|
| |
What clients say
"...some
of our volunteers had soured on the old boiler room, strong-arm
approach..."
Drew Snow, Membership Director (and Bill Sproull, President/CEO),
Richardson, TX Chamber of Commerce (drew@richardsonchamber.com,
972.792.2805;
bill@richardsonchamber.com. 972.792.2801)
"Joan brought a new perspective to our membership awareness
campaign. I think it took a while for her message to sink in with
some of our volunteers who had soured on the old boiler room,
strong-arm approach. We saw continued membership sales from our
volunteers - even after the drive was over! To this day, we are
seeing increased volunteer membership sales and more engagement with
new members. We also sold out our trade show which followed the
campaign with 150 exhibitors." I would strongly endorse Joan to
other chambers and we are considering her approach for a private
trade association that we run as well.
"
An Amazing Experience"
Bernadette Bingham, Vice President, Saginaw County, MI Chamber,
(989) 757-2116
bernadette@saginawchamber.org
The Chamber Challenge
Campaign has been amazingly successful in bringing in Sponsorship,
Advertising and donation dollars, but we experienced a real
challenge growing our membership base through this fund development
vehicle. The Chamber Development Services membership campaign, which
we titled Faces of the Future Growth Initiative, was a perfect
complement for our Chamber Challenge Campaign. In tough economic
times, bringing in 160 new members in 2 ˝ days, (all cash up front!)
was an amazing experience. The Faces of the Future experience was
short but intense, certainly very successful, and we will definitely
make this process a permanent part of the Chamber Challenge
Campaign.
and Bob Van Deventer,
President/CEO of the Saginaw County Chamber,
989-752-7161
bob@saginawchamber.org
"Thanks again for the great work you did for our team."
"3
times the new chamber members and the following year our retention
rate was 92%."
Connie
J. Elies, IOM, President/CEO, Alvin-Manvel Area (TX) Chamber of
Commerce,
(281) 331-3944,
connie@alvintexas.org
"For years our chamber had conducted its own "membership drives"
averaging about 20 - 25 new members. The reward for our efforts was
a retention rate of 86%.
Then in 2006, we met Joan Testa of Chamber Development Services,
Inc. and contracted with her to conduct our membership drive. That
membership drive resulted in 3 times the new chamber members and the
following year our retention rate was 92%.
The one thing I believe contributed most to our increased retention
is Joan's method of bringing in new members. The volunteers are
trained and reminded of the value of their Chamber membership. They
don't make "cold calls", rather they bring in their own contacts so
they're calling people they already have a relationship with and
they're sharing their own experience as a chamber member.
Our thanks to Joan Testa and Chamber Development Services!"
'A record-smashing success'
Jay Chesshir, then president, The Greater Hot Springs (AR.) Chamber
of Commerce, now president of the Little Rock, AR Chamber
(501-377.6002,
jchesshir@littlerockchamber.com )
My executive vice president suggested that we hire Chamber
Development Services Inc. to assist with our membership growth.
Initially, I was less than enthused. The idea of a membership drive
conjured up visions of a boiler room telemarketing scheme. However,
Joan traveled to Hot Springs and convinced us that her approach was
actually a training program, teaching chamber benefits to volunteers
who then share this information with community businesses.
We implemented the program and I am now a total believer!
Regardless of what you’ve seen, read, or heard, all membership
drives are not alike. CDS was a record-smashing success! In just
three days, we added 140 members (paid in full) which represented
over $34,000 in revenue. More importantly, we utilized Joan's
training program to teach our volunteers the value of being a
chamber member. I can’t tell you how many times the age-old question
has been asked: "What does the chamber do for me?” Well, Joan taught
40 key Hot Springs business leaders what the answer is! They shared
this with their business peers. The marketing and retention
materials she wrote, the workshops and training sessions she
conducted, and the emphasis she placed on sharing the value of a
chamber membership will benefit our organization in our current as
well as our future growth.
I would strongly recommend that other chambers partner with
Chamber Development Services Inc. to grow their organizations the
right (Joan Testa) way! The net revenues you’ll derive from the
program will be higher than you could achieve trying to do it
yourself. Better still: the entire program is provided in written
form for your chamber to use as a customized recruitment and
retention tool after the campaign is complete.
'Members are well
informed'
Terrie Keith, vice president, McKinney (Tex.) Chamber of
Commerce (972-542-0163):
I want to thank you for facilitating our membership campaign. I
feel that the new members that were recruited during the three-day
campaign are well informed of their benefits and the role of the
chamber, which will increase the retention of these members next
year.
