Leadership Training Academy
Jim Walker
April 6, 2014
Agenda


A&WMA Membership 101
The Value of AWMA Membership



Newly Developed Membership Benefit Guide
Membership Development Basics
AWMA Tools to Enhance Membership Development
Guide to Membership Reports





Volunteer Resource Center
Sections and Chapters Council
Membership Moments – Don’t Miss One.


Monthly Action Item Checklist
Break-out
10 Membership Marketing Ideas You Can Use Right Now.
The Basics
Categories
Dues
Structure
Headquarters Procedures
4 Primary Membership Categories
 Individual
 Organizational
 Young Professional
 Student
There are also emeritus and electronic only types of memberships.
All “International” members are assigned to a local
member unit (Section/Chapter).

This promotion can be used as a stand alone
membership recruiting campaign or in conjunction
with a meeting.
 This is an opportunity to encourage lapsed
members (lapsed over 12 months) or individuals
who have never been members to participate in the
organization and utilize its benefits.
$165 New Member Special Rate for
Sections and Chapters
Open to companies and organizations
with multiple individual members.
Allows organizations to show support
for A&WMA, encourage the
professional development of their
employees, and receive discounts to
Association services.
• Government Organizational Primary $470*
• Individual Organizational Primary (with up to 10 members)
$495*
• Individual Organizational Primary with more than 10
members $1,050*
Provides a cost-saving membership to the
younger professional who is 35 years of age or
younger. This membership is limited to five
consecutive years or to the age of 35. Upon reaching
one of the two limits, members are eligible for
Individual membership.
Anyone participating in a full-time
undergraduate/graduate degree program at an
accredited college/university. At the
completion of the degree requirements, student
members are eligible for either Young Professional
membership or Individual membership.
The Graduation Gift  A special offer, one year
FREE membership, is given to student
members at the time of graduation.
 Application received and processed.
 Automatic e-mail acknowledgement with member
number.
 Welcome letter and new member packet mailed on the
1st and 15th of each month.
 Now included on distribution lists for monthly
member e-mail, publications, and announcements.
 First renewal notice sent via email from
Headquarters one month prior to membership
lapse.
 Second renewal notice sent via postal mail
from Headquarters in month of membership
lapse.
 Lapsed member call campaign eight weeks
after membership lapse. Telephone call and
exit survey.
What’s in it for me?
The chance to be part of the
most respected network of
environmental professionals in
the world, where you can
increase your knowledge,
advance your career, and
demonstrate your
commitment to
global environmental
responsibility.
 Access to technical knowledge







Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association
EM, the magazine for environmental managers
The Online Library, featuring more than 10,000
downloadable articles
A&WMA Update, a monthly email with industry and
association news
Sister publications through the Taylor and Francis
Books, CDs, and downloadable materials
Books and Journals (e.g., Atmospheric Environment) from
respected publishers
Discounts on programs, products, and services
designed to expand your knowledge



Section and Chapter programs and events at member rates
Special student and young professional programs at A&WMA’s
Annual Conference & Exhibition
Specialty conferences, courses, webinars, and workshops
Opportunities to network and develop leadership
skills
 Serve on Committees, Councils, and the governing Board at
Various Levels
Instant access to the network and career-
enhancing tools


Searchable online membership directory
Career Center
The Preceding Benefits of Membership have been
Professionally produced to be marketed in the
recently developed Membership Benefit Guide!
Membership Development Basics

What do you need?



Local Resources
A Plan
Tools
AWMA
Join
Now!
Membership Development Basic
Steps

Step 1: Create a Membership Committee
Bylaws: a standing Committee
Bylaws: a standing Membership Chairman




Permanent invitation to the BOD
Regular report at BOD meetings
The key to maintaining local memberships is a Committee Chair. An
opportunity for growth is provided with a Committee Chair with a
Committee to support activities

Membership Development Basic
Steps (cont.)
Step 2: Organize it
General Membership Chair
Lapsed Member Coordinator
New Member Coordinator
Have regular Committee meetings






Minutes
Action Items
Number one reason people don’t renew: they simply
forget: Remind Them!
Membership Development Basic
Steps (cont.)

Step 3: Develop a Membership Development Action
Plan

Marketing Message: What value proposition is most attractive to
prospective members.

