If
you are seeking to grow your business, expand your wings personally
or in your career, you are looking for someone who has already
been there and done that...they have what you want (to “buy”).
So we are all in sales, constantly looking for someone to
whom we can sell what we know or from whom we can purchase
what we need to know. I’ve experienced it as an international
speaker/trainer, as a developer of customized programs, as
a columnist, as a consultant, as an author, as a poet, as
a mother, as a grandmother, as a wife, as a friend, as a member
of organizations, as the owner of a multi-million dollar recruiting
business.
Identifying
“what” you are doing and “why” you
are doing it are the two most important things to remember
when expanding the membership your local club. The “what”
is easy here...“recruit”! All of us know what
“recruit” means...“take on; enlist; enroll;
sign up”...BUT...read further...“novice, apprentice,
disciple, freshman, intern, newcomer, pupil, rookie, student,
tenderfoot, trainee”. If this article ended here we
could understand “why” so many recruits “go
nowhere” in our local organizations. What do we do with
them after they come into the organization? That’s another
article.
Every
new recruit comes into your local organization with an unspoken
“goal”. They have something in their personal
or professional life they want to achieve. It may be as simple
as being recognized for “who” they are or it may
becoming the “president” of your National Organization.
Too often we bring in a new recruit and began indoctrinating
them with “us” and getting them to see “our
goals” for our club. When we know “why”
a person is willing to give of their time...the most precious
commodity on the market today...then we have the “key”
to keeping them active in the organization. There is a fine
art to this, the art of listening, becoming friends, building
relationships, putting others first, helping them to “become”
and “fulfill” their goals and dreams through our
organization.
Many
people search for the perfect technique. The only perfect
technique lies in building relationships, loving and caring
about people. Does this mean “that if I love and care
about people, everyone will come into my organization?”
Absolutely not!
There
is something called the Law of Averages which is a universal
law. Just like the Law of Gravity, it works all of the time
and applies to everyone. It is ALWAYS in effect. This law
never takes a break. Some people consciously use this Law
to help them recruit...others are oblivious to it. Regardless
of which category you fall into, the fact does not change
that the Law is always in effect. What is the trick? UNDERSTANDING
the Law Of Averages and then learning “how to”
use it to increase your membership.
The
Law Of Averages says “do something long enough and consistently
enough” over a period of time and you will develop a
ratio of results. In other words, if you consistently share
your recruiting message often enough, eventually it will fall
on the right people and you will recruit them. Simple, right?
Actually, it's deceptively simple (most powerful life-altering
revelations usually are). Let’s see if we can grasp
its implications.
Let's
take a closer look at the CORE of the Law - the "RATIO
OF RESULTS."
Everyone
(beginners all the way up to the ole’ timers) has a
ratio of results. For example, you approach 10 different people,
6 agree to be your guest at your next meeting, 4 actually
keep the appointment, you recruit 2 of the 4. That's a ratio
of results... the Law Of Averages in action. In this case,
you can assume that for every 10 people you approach to take
a look at your organization, you will end up recruiting 2
new people.
In
the example outlined above, the Law Of Averages says your
ratio of results of approaches to new enrollees is 10 to 2
or 20%.
Now,
not only do you have the overall ratio of approaches to new
members, but each individual step leading to the end result
has its own individual ratio. Here's what I mean (going back
again to our example) - the ratio of approaches to appointments
is 10 to 6 or 60%. And the ratio of appointments to actually
attending the meeting is 6 to 4 or 66.67%. And 50% of the
people who are your guests to actually recruiting, making
the ratio of guests to new enrollees 4 to 2. Get the idea?
Why
keep track of the steps in between? Because they pin-point
the EXACT areas of breakdown (or potential breakdowns) in
your recruiting process. If you approach 20 people to be your
guest, 3 people show up, you recruit all 3 of them, you can
assume
you've a great recruiter (you deliver well) but your prospecting
skills could use improvement. In this case, if you worked
on the approach and honed it so that
60% of all the people you approached actually were your guests
then your recruiting results will grow exponentially.
So,
no matter where you are in your organization (beginner, experienced,
or professional) the Law Of Averages works and produces a
quantifiable ratio of results for each step in your recruiting
process. Obviously, someone just signing up today has a very
different ratio of results than the confident recruiter. But
the Law still works for them too. Maybe they need to approach
15 people to get 1 to be their guest... but it still works.
The
Law Of Averages is the great equalizer. You see, the Law states
that a person can compensate for lack of skill, knowledge
or experience with activity. Compare the person of experience
with the beginner. The pro may only have to approach 3 people
to recruit 1 or 2 whereas the beginner has to approach 15
or 20 to recruit 1. But the beginner still recruits 1 (simple...more
activity). That's why your numbers tell the whole story of
your success (or lack of).
With
a clear understanding of how the Law works, even the beginner
can recruit 6 new people their first month in your organization.
“How?” By following their recruiter’s (mentor’s)
duplicable system and taking MASSIVE action. It's simple.
Say it takes 10 approaches to get 4 guests to recruit 1. All
you have to do is approach 60 people to
recruit the 6. Good news... there's no way someone can approach
60 people (with a semi-decent approach) and not dramatically
increase their ratio of results. See how easy it is to set
and achieve goals once you understand and apply the Law of
Averages?
Key
to this Law: Your ratio of results WILL improve when you work
on it. With activity comes experience, improved skills and
newfound confidence. Show me a beginner who understands this
concept and is willing to risk being a little uncomfortable
and bear a little rejection (15+ "no's" to recruit
1) and I'll show you someone who's on the fast track to becoming
a new member enrollment machine and winning the award this
year.
But...you
say, “We’ve tried the Law of Averages...there
must be a better way!” That’s “run of the
mill” stuff...we’ve already asked everyone we
know...what about some fresh new ideas and concepts? We know
that bringing in new members is like having a transfusion,
it gives you “pep”, it creates excitement, it
energizes the whole group, it gives you “get up and
go” again. How do we do it?
How
about using the G.A.T.H.A. principle?
There
are five steps in the G.A.T.H.A. principle.
