Tips on Inviting and Hosting Guests

The most important success factor to our groups is your chapter meetings.  It is where members and guests come together to learn how we can identify referral opportunities and build relationships. Inviting guests to your meeting can lead to many valuable benefits, including increased exposure for your business, better meetings, and greater referral opportunities.

Tip #1:  Do invites consistently….or in a big bunch!
Consistency is key when it comes to inviting visitors.  If you only invite visitors sporadically, you’re unlikely to see any real results.  Recommended approaches:

• Spend 2-3 minutes at each meeting getting a few invites out.

Recommended Tip:  Recruitment chair text out the invite script and every member cut/paste to one person.  Then go around and announce who you invited

• And/or do an invite-a-thon! Block time pre/post meeting where every member invites 5+ guests to an upcoming meeting….It will work

*Bart’s preference:  I prefer route 1 if as a group you are willing to commit doing it every meeting.

Tip #2:  Remember to Follow Up
After a guest attends your meeting it is important to follow up with them.  We recommend that:

• at least two members reach out for a Face-to-Face meeting to get to know the guest.
• Do a 30 minute coffee meeting
• Learn about them. What is their ideal clients, goals, and referral sources?

Invite them back to attend another meeting and help set them up with other members for Face-to-Face meetings.

Tip #3: Add Value to Your Guests
Keep your invites simple.  Don’t send the message that you are asking them to “JOIN” you are asking them to attend a 75-minute meeting.  You’ll introduce them around to other quality business professionals at the meeting.

Tip 4:  Don’t Over or Under Sale the Value
When hosting guests to your meeting, it’s important to highlight the value that they’ll receive from being a member.  Be sure to explain how The Referrals Group can help their business grow by referral.  Don’t be pushy, but don’t run from highlighting your successes as a group.  Use your YTD or quarterly #’s from the Referrals Report

Final Thoughts: 

• Some guests become members. Others don’t.  It doesn’t fit for everyone.  Don’t worry about if a guest is a prospective member on the front end.  Invite, get to know them, and use the opportunity to meet them as a way to expand your existing network.
• You run better meetings when you have guests coming, because you are worried about first impressions.
• Guest to member process should focus on a minimum of 5 touchpoints. VIDEO:  5 Touchpoint process