Successful clubs often earn the coveted President’s Distinguished Award multiple years in a row. Some of these clubs have several things in common.
The club has all seven officer positions filled with most or all of the officers attending club officer training twice a year. The club officers meet regularly and train their successors. The officers develop a Club Success Plan and identify candidates likely to earn educational and leadership awards.
The club makes a point of collecting dues for Toastmasters International as well as club dues if applicable well in advance of the deadline so members and officers avoid last-minute scrambling. Some clubs have a policy of requiring their members pay dues for the full year all at once to avoid collecting again for the second dues cycle.
The club is open to new meeting ideas to encourage fun and fellowship. Some occur at the regular meeting and others at a different location.
The club has a mentoring program to ensure that individuals have someone they can count on for support, advice and guidance.
It is not a requirement for any individual to maintain a membership in more than one club, however, sometimes successful clubs have some members in more than one club. This provides additional speaking opportunities and slots for leadership roles. These members find that they can complete their Communication and Leadership goals in less time than if they were only in one club.
Members of these clubs often look out for one another beyond the mentor/mentee pairs to continuously develop leaders. Many Toastmasters surprise themselves since they initially join the club for the speaking opportunities.
The club actively recruits new members. This can take place through corporate or community open house events, use of Meetup in the community environment, social media outlets, and publicity through corporate Human Relations departments. Successful advanced clubs partner with a number of feeder clubs in the area encouraging members to visit regularly and join when they are eligible to take their skills to the next level.
These clubs make guests feel welcome and ask them if they would like to join, although without being too aggressive. These clubs share Toastmasters branded materials for prospects to take with them when the meeting is over.
Some of these clubs participate in business expos and community days to help get the word out to reach others who may be interested in learning more about our programs.
Although it may sound counter-intuitive to refer your prospective members to another club, many of the successful clubs do just that in order to help the prospect locate a club with a meeting time or location to best suit their needs.
Implementing some of these practices will help your club on its road toward attaining President’s Distinguished status.