Over the last few weeks we’ve covered A to Z of membership recruitment and its importance to the vitality of our organization.  Whether you’re visiting with neighbors over coffee or organizing a membership campaign, these tips of the trade will continue to serve you well.  As we begin to wrap up this series, we thought it would be a good idea to recap some of the best practices when it comes to membershipping. 

Membership Recruitment Best Practices 

Get the available tools to help you become a more informed recruiter.  By working with your Regional Manager you can easily get One Voice Stronger cards, Neighbor to Neighbor packets and old membership lists.

Take any opportunity to recruit.  Coffee shop talk, running into your neighbor at the feed store, during your kids’ sporting events, etc… the opportunities are endless.  You’ll recall from earlier posts that membership work can and should happen all the time; it doesn’t always require an organized effort.  

Wear Farm Bureau apparel.  For one, this is probably the easiest way to show your support for the organization and it’s a fantastic conversation starter.  

Remember; don’t assume it’s someone else’s job.  It’s every member’s job to grow a powerful organization that works on behalf of Montana’s farm and ranch families.

Don’t cold call.  It’s one thing to have a spontaneous conversation when you bump into someone (i.e. take every opportunity to recruit), but if you’re planning a more organized membership campaign cold calling potential members can really put a damper on your success.  It’s always a good idea to call, text or email first letting them know you’d like to talk Farm Bureau and asking if they have a few moments.

Get the check. Don’t just talk to a member about joining, close the deal by getting them to sign up.

Follow up with new members.  County leadership should send a note welcoming new members.  The best way to get new faces involved is to open the door and make them feel welcome in our organization.  Plus, if a new member feels personally included, they feel better about showing up to meetings and getting more involved.

Member recruitment really is something that can happen virtually anywhere at any time.  Keeping yourself armed with these best practices will help make you an effective and efficient recruiter.