The president of the United States is measured after his first 100 days. I had 90.
This past winter, I accepted a new job as membership director at an exclusive private equity club. Now the hard part: I only had three months before the season opened, and I needed to have a pipeline of prospective members ready for the membership process. While my first instinct would have been to charge in with my own brand of ideas, plans and initiatives primed for launch, I’ve done this once or twice before and learned from my mistakes. Sometimes the most important first steps are the ones you don’t take.
Everyone wants action steps and guides to get things underway when taking over a new position, but I’ve learned that before taking action, you need to step back and learn what action is actually best to take. Observing the club culture and environment surrounding a new job—especially one that seeks to bring members into the established fold—is vital to success. You can’t rush these things. Building the relationships and establishing the credibility you need to implement your strategies, and then adapting those strategies to suit the specific club culture is the real first step to success.
Days 1-15: Identify Key Influencers
If you want to learn about your club’s culture and build relationships, you need to identify the power players. During my first two weeks, I made a point of finding out who the key influencers are within the club, so I would know who could best spread my message. Working with the membership committee is one of the most important aspects of the job, as they have the final say in which membership candidates are approved and can help guide you to the prospects best suited to becoming members. The sidebar below provides a job description for the membership committee.
Accordingly, the first major influencer was easy to spot—the membership committee chairperson. She knew all of the ins and outs of club dynamics and was a key resource in helping me make connections. We arranged a meeting, and she provided me with a list of people she identified as ‘connectors.’ In his book, The Tipping Point (Little Brown, 2000), Malcolm Gladwell identifies ‘connectors’ as those who have a wide network of casual but trusting acquaintances that crosses many social boundaries and groups. In other words, there are a handful of people with an extraordinary knack for making friends and acquaintances in every walk of life. They are ‘connectors.’
Once we identified a half dozen or so key influencers, my membership chairperson was able to strategize a way to broker an introduction for me—sometimes it was as simple as a casual phone call or e-mail, which then allowed me to follow up with an appointment to talk. Other times it was more formal, such as an arranged lunch with two other members so we could all get to know one another.
The membership chairperson played a crucial role in helping me to establish myself with the membership. Her support confirmed my credibility and helped build momentum. She also played a vital role in developing my circle of influencers by facilitating introductions to other relationship connectors. I was able to establish my web of ambassadors quickly, but then it became my responsibility to develop those relationships.
Days 15-30: Develop Relationships
While it was important to take the time to develop my relationships with the major influencers in the club, I still needed to keep to a schedule: I needed these new acquaintances to feel comfortable enough with me to send me referrals, but I needed to establish that high level of comfort within a mere three months. Just because you’re short on time, it doesn’t mean that you can cut corners. I took the time to learn as much about each person as I could before sitting down with anyone for a meeting. What were their social tendencies? What was their professional/family/club involvement background? Once the meeting is set, it’s all about relationship building. What makes this person tick? I tried to dig for any bits of shared interests or information we had in common. Rarely do I find a person who doesn’t appreciate another’s sincere interest. Taking the time to discover who people are, what they’ve accomplished, or what they enjoy doing in their spare time can make all the difference in relationship building. When meeting someone for the first time, I never asked for anything. In fact, I actually offered my assistance. “What I can I do for you?” I shared with them the details of my responsibilities and goals, so they understood where I was coming from, and I even explained my ideas for how to accomplish it all. If the conversation went well and the situation called for it, I would even ask them what they would do if they were in my shoes.
While relationship building may start with the first meeting, it certainly doesn’t end there. Meeting follow-up is a key element of building trust. After a meeting, I circled back to the membership chair and thanked her for the introduction, recounting an interesting part of our meeting to show how valuable it was. With the first “thank you” out of the way, I reached out to thank the person with whom I met and planned out my next step to keep in touch.
Being a good correspondent is more than just saying “hi” from time to time. After each meeting, I logged the key details from all of my correspondence and conversations in my digital notebook. This way, I had specific information and points of reference for discussion to bring up in future interactions. Remembering little details like where people spend their time, the names of their family members, their hobbies and interests, or what they ordered to drink makes people feel like you’re truly listening to them and getting to know them. I also kept track of more detailed information, like what type of clothes they were wearing, whether they seemed to be visual or auditory learners, and the names of other members that they were connected to or friends with, in addition to their contact information. It may seem like it’s a bit overkill to keep track of some of these details, but you never know when it might be useful to have for future reference.
