional Executive for information or look on the RMA Web site.
• Plan and move forward.
  • Define what you want to achieve. 
  • Determine the number and timing of your events. 
  • Should they be educational and informational sessions, business- or career-building opportunities, or social occasions … or a mix of all kinds?
  • Make a list of your target audience pool.
  • Submit your plan to the board at the next meeting and move forward! 

Developing a Women in Business Program

• Survey your members to find out what programs and topics interest the women in your membership and targeted audience. 
  • Find out the preferred time for meetings: breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 
  • Consider the added constraints your targeted audience of women may face, such as child-care responsibilities. 
• Hold joint meetings with other professional organizations such as the Women’s Bar Association, Financial Women International, a local CPA association, Turnaround Management Association, CREW. Such a strategy cannot only increase attendance at your event, but may also result in some new RMA members.  Even if you are not holding a joint meeting, invite members of other organizations to attend your event.

Program ideas

• Balancing your Career with Your Personal Life.
• Glass Ceiling Issues.
• Dealing with Sexual Harassment Issues from Your Customers.
• Golf Etiquette, Golf Clinic, or Golf Outing.
• Success Stories from Top Women Executives.
• Child or Elderly Parent Care or In-Home Care Issues.
• Time Management: How You Can Get It All Done.
• A CEO or Senior Executive Panel made up of women on Career Development or Career Strategies. 
• Tips on How to Strike Up a Conversation with Sports Nuts. (Sports for Dummies.)
• A Networking Seminar: Getting More Out of Networking, How to Work a Room, and Other Ways Networking Can Help You and Your Employer.
• Seminars on Communication Skills, Negotiation Skills, Sales Skills, or Organizational Skills.
• Career Coaching.
• Stress Management.
• Leadership Series Where Local Influential Women Tell Their Own Success Stories.
• Social Events Can Provide an Informal Atmosphere that May Make It Easier to Network.  For example, if you are going to try “Basketball for Dummies,” why not hold the event at a basketball game?
• Check out the RMA Web site at www.rmahq.org for other program topic ideas.

EXAMPLE of a Successful Women in Business Program

The Triad RMA group in North Carolina coordinated with their four local chambers of commerce. They have a nice luncheon and a name speaker or panel. For the past two years, they had turnouts of 200–300 people and the local chapter made a nice four-figure profit on both of these events.

Some examples of speakers are:

• The Lt. Governor of NC
• Corporate executives
• Local education leaders 
• When holding a panel, get a local female TV personality to facilitate.

Other items to consider:

• Co-sponsor with local chambers of commerce/huge mailing lists.
• Have a major corporate sponsor. In our example the chapter charged $3,000 for the sponsorship to help cover costs. The sponsor got a free table, logo in program, logo on banner, and two minutes as part of the introduction.
• Most of the sales were for entire tables; be sure that table sponsors get program recognition.
  Have a nice luncheon setting with centerpieces, door prizes, etc.

These programs have attracted 100+ bank attendees but also a lot of non-bank attendees

Additional Tips for a Successful Women in Business Program

• Communicate through a newsletter or Web site. A one-page newsletter is an easy way to communicate. The newsletter can extend invitations to upcoming general membership meetings and training sessions.
• Go for some FREE, local publicity
  Remember, you’ve got a good story to tell. Send out a notice or pitch letter to your local media, both print and broadcast (radio and TV), giving them the details on your next meeting and inviting them to do a story about the new RMA Women in Business Affinity Group. Maybe they will be interested enough to send a reporter or photographer to your next meeting.
• Use icebreakers. One big benefit of attending an RMA meeting is networking. Give participants an excuse to talk to each other. Use assigned seating to encourage diversity. Arrange the tables so that there is a combination of CPAs, bankers, attorneys, and others at the same table. 

Use Giveaways

• Hand out surveys at the event to determine what other topics would be of interest to the group.  Hold a prize drawing from the completed surveys. 
• Have the tables compete with each other for a prize. For example, ask each table to come up with questions for the speaker. Then, give a prize to the table that asks the most questions!
• Collect business cards for a prize drawing and enter the contact information into your database.
• Find an inexpensive giveaway, possibly with the chapter logo, to put on each chair. Be creative and make it fun!