How to Create a Vision for Your Membership Based Organization

Is your membership organization where you want it to be in terms of members or income? If not, consider creating a well-defined vision for improving your group.
You may have vague goals, such as increasing members, but do you know how many members you want to add? Do you have a defined monthly or yearly number you can measure your association against?
In order to have a successful membership organization, you need to evaluate the current status of the group, define what you want to improve, and then create a plan to achieve those goals.
Identify the Problem
So where are you now?
Start with an evaluation phase to figure out how to super-charge your membership organization. This is a more important piece of the puzzle than you might initially think.
Why? Because without an honest look at the real problems plaguing your organization, your solutions will always be out of whack... and the results you get from implementing these solu­tions will reflect that fact.
The Evaluation - Start with Membership
To identify the areas you need to concentrate on improving for your organization, you will need to really think about the issues you currently face.
Start by taking stock of your membership profile:
• How many members do you have? How many did you have last year, and the year before? (Review your association's records or membership management software to get this data.)
• How many people are in your prospect database?
• What is the average member and prospect attendance at your meetings?
• How long have your fellow board members held their current positions?
• How do you currently recruit new members?
• How do you manage association members - manually or with membership management software such as StarChapter?
Membership is just one aspect of your organization. After answering these questions, move on to other areas such as income and the technology tools your association uses.
Using Your Answers to Create Your Vision
Review your answers to pinpoint the areas within your organization that need attention. By recognizing what isn't working, you can translate those items into your vision.
If you noted the membership answers you provided are lacking, first decide what a successful membership looks like. Next, determine what steps you can take to improve in the upcoming year.
Action items may include creating a new recruiting process or starting to use association management software.
Do you need inspiration to get started? Ponder this quote:
"If you don't know exactly where you're going, how will you know when you get there?"
- Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
Now, start creating your vision for your membership organization.

For additional information about how you can improve your membership based organization, go to http://starchapter.com/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Felps

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How to Make an Introduction in a Business Setting

How to Make an Introduction
The art of meeting and greeting people is one of the most important ways you can leave lasting impressions and demonstrate your professionalism. Mastering this art will help to put you and the people you are introducing at ease.
Failure to Introduce
When someone fails to introduce you this leaves you feeling uncomfortable and not important. It is better to make the introduction wrong than to leave someone standing unacknowledged.
A good introduction leaves a lasting impression it makes you look like a polished professional. First impressions are vital and can make the difference between a successful or unsuccessful business deal.
The Differences Between Social and Business Introductions
In social introductions age and gender are the determining factors of the introduction. A man would be introduced to a woman and if it is two people of the same gender being introduced the younger person would be introduced to the older person.
In business introductions people of lesser authority are introduced to people of greater authority. The client, guest or visitor outranks the boss or co-worker.
Business Introductions
A peer in your company would be introduced to a peer in another company
A junior executive is introduced to a senior executive
An unofficial person is introduced to an official person
A UK citizen is introduced to a peer from another country
The Order of the Introduction
An important point in any introduction is the order of names.

• The name of the person to whom the introduction is made is mentioned first.
• Identify the most important person in the introduction and always say their name first.
• The name of the person being introduced to someone is mentioned last. That is the person with the least status in the business situation.
• Always explain who the people are when you introduce them
• Keep the names equal. If you say first name and surname for one person you say it for the other. If you say the title for one person and the surname say it for the other.

Status of the Person Being Introduced
In the example below, the sales rep is introduced to the managing director. The most important person's name is always mentioned first.
"Mrs Brown, I would like to introduce Mrs. Smith who is the new sales rep.
Mrs Smith this is Mrs Brown our managing director."
If I said "Mrs Brown, I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Smith who is the new sales rep. Mrs Smith this is Mrs Brown our managing director."
The introduction would be the wrong way around. I have introduced the managing director to the sales rep.
"John, I would like to introduce my colleague Sarah Hepburn who works in the printing department. Sarah, this is John Richmond a client of the company who has used our services for the past 20 years."
"Geoff I'd like to introduce Maureen Green and Simon Hains, they are on a placement with the company from Newcastle College. Maureen and Simon this is Geoff Anderson the founder of our company."

