Volunteer Management ideas in the

Ultimate Ideas Newsletter

How to lead, recruit and retain more volunteers and members!

Issue 18

Welcome to all our members far and wide. Let's get going with this newsletter issue for you with even more volunteer recognition and recruitment ideas.   I believe in daring to be different - if different means looking up rather than putting down, in helping rather than hurting. I'll be as different as I can. Denis Waitley From our latest E-book Beyond Just Words! 502 Inspirational Quotes for Those Who Serve

Strategize! 7 Ideas for You Including Volunteer Recruitment

In the previous volunteer management newsletter we looked at the secret to your success...your STRATEGIES!

Now strategies do not 'stand alone' as they are part of your overall plan. (And your plan is the subject for a much longer discussion than this newsletter). But let's make this a really 'quick read' issue and look at 7 ideas on using strategies...

Stop It Now!

When you have the chance to look 'behind the scenes' at as many organizations, large and small, as I do it is astounding to discover the strategies that are still being persistently (some may say stubbornly) used even when they have not produced the desired results. Here is an idea that will absolutely transform the way you work and I always emphasize this at our workshops. Please listen very carefully...

If a strategy you and your organization are using has not been working, has not produced the desired results you want - then STOP DOING IT! With the greatest respect, if you continue to employ an unsuccessful strategy without changing it at all, you are reinforcing Albert Einstein's definition of INSANITY! "Continuing to do the same thing while expecting to get different results". Hoping for different results in your volunteer recruitment, retention and volunteer recognition.

Strategy Make Over

Let's that a quick look at how to take a strategy that is not working well and give it a 'strategy make over' turning it into an outstanding success. In the previous newsletter we looked at ideas on how to generate leads and contacts as potential volunteers. The number one strategy for generating referrals is 'word of mouth' marketing (e.g., volunteers telling other people about your volunteering opportunities). There are four main strategies you can employ with this technique...

Strategy 1: Here's Hoping

Using this strategy you wait and hope for something to happen in one form of volunteer recruitment. You just hope that your current volunteers will tell others about your volunteering opportunities and potential volunteers will come flooding through the doors.

Strategy 2: Asking For Them

Using this strategy you ask your volunteers and others if they know of anyone interested in volunteering. They say 'yes' and then you return to strategy 1 - hoping they will mention volunteering to others and they will come flooding through the doors as volunteer recruits.

Strategy 3: You Ask And Follow-Up

Using this strategy you ask your volunteers and others if they know of anyone interested in volunteering. They say 'yes', they provide you with that person's contact details and you (or members of your recruitment team) follow-up. You then contact the person, explain that 'Joe' suggested they may be interested in volunteering and then discuss your volunteering opportunities with them.

Strategy 4: You Ask And They Follow-Up

Let's go all the way now with THE most powerful 'word of mouth' marketing strategy. Using this strategy you ask your volunteers and others if they know of anyone interested in volunteering. They say 'yes', they provide you with that person's contact details but they follow-up first. You ask them if they would follow-up and contact the person this week to endorse and recommend your organization and explain that you will be contacting them next week to ask about volunteering. This means that when you contact the person next week, they have already received a glowing endorsement about volunteering for you and your approach have a great chance of being well received. It is the personal recommendation at work and Rick Crandall in his book 'Marketing your services: for people who hate to sell' comments on just how powerful this can be in business.

But remember whenever you ask for a referral you must follow-up - it is vital in volunteer management. If there is no follow-up then the next time you ask for referrals you just won't get them and this can ruin your volunteer recruitment plan.

More ideas on volunteer management, volunteer recognition and volunteer recruitment continued next page...

We also welcome links to this issue of the newsletter http://www.morevolunteers.com/newsletter18.htm and are happy for you to forward the newsletter to others involved in volunteer recogntion, volunteer recruitment and volunteer management.