Membership Offer: What price points, benefit packages, and
special incentives will attract members.

Target market: What market segments or lists of prospective
members are most responsive to the message and offer.
The Membership System –
Developing an Ongoing Relationship
Renewal
Awareness
Interdependence
Engagement
Recruitment
Membership Guide
The Web Site
Membership
Reports
Volunteer Resources
Center
Sections and Chapter
Council
Guide to your Membership Reports

Membership Chairs should generate four lists
monthly:




Current members
New members
Lapsed members
Recently renewed members
Member Reports Portal
Member Reports Portal
Member Reports Portal – Renewed Members
Member Reports Portal – Renewed Members
Member Reports Portal – Renewed Members Excel File
Monthly Action Item Checklist
Generate these four lists
Contact lapsed member phone/letters/e-mails
Send new member welcome letters/e-mails
Send recently renewed members e-mail
Prepare membership report for next BOD meeting
 Lapsed members, # and contacts made
 New members, by name and contacts made
 Renewed members, # and contacts made
 Current total members, # and % change
Personal Contacts

Assign shared responsibility among Membership
Committee, BOD members, to complete these tasks.

Recruitment and retainment is a TEAM effort, year round.
Volunteer Resources Center
This part of the web site
currently under
construction – see me
or Harry if needed soon
Volunteer Resources Center
AMS – A&WMA
New Member Welcome Letter
Date
Name
Address 1
Address 2
City State Zip
Dear _______,
We’re Delighted You’re With Us!
On behalf of the Board of Directors for the Allegheny Mountain Section (AMS) of the Air &
Waste Management Association, I wanted to take this opportunity to say, “hello” and welcome
you to our section.
We trust you have received a New Member Welcome Packet from A&WMA international
headquarters in Pittsburgh. This package of information explains your new member benefits
and contains website login information as well as the first copy of your publication of choice –
Environmental Manager (EM) or the Journal of A&WMA. Soon, you will receive a monthly email from A&WMA headquarters highlighting conferences, webinars, publications, and
networking opportunities. If your contact information changes, please update your information
at AWMA.org, so that we can stay in touch with you.
Volunteer Resources Center
Display material available from HQ for shipping.
Brochures available too.
EM and Journal.
Logo merchandise.
Scholarship and membership applications.
Volunteer Resources Center
 Create your toolkit with Chapter logos
 Welcome, Reminder and Thank You Letters
 Prospect letter
 Brochures for member benefits
 E-mail templates
 Member Application Forms (always bring these!)
 Standard Membership Report for your Board
Information Exchange

Volunteer resources exchange

Communicate best practices

Circulate ideas from local units/members

Materials and discussions on Community page
Involve Sections, Chapters, Members

Improve training (e.g. webinar recording on web)

Help Local Unit Membership Committees

Annual Local Unit Performance Recognition
Program
Recommend Improvements

Keep membership focus in A&WMA

Procedural improvements (e.g. member reports)

Recognize Sections and Chapters with superior
performance
When are Membership moments?





Dinner meetings
Brownbag lunches
Annual Conferences
Specialty workshops
Non-AWMA Events
 Work Colleagues
 Sporting Events
 Church Events
 Hobbies
What to do in a Membership moments?

Benefits of membership
o Elevator Speech
o Membership Benefit Guide - Printed
Brochures
o AWMA Business Cards
 Invitation to join
o Provide forms, link
 Invitation to become involved
o Officer
o Committee member
o Host a meeting
o Speak at events
Do Membership Activities stop
upon joining AWMA?



Of course not! Don’t take existing members for granted!!
The goal is to develop a mutually beneficial long term
relationship: recruitment and retainment
As a local Chapter or Section, we must pay attention to
existing members while recruiting new members.
Move ‘casual’ members to ‘fully-participating
active’ members
Officer/Leader
Volunteer
Member/regular attendee
Non-Member/attendee
Interdependence

The process of growing a deep customer loyalty and
affinity to our organization.

This is the relationship where a member has his/her
identity tied to our organization.
Interdependence and
Engagement

Common, shared vision – A powerful force that ties you to the
organization. The belief that through membership, together, a
common vision can be accomplished.

Reward – Getting something back for your dollar. The most common
reward that members look for from their professional association is
valuable information resources.