I guarantee my etiquette training will raise your confidence and self-esteem and improve your personal and professional profile.
My courses are certified for CPD, very cost effective and the benefits will last you a lifetime.
Why not visit my website and judge for yourself.
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Ellen Russell

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Marketing Tips - Don't Be Shy, Be An Expert

very business owner knows that the key to success is how well you market your business. Your business is not any different. Success depends

Sam Crowley

Every business owner knows that the key to success is how well you market your business. Your business is not any different. Success depends on your marketing strategies.
There are many different marketing techniques with many different price tags attached to them. Depending on your type of business, you will need to develop a marketing plan that generates sufficient customers to reach your goals.
Using many different marketing techniques will quickly drain your bank account. Your first goal will be to determine how you can reach the most people for the least amount of money.
Here is one marketing technique that is cost efficient and a little more adventurous for you the "Business Owner."
Become an Expert
What is your business? Look around at your competition. How do they present themselves to the general public? How can you present yourself differently?
Go buy a local newspaper, local magazine, listen to your local radio station; watch your local TV station. Are any of your competitors currently marketing themselves as an expert in your field?
Contact your local media and discuss the various ways that you could work with them. Local newspapers and magazines will have opportunities to write "Advice" articles. Local radio and TV stations may have talk shows that could host you weekly or monthly.
Contact the various local organizations that are looking for speakers for their monthly luncheons. Your Chamber of Commerce is an ideal place to start. Join your Chamber and get an article about you and your business published in their monthly magazine.
Study your customers and choose the type of media that would reach them. Talk to your current customers and ask them to give you their opinion about which area you should market in. Find out what they listen to and what they read, and what organizations they belong to.
What type of personality do you have?
Make sure that your personality matches your marketing strategy. Radio and TV would be a perfect match for you if you enjoy speaking in front of people, have an outgoing personality and a voice that carries well. Newspaper and magazine article writing will be perfect for you if you do not enjoy speaking in front of groups.
Becoming an expert in your area of business will not take years to achieve. Stay on top of the latest news about your business. Subscribe to trade publications to keep informed about new trends. The Internet offers many ways to stay informed on any topic.
The key to becoming an expert is to take the knowledge you have and the new information received and decide how your customers can benefit from this information. Not all news is beneficial to your customers.
Your goal is to cause your customers to look at you as the one to come to when they need what you are selling. You want them to refer their family and friends to you.
Don't be shy. Go out there and market yourself as the expert that you are. The more exposure that you receive, the more exposure your business will receive.

Sam Crowley is a best-selling co-author and motivational speaker. Visit http://www.depositarticles.com to read more articles from Sam Crowley.

How Long To Keep A Penny Stock

There are the big time players and then there are the small time players. For both category of people the stock market have their share to offer. Visit http://www.pennystockfarm.com for buying penny stock, best penny stocks, buy penny stocks, top penny stocks and hot penny stock.

William Wordworthy

There are the big time players and then there are the small time players. For both category of people the stock market have their share to offer. Big time players work in the market for big money while the small time players play in the market for small money. For both of them money is precious and money is hard earned. Both have to exhibit prudence and patience for their money to grow in this very volatile market called the share market where stocks of companies are put up for sale. The small time players play for small value shares or better called top penny stocks. The returns are very high and very lucrative. The reason why we have so many people investing in penny stocks. But penny stock has its large chunk of risk also. The risk of losing your entire saving looms large when it comes to penny stock trading. As these stocks do not follow the regular and recorded pattern of trading as the main shares do, there is a very big risk of jumping into a deal without even an inkling of the company profile that has placed its stock for sale.
Being of very low value penny stocks do not figure in the share market listing. But its low value makes it appear to be a very easy stock for the picking. Any person dreaming of making big money from the share market would sure be able to pick up a few of these penny stocks. All would go well and even the stock would show some fantastic rise in the initial stages. In a sudden day it would take a tumble and even vanish from the unlisted market also. A complete loss for the investor. During the recent financial fiasco that the world experienced, the so called recession, not only did big time stock market investors lose out, there were more number of people who had invested in penny stock that came up crying in distress. This indicated the volume by number of people who had been investing their money in this small vale stocks and who buy penny stocks.
With the recession having passed and the market once again picking up, we are sure that this pronounced demand on penny stocks would once again increase. For this reason we had collected information about the company that ever traded their stocks through the penny stock process. We even have collected their data on previous times in this fast and rapid changing market. We give this data to our team of experts who then are able to make a better and wiser speculation of which be the best penny stocks to buy. Our registered users therefore get this added advantage of tips of when to buy penny stocks of a particular company and even when to let go the same back into the market. Assured gains is what a registered user of our site would experience and in the process make better gains in all his transactions. Out charges are nominal and against the assured gains that you get this amount would appear trivial.
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