Ask and Follow Up

One of my Toastmasters clubs has been getting a fair number of guests at our meetings.  Some come once and seem to disappear while others have come several weeks in a row.  How do I handle these different scenarios?  Essentially the answer is the same for both cases:  Ask and Follow Up!

For those who visited once and expressed an interest to return but have not yet returned, I am sending them emails asking them to come visit our club again and asking them if they have any questions.  Because doing this only once is probably not enough, I have also saved off my emails into a follow up folder in hopes that I will remember to follow up again if I don't hear back from them or see them at a future meeting.  This follow up folder is new, so we'll see how it goes!

For those who visit multiple times, I ask them to join the club and ask them if they have any questions.  If I'm really on top of things, I'll ask them if they want to join after just one meeting, but if I mess that up, I try my best to ask after the second meeting they attend.  I ask along with providing specific details about how they can join:  a new member form to complete and information about how to submit payment.  Though these efforts, we've had one guest fully join, one guest submit payment pending application completion, and one guest who asked some follow-up questions.  All of these still require additional follow-up:  the first to make sure they receive the support they need as a member, the second to get the paperwork completed so their membership can be official, and the third to see if they are ready to become a member or have any additional questions.

Though these experiences are specific to getting members into a Toastmasters club, I think the general policy of asking people if they have questions about a group, asking them if they want to join the group, and following up on answering questions, inviting them back, and/or helping them become official members of the group can apply to any group or organization.

Make sure you ask and follow up whenever appropriate!