Involvement and Recognition – You know me, and I want to be known
as one of you. The fact that a member is known, deepens his/her
commitment and interdependence to the association.
Elevator speech - a short summary used to quickly and
simply define a person, profession, product, service,
organization or event and its value.
Activity – each group develop 1 minute speech to sell
AWMA. Define audience and situation.
Presentation – One person will deliver the speech and one
or more may be the audience.
Time to Prepare – 20 minutes
10 Membership Marketing
Ideas You Can Use Right
Now
Have a Unique Selling Pitch
On average, your selling message has less than ten seconds to
grab attention or it’s lost.
Have a strong opening and provide reasons to read it, give
proof it’s the best offer, and triggers to get an IMMEDIATE
response.
Otherwise, don’t waste the prospect’s time.
Personalization Works
Use it! It’s a fact that using a name and other general
information about me as a member or prospect makes me
feel that you know me and my needs . . .
Using “Dear Colleague” or
“Dear Friend” doesn't.
Go After the Low Hanging Fruit
This would include your lapsed members and your nonmember buyers.
They’ve already expressed an interest in our association, so
now is the time to convey how important membership is
for their own success . . . particularly,
in the difficult economic environment.
Send a Special Certificate of Thanks to
First-Time Renewals
Statistically speaking, the first two years of membership
produce the vast majority of the annual drops, so it makes
sense to add special efforts for the retention of these
members.
Send a Special Certificate of Thanks to
First-Time Renewals
List “First Time Renewals” or “First Anniversary Members”
in your newsletters and on the website.
Saying thank you gets the member’s second year off to a
good start. And, if we can keep members for at least two
years, we have a good chance of keeping them for many
more.
When Using Testimonials, Include Some
from Members Who Aren’t Active but
Still Feel Membership Is Valuable
Empathy is a cornerstone of membership retention.
Hearing from another member about the value of
renewing, even when it is impossible to attend
organizational functions, could convince members that
A&WMA is worth supporting.
Use “Jeopardy Marketing” to Remind
Members of Benefits
When explaining the value of membership to prospects, reword benefit
statements in the form of a question.
 Instead of saying, “We offer a wide range of professional journals and
other publications,” ask “Wouldn’t it be nice if every month someone
brought to your door another form of continuing education and a place
to find out about job openings?”
Using questions instead of answers gets the prospect to mentally agree
with the statements, and creates the impression that the association
must have empathy for the members.
Include Networking Tips in Your
Newsletter and New Member Packets
Networking is a primary reason for joining and one of the
most important benefits to offer.
Why not help the members get the most out of these
opportunities and their participation?
Include Networking Tips in Your
Newsletter and New Member Packets
Among the tips included on this “effective networking list”:
 Bring plenty of business cards.
 Get a list of preregistered attendees before the meeting and pinpoint
the people you want to meet.
 When exchanging business cards, always write one or two words on
the back of the other person’s card as a way of remembering who
he/she was and what you discussed.
Effectively Use Your Website
Awareness is the first step to any purchase, right? Websites remain the
leading source of information for most people.
 Good membership development starts with the use of an up-to-date
web site, a home page where prospects can enter your site and
obtain all the necessary information to join, buy, review benefits,
and take advantage of all your products and services.
Track hits and evaluate messages on different pages to learn what works
and what needs to be changed.
Do
Have sincere, committed Board involvement in all
membership development efforts
Be respectful when someone has a legitimate reason not
to renew.
Use the opportunities to educate members that their
memberships are portable and they should update all
contact information.
Celebrate your successes.
Don’t
 Try to do it all by yourself. Enlist the support of everyone you can.
This is a huge project, make it a team effort.
 Procrastinate – the calendar is your friend.
 Rely totally on email reminders. Yes, it is cheaper, but you get what
you pay for. The personal touch is EXTREMELY effective.
 Forget to thank your volunteers.
 Don’t get your dos and don’ts mixed up!
Stephanie Glyptis
Director
Air & Waste Management Association
One Gateway Center, Third Floor
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 USA
Direct Phone 412.904.6006
Fax 412.232.3450
sglyptis@awma.org
Jim Walker
Consumers Energy
1945 W. Parnall Rd
P21-121
Jackson, MI 49201
Phone 517.788.0428
james.walker@cmsenergy.com