MoT #1: First Impressions

1. What are First Impressions?

As MoT is all about "touchpoints" that potential and current members have with your club (and Toastmasters in general), the most obvious and potentially most important is the first impression. You've likely heard many sayings (or clichés) about how a good first impression can create huge impacts.

It's important to realize that first impressions are more than just when a prospect walks in the door and becomes a guest at your club. It can start far before they step into your meeting room. Let's take, for example, a guest who visits Toastmasters.org, finds your club website, then contacts your club either by e-mail or phone. Your prospects may also have previous contact with Toastmasters, either through websites, or by visiting other clubs. These are all "first impressions", some of which are out of your control, but most are within your ability to influence. 

When thinking about possible first impressions, consider the quality of your:

• Club's listing on Toastmasters.org and other sites
• Club's marketing site, especially the front page
  
• Response to e-mails and phone calls
• First time club visit experience and follow up

In this lesson we'll touch on how to evaluate and improve these. 

2. Why Do First Impressions Matter?

First impressions (of any kind) can determine whether a potential member will trust and like your club. You may have a quality listing on Toastmasters.org and a stellar marketing site, but if your response to e-mail or phone calls isn't good, you will have a gap that can turn off your prospects to your club.

Consider that most people seeking out Toastmasters are not only nervous and afraid about public-speaking, but also about your club and its ability to help them. It's a brand new environment that has its own customs, ways of doing things, terminology, and so on, which can cause a lot of stress. This is why you need the "out of the box experience" that is as smooth as possible for your prospects, guests, and new members.

The more difficult, confusing, or stress-inducing your first impressions are, the less likely you will have prospects turn into guests, and guests turn into members. Conversely, the better you handle your first impressions, the more chance you will have to get guests to join.

3. What Factors Should You Watch For?

Before the Meeting

By now, you should have performed an Online Audit to streamline your club's online touchpoints. If prospects find your websites, Facebook groups, and so on difficult to understand, out of date, or otherwise creating negative first impressions, make it a priority to fix these. 

The same applies to other forms of advertising you are doing. If there are flyers, brochures, etc. out there that are confusing, not good quality, or otherwise create bad first impressions, get those cleaned up.

Having solid e-mail and phone call answering skills and discipline is also essential. Your point(s) of contact should be able to answer questions and be sure to encourage the prospect to attend your next meeting in a positive way. If it's a phone call, you should get their name and e-mail address to add them to your guest mailing list. If it's an e-mail, be sure to follow up (or forward to someone who can follow up) within 24 hours, if not sooner.

Your local library should have multiple books (or audiobooks) on customer service that can help with these skills.

At the Meeting

In the official MoT program, TI lists these factors:

• Guests greeted warmly and introduced to officers and members
• Guest book and name tags provided
  
• Professionally arranged meeting room
  
• Convenient meeting location
  
• Guests invited to address the club
  
• Guests invited to join
  

These are all good, though it's also suggested that:

• You have a new guest packet (discussed in a subchapter), both in digital and in physical form that every new guest receives
• Guests are included in the program (if nothing else, by recognizing they came, and asking for their feedback). This can also be done by including them in table topics if time allows and they're okay with it

3.1. The New Guest Packet

Would you like a tool that helps introduce the value and experience of Toastmasters to new guests, even after they leave your club? What about something that can help guests immediately sign up to become members? The new guest packet can do this.

With that being said, what should be in your physical new guest packet? Here's a checklist of items to include; adjust them according to your club's needs and ideas.

• The folder itself can be plain folders you can buy in bulk, envelopes, or Toastmasters-branded folders
• A copy of a Toastmasters Magazine (have members bring in issues they don't want), or a printed article relevant to your club (that someone in the club creates to avoid copyright issues)
• A Toastmasters new member application
• The Features, Benefits, and Value chart
• The Mini-Survey, available in the resources section. The mini-survey is a way to capture guest information and should be used in conjunction with your guestbook. Be sure to instruct the guest to fill out the survey and turn it in before the end of the meeting, and get that survey to the membership committee
• Brochures, including Confidence: The Voice of Leadership and Find Your Voice, preferably with a sticker listing your club's name and marketing site URL
• A dues chart (sample available in the resource section)
• Ice Breaker sample

For guests that show up at your meeting, this packet will do a number of things:

• It will help introduce the value of Toastmasters and your club
• It will give the guest something to take home so they think about your club a bit more than just coming to the meeting
• It gives you something to talk about with guests; walk them through the packet contents
• It allows the guest to sign up immediately if they like at the meeting
• The mini-survey will help identify guest wants as well as serves as a backup method for collecting contact information

In addition, it can help to have a digital version of the new guest packet available on your marketing site. This should have:

• A letter from the VPM
• A New Guest Orientation Guide
• A new membership application
• A copy of the dues chart
• Digital versions of the Features, Benefits, and Value chart, plus the brochures from above

A sample version you can customize to your club's needs is available in the resources section of this course. It's useful to refer to prospects who call or e-mail you so those who want to get started can do so.