Days 30-45: Identify and Communicate Tools for Success
Though it’s important to have prospective members, making sure that those prospects fit well with the established club culture is just as important—otherwise prospects would never make it through the approval process. Identifying and appealing to those prospective members requires a targeted strategy. Now that I was beginning to get a feel for club culture and club members, it was time to start developing a plan of action. I started with a competitive market analysis to help my membership chairperson and me better understand what tools we would need to meet our membership goals this year. I connected with all of the clubs in our geographic area, as well as with clubs that were not necessarily near us in terms of location, but often appeared on the ‘short list’ of those considering membership at our club. I outlined the dues, amenities, membership numbers, year-over-year comparisons and any special programs that other clubs were running for membership. Then I evaluated the local marketplace and where my consumer market was spending their time and money. I tried to identify the obstacles to membership that appeared most often, and determine which value propositions were being repeated to me from the marketplace.
Analyzing these things helped us evaluate the new membership programs we needed to put into place. We determined that in this case, a golf only membership, which we had not made available before, and a limited time price reduction for a select few individuals would be most effective. The institution of these programs stimulated the market and generated conversation among current and potential members, eventually resulting in an influx of applications.
My relationship with the membership committee chairperson made an effective analysis of the situation possible. The membership chairperson understood what we needed to do based on the information I had gathered. She was then able to go to the committee, and ultimately to the board, and say, “X, Y and Z are what Rachel needs in order to attract new members this year.” Hearing such a request from an established fixture of club operations helped lend credibility to my proposals and assuaged the uncertainty of the board, resulting in a much easier acceptance of my ideas.
Days 45-60: Communicate the Members’ Role
Earning respect from the board is important, but earning acceptance from the members is essential to success. I have experienced that every member has a different opinion of what my role is, or should be. As a result of these differing perspectives, I found it valuable within the first 60 days at the Club, to try and educate members as much as possible as to what my role actually is, and how I can work with them in referring new members. Personally, I have found testimonials to be particularly effective. For example, a member’s testimonial in the newsletter vouching that they were ‘able to hand off a friend who had shown interest in membership at the club to Rachel and felt completely comfortable doing so.’
Since sponsorship is such an important part of the membership process, I wanted to encourage members to come to me when they had friends who they thought would be a good fit for the club’s culture. Clubs are selective by nature, and current members are the best source of prospects, since they know who would mesh well with a club’s particular environment and style. Member recommended individuals are also are most likely to make it through the committee approval process and are thus the best overall candidates. In order to find the best prospects, I needed members to be comfortable enough to bring me their friends. I needed to reassure members that I would provide a good introduction to the club that would encourage strong prospects to go through the membership process.
Days 60-75: Ask for the Referral
Now that I had established myself with the members, it was time I started identifying prospective members. Because I had developed relationships with ‘key influencers,’ and had worked to develop these relationships over a short period of time, I was able to go back to them with our new membership offerings and ask for a referral. I made appointments, and would offer to go to their offices for a short meeting—often just 30 minutes during the workday—to tell them about the new offer and ask for referrals with whom to share it. We would work the leads together, determining the most appropriate methods for each individual, and following up regularly. The same attention to detail and follow-up practices should be maintained when approaching a membership prospect as used when establishing a relationship with a ‘key influencer.’ People still like to hear that you’re paying attention.
