Who do you know...?

The more visitors we bring, the greater our chances of converting them into members. And the more members we have, the stronger and more vibrant our club becomes. New members bring fresh ideas, renewed energy, and enthusiasm.

The success of an Open House depends largely on how many guests we can invite. Imagine if each of us invited just one guest—we would double the number of people attending!

Referral Groups: Hot Leads, Warm Leads, and Cold Leads

A few years ago, I was part of a referral-based networking group as a web designer. We were encouraged to find quality “hot” leads for other members. These were people who said, “I need a web designer—NOW!” A “warm” lead was someone who had expressed interest but wasn’t ready immediately, like, “I’m thinking of starting a new business; I should get a website soon.” Then there were “cold” leads—people who might need services eventually, but it wasn’t urgent. For example, “I noticed their website looks outdated; they might want a new one.”

Hot Guests Are Rare; Warm Guests Are Ideal; Cold Guests Are Okay

Just like referrals, we hope to fill the room with “hot” prospective members—people saying, “You had me at Fellow Toastmasters! Sign me up!” But those guests are rare.

Tonight, I want to focus on “warm” guests—those we think would find Toastmasters useful in their lives. That’s not to discount “cold” guests either; they might know someone who could benefit from Toastmasters.

Who Do You Know?

In the referral group, we were taught to be specific about who our ideal referrals were. I quickly learned that asking, “Do you know anyone who needs a website?” usually drew a blank.

One day, I changed my approach to, “Who do you know who is building a business?” This prompted a printer in the group to remember a customer who came in for business cards but didn’t list a website. He followed up, and it turned out the new business owner needed a website but hadn’t talked to anyone yet. That led to new business for me.

Brainstorming Time

For the next few minutes, we’re going to brainstorm. You have a sheet in front of you to write down names as they come to mind.

Instead of asking, “Do you know anyone who wants to come to Open House?” I’ll read out a few “Who do you know...” prompts to help jog your memory.

Focus on writing down names for now. Don’t worry about the other parts of the form—we’ll get to those later.

Who do you know…?

• Who do you know that has to give presentations at work?

• Who do you know that recently got a promotion?

• Who do you know that interacts with the public regularly?

• Who do you know that leads a team or group of people?

• Who do you know that speaks English as a second language?

• Who do you know that volunteers on a committee?

• Who do you know that just graduated from post-secondary education?

There are certainly more. Does anyone have other “Who do you know…” suggestions?