Your approach of educating the volunteers and board members about
the role of the chamber and its benefits played a vital role in our
board selecting Chamber Development Services to facilitate our
campaign. In my opinion, the most valuable tool that you produced
for our volunteers was the consolidation of benefits and programs
into a concise and informative marketing piece.
I appreciate your attention to detail, and the step-by-step
timeline for action items that you addressed in the campaign
planning tools that you provided. I used several of the sample
letters, correspondence tools, and ideas that were included in our
notebook. This certainly helped me to stay on task and make the
campaign a success.
'outlined every
detail'
Ed Carr, Executive Director, Alamogordo,
NM Chamber (505-437-6120,
ed@alamogordo.com)
Joan Testa was superb. She laid
out a Membership Campaign plan that outlined every detail for a
successful campaign. Norman Schwarzkopf could not have planned
it better.
'Look at the results'
Mark Lee, board chair, Lebanon/Wilson (Tenn.) County
Chamber of Commerce:
Thank you again for reminding us all of the value of the chamber.
The enthusiasm you and your team generate is contagious! You
continue to make members of the chamber feel vital; it is so
exciting to see the membership not only grow but grow informed of
the part the chamber plays in our community.
I admit, I was a skeptic about having two membership drives
within four years, but look at the results! We started with
struggling to maintain a membership of 500 and now it's almost 1,000
strong! Thanks, Joan, for all that you do in maintaining strong and
vital chambers of commerce everywhere. Without them, our communities
would not be the wonderful places to live and do business that they
are.
'An excellent
training program'
Sid Allen, president, Longview (TX) Partnership, now
president, Midland, MI (989-839-9901, sallen@macc.org)
Recently, we concluded a drive administered by Chamber
Development Services and Joan Testa. It was an outstanding
experience. We surpassed by our by 40%. Almost 90% of
our volunteers sold memberships which, I think, is indicative of an
excellent training program. Many of our volunteers were
apprehensive about their participation. Afterwards, most
remarked that the experience was actually fun and certainly
productive.
'Double our
membership'
Joy Jeffries, executive director, Bastrop-Morehouse (La.)
Chamber of Commerce Inc. (now Tourism Director, Frankfort, KY, (502)
875-8687
joy@visitfrankfort.com)
CDS brought our existing membership together in a way that has
never happened before. You caused us to formulate exactly what we do
and who we are in a way that could be sold so easily. You provided a
structure for growth that made it easy to grow. Joan shared with us
just a few ideas to include in our benefits that make or membership
drastically more attractive. She was pushy enough to be effective
and endearing enough to get away with it. CDS helped us double our
membership. Since the campaign ended, we have only had two or three
weeks that we have not continued to add new members.
Would I recommend Chamber Development Services? Yes, in a
heartbeat. I can say confidently that you can't go wrong. We have
also used the retention manual very effectively. This is not just a
membership drive; it is truly a community awareness campaign.
'Highly recommend
that all Chambers partner with Joan to educate the community on all
a Chamber of Commerce would do for their organization today,
tomorrow and in the future'
Denise Polachek, Membership Department Manager, Greater
Elkhart (IN) Chamber of Commerce (574-293-1531, dpolachek@elkhart.org)
Our board and staff could not believe how easy Joan was
to work with and how smoothly this drive ran, compared to our last
one. Not only did our newest members receive the proper
education on what our Chamber is all about, but our staff, board and
volunteers were enlightened by some new approaches to talking to
prospective members and shown all the benefits we offer our members
and the community we do business in.
'Thanks to you'
Mary Martin Frazior, CEO, The Chamber of Commerce Hurst
Euless Bedford (TX)
mary.frazior@heb.org, 817-283-1521:
Since we had not had a volunteer drive in several years, we
didn't know what to expect from the board members and others who
agreed to participate. I think our volunteers were pleasantly
surprised at how easy it was. The preparation you put into the sales
materials and the presentations you made to give our volunteers the
right words and attitude was invaluable. The volunteers were pleased
at the response they received. In addition, we're adding your
retention suggestions to our regular schedule for contacts, and feel
that this drive will produce more active members than usual.
'The
best investment the Milford Chamber of Commerce has ever made'
Patrick Madden, Incoming Chamber Chairman and
General Manager, Westfield
Shoppingtown Connecticut Post (203) 878-6837 e-mail:
pmadden@westfield.com:
Critical to the program's success is the total
commitment by the Board of Directors to volunteer to make the
contacts. I must tell you that our group was a bit skeptical at
first, since we are all very busy people with businesses to run. We
certainly don't like making cold calls, and our success at prior
membership drives was mediocre at best. With Joan's program,
however, there are no cold calls. We spoke only with people we
personally knew, people we already had a relationship with. Plus,
there was no arm-twisting. We were simply explaining how our own
business has benefited from Chamber membership. Our terrific result
was achieved by a couple of dozen volunteers signing up just a few
new members each. It was truly enjoyable, fun and gratifying.