Days 75-90: Manage Prospect Discovery
Once I successfully reached out to a new lead, the next step would be to bring them in for a visit. I found it was crucial to manage their discovery appropriately. Some people who are not in membership development may not understand the value of a managed discovery. No one should underestimate the value of an excellent tour. I say this because general managers often delegate to the manager on duty, and make that individual responsible for giving club tours. Delegating the responsibility of giving a tour to someone who is not prepared can be the difference between enticing a member to join and just letting a potential member walk out the door. A tour is not something that I give the same way each time. There have been, in fact, cases where I have designed a tour individually tailored to a specific prospect, including every detail right down to where I will attempt a close. As membership director, it is my responsibility to encourage potential members to submit to the membership process in a manner that both appealing to and comfortable for the prospect. Gently guiding prospects to make a decision, one they have already told me they want to make, is a delicate process. My tours focused on what the prospect had singled out as most important to them throughout the course of our extended interactions. The tours I gave highlighted stories or testimonials from my members that spoke to some of the experiences or characteristics that resonated with each individual prospect. In short, the tour was, and still is, the most effective way to introduce prospective members to the club lifestyle.
Thoughtfully planning tours took thorough education, careful preparation and constant refinement throughout the course of my first 90 days. I went on tours with the membership chair, with the managers and concierge, and with other members who had been there for a number of years. I took the time to read the history of the club, so I could weave all the different stories and facts into my tour. Because my leads were coming from my members, I had a responsibility to offer a refined experience so prospects would go back and thank the members for introducing us. Some prospects wanted to seek committee approval immediately. The others, I continued to manage with the help of the referring member. When the timing was right, we would encourage them to go before the membership committee.
Beyond 90: What I’ve Learned
Throughout my experience, I’ve learned that it’s impossible to be successful if you don’t first take the time to absorb the club culture and get to know its members. Creating new initiatives and membership packages might seem like a better way to approach membership development; but in my experience, it can backfire if you don’t first establish your credibility with the clubs leaders, members and staff. Observe and adapt; integrating yourself into the internal operations culture and understanding what your members want is the lynchpin to attracting new members who assimilate well with the established environment.
The framework that I established for my first 90 days on the job helped my transition to be a successful one. Membership directors depend on their relationships with the membership committee and current members, and they need to ensure those ties are strong.
If you’re hiring a membership director or starting out as one for the first time, you can use my experience as a road map to get started on the right track. If you have a membership director or have been one for decades, I hope you were still able to take something away from my experience. I’ve discovered many things from the relationships I’ve built with members; I just needed to step back and take the time to listen.
Rachel Carter wrote this article during her tenure as membership director at Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, California in 2010-2011. She is currently the new member services director for Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, California.
Sidebar: Job Description for a Membership Committee
Purpose: The Membership Committee is charged with evaluating and recommending persons nominated for membership. It is also charged with suggesting, and once approved, implementing all policies, procedures and activities dealing with the introduction, consideration and admission of candidates for membership.
Coordination: Committee administration needs will be coordinated with the general manager and the membership director. Because of private status concerns, all matters dealing with the gathering and use of candidate information must be held confidential. The disposition of nominations should be coordinated only with the board of directors. The chairperson reports to the president.
Meetings: Once a month.
Duties: Policy
- Counsel with the board of directors on defining and revising membership objectives and the policies and procedures relating to them. Help maintain the membership profile desired.
- Suggest policy for and monitor the treatment of members who ask for leaves of absence.
- Suggest for inclusion in the bylaws and other documents policies to address special circumstances (such as succession following divorce or death).
Duties: Process
- Evaluate all candidates nominated for admission and recommend disposition to the board of directors. Ensure candidates are qualified, their nomination is genuine, and the proper sponsorships and papers are in order. Reject ineligible nominees and notify their sponsors directly.
- Issue nomination forms to qualified members for presentation to candidates.
- Maintain a waiting list, if needed. Properly monitor the interest of list candidates in accordance with club policy regarding waiting order and exceptions.
- Guard the integrity and consistency of all procedures. Ensure records are properly maintained.
- Help monitor the vitality of the membership; suggest steps which could help maintain that vitality, including encouragement of appropriate new members.
- Monitor and protect the limit of members in each category.
- Help develop, with the assistance of the general manager, an orientation process for new members.
Size/Tenure/Composition: Five to seven members, each serving three-year terms. All should be equity members. A member of the board should serve as chairperson. Gender representation is recommended. Members with administrative experience should be sought, as well as those with legal and finance backgrounds. Committee candidates should be active participants in club programs and events. Personal integrity and discretion are critical.