John S. McGuinness, SAM President
One of our most rapidly growing and most profitable large corporations has a motto: “Nothing happens till the sale is made.” In other words, no sale, no revenues. No revenues, no plant, equipment, workers, managers, wages, salaries, or product. This motto applies as aptly to sale of membership and the services that go with membership as it does to the sale of a refrigerator or an insurance policy.
Mention was made in a previous article of the S.A.M. plan to install competent life-cycle management aimed at retaining each member by adequate services to him. The subject of this article is the step that starts the Iife cycle: “birth” into membership, getting the person to join, closing the sale, recruiting the new member, or whatever else you may wish to call it.
It is easy to forget that S.A.M. or any other professional society only exists, and can only advance management or another profession, to the extent that it has members. The Society can only help as many members to educate themselves, to gain experience in managing by participating as chapter and higher officers, and to represent the profession to outsiders, as there are members to do these things. These are all obvious facts, but sometimes each of us needs to remind himself or herself of the obvious.
Except for one untested factor, the Society is in an excellent position for another year of solid membership growth. The “I Got Mine” campaign is under way. But nothing happens till the sale is made. The program that was started last year to maintain contact with graduating campus members is producing a large number of leads for the senior chapters to convert into senior members. But, again, nothing happens till the sale is made. Some progress is being made in adding members from both of these sources. But more rapid progress is needed to meet our goals for this year. Only the untested factor can produce success and bring us to and past our S.A.M. membership goal.
The untested factor can be clearly seen in your mirror! When you use your mirror tomorrow morning, ask yourself, “Have I, as a member, ‘got mine’?” Then go out and get one. If you are a
chapter membership officer, also ask yourself, “Have I made certain that all graduate leads sent to our chapter have been promptly and properly followed up by telephone and letter or visit? Do we have an adequate membership committee to do this? Am I giving enough encouragement to our present members to assure chapter success in the ‘I Got Mine’ campaign?” If you are chapter president, ask yourself, “What else can I do to help my membership officer succeed in his task?” Then pass the test by creative, successful action toward the goal. Why stop at one? I’m going after more. Are you? SAM-NI
This SAM News International article is from our historical archive, information provided is for reference and archival research about the activities and developments of the Society.