I cannot begin to tell you how it makes you feel
when a fellow business-person thanks you for thinking of them and is
excited about joining the Chamber!
'I
loved the notebook you left me with a step by step plan'
Sondra McMellon, VP Membership Development, Texarkana
TX/AR Chamber of Commerce, 903-792-7191
Things
are great in Texarkana. The best career move I have ever made was
hiring you last year. Not only was the campaign successful last year
with 176 new members and $33,521 in membership dues the 2005
campaign was successful as well with 149 new members and $32,132 in
membership dues.
I loved
the notebook you left me with a step by step plan. I had the
Business Expo project planning at the same time as Membership Drive
and it was very helpful and time saving already having a basic plan
in place.
Thank
you, thank you, thank you! You were great to work with and your
successes continue as I implement the procedures you have left.
'Experience has been
great'
Bryan L. Hisel, executive director, and Karen S. Jorgenson,
project coordinator, Mitchell Area (S.D.) Chamber of Commerce
(bhiselmadc@santel.net,
605-996-5567):
The support provided by CDS was exemplary. They provided us with
a complete road map of information emphasizing community awareness
with a step-by-step template for membership recruitment and a time
line for the drive preparation was laid out in great detail.
Upon arrival, CDS kicked off a training and motivational event
with the chamber volunteers so they had the knowledge and overall
true picture of what the chamber is and how being a member of the
chamber is a smart business investment. In addition to that, each
team received one hour of detail training before they started with
their prospect calls.
CDS' services do not stop with the end of the drive. Along with
the recruitment program, CDS provides an action plan for retention
of these new members through education and customer service. Our
experience with CDS has been great and we would highly recommend its
membership recruitment and retention services.
"Our regular recruitment efforts have been enhanced..."
Jim Jerose, director of member services, Greater Syracuse
Chamber of Commerce, Syracuse, NY (315-470-1998, jjerose@syracusechamber.com)
The Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce retained Joan
Testa, President of Chamber Development Services, Inc. to provide
certain targeted, highly specific services....prospect development &
lead management, sales training, membership retention, membership
recruitment by volunteers and volunteer management, long-range
membership development, and presentation of the Chamber membership
value proposition. Joan has been a fine resource and advisor on
these important matters. As a result, we have built many of
her key recommendations into our marketing and sales strategies.
As a result, our regular recruitment efforts have been enhanced, and
we believe our membership retention will increase with the tactics
Joan has suggested. With the membership department "audit" she
conducted, we now have greater confidence in our staff efforts and
have additional practical methods to employ in our work. It
has been a friendly, helpful and productive engagement.
'Great stuff, Joan'
Robin Bleckwehl, president and chief executive officer,
Rohnert Park (Calif.) Chamber of Commerce:
Weeks after I became President/CEO of the Rohnert Park Chamber of
Commerce my board chair told me board directors had scheduled a
membership drive that was to take place in less than four weeks. I
had no idea what that meant. I was told, "Call Joan, she'll tell you
what to do." Yep, sure enough. You coached me by phone through the
preparations and then you arrived in person in this huge energy
wave. We were up and running for the next four days.
I still brag about how successful that membership drive was.
Board members and their team members were so proud of their
accomplishments: 127 new members, an awesome accomplishment. And I
know from experience that we could not have done it without you.
But we got something more besides new members over those four
days: training. Board members and volunteers learned how valuable
their membership in the chamber is to their businesses. You trained
them on phone techniques, sales skills, and how to make a convincing
presentation, all of which they can use in their own businesses and
professions. This is an immediate and tangible benefit of
participating in chamber activities. Companies reap the benefits of
their employees' accomplishments and professional growth experiences
they get by being part of a chamber of commerce. It's the most cost
effective training and personal development program there is.
We got another benefit from having you run our membership drive.
This is your membership retention program Attention to Retention.
Once you have them, you have to keep them. Retention starts the day
a new member signs on the dotted line.
The program is rich with the accumulated wisdom and experiences
of many of your clients from all parts of the country. The
information is easily customized, and if a chamber just follows the
steps, they will be successful. Great stuff, Joan.
All statements edited
for length and clarity.
Titles refer to the authors' occupations at time of correspondence.
|
|
