Lynn,

When you look at your response, you actually agreed with everything Kathlene wrote except that you told her how to do it. You are advertising for new members in everything you said. You just said how you advertise. By having them come to three meetings and then voting on them, you are interviewing them.

All of your suggestions are good.

Jeff

---- Lynn Ostrem <garbagecop@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > Our club would like to attact a few new members. One of our members has suggested that we advertise for members and then perform interviews before inviting a prospect to join.
 
> > What are some of the drawbacks to this approach?
>
> Ha! Other than it's illegal!? <big grin> To be perfectly honest, I can't even imagine the SEC ever finding out about an ad in the paper for an investment club. Not unless you have a neighbor who doesn't like you...and turns you in! Technically, you can't advertise an investment unless you are licensed and bonded. But...whatever!

Jeff Williams wrote:
> Lynn,.
> All of your suggestions are good.

Sierra Investment club also requires that a prospect attends
three meetings before we vote at the fouth. Must be
unanimous. They must have filled out a survey/app to make
sure they understand the Operating Procedures. The person
sponsoring them as a member must also agree to mentor the
newbie for at least a year as to not overload the
teaching/mentoring on the most proficient member who would
otherwise be first choice for this duty. Right now we have
used the word of mouth, I may borrow Lynn's idea and make up
business cards for members who would agree to mentor.

Danny Matthews
Sparks NV

 From: "Danny Matthews" <dannymatthews@bivio.com>

> Sierra Investment club also requires that a prospect attends
> three meetings before we vote at the fouth. Must be
> unanimous.

Good time for a new topic. To new clubs who haven't had the pleasure of
melding in a new member (!) 3 months must seem like a long time. But I
think it takes that long for the member to make sure "this is for them." It
also gives the club a chance to see if a member will mesh well. Anyone can
be on their best behavior for a month or two. Three is more difficult!
True personalities start to show.

Since we don't want to drag it out any further, we've discovered a way to
speed up the voting process. Our meetings are on Tuesday night. At the 3rd
meeting, the prospect is subjected to a slew of interview questions that we
have made up in advance. It's not so bad! <G> But we do ask them about
their commitment level.

After the meeting, everyone has until Friday at 5 p.m. to vote for the
member. This is done by sending an email to the president. She tallies
the votes and forwards the email to the secretary who verifies the votes.
The new member is informed right away. The 4th meeting is their official
1st meeting. In the meantime, the voting result is announced at the next
meeting so that it can be made a record of the minutes.

Now about this unanimous thing! We used to have unanimous voting in our
original bylaws...until a disgruntled member who was getting ready to leave
the club decided to hold up the voting process to be a stinker! At the
meeting where the new prospect was to be inducted, we simply made an
amendment change to allow "majority" voting, and inducted the member that
day. Pretty silly, I know. Who would have ever thought of that?

Not all our members are inducted unanimously. We have some pretty picky
members with some pretty stringent requirements! So far, in some cases,
they were right to offer a dissenting vote! Some worked out; others didn't.
But we're getting much better at it now. After you've done this awhile, you
hear catch phrases from prospects that guide your decision process.

Hope this helps some of the new clubs!

Lynn Ostrem, VP
garbagecop@earthlink.net
Crow River Investment Club
www.bivio.com/crowriver

OK, I want to know what are some catch phrases?

Lynn Ostrem wrote:
>
> From: "Danny Matthews" <dannymatthews@bivio.com>
>
> > Sierra Investment club also requires that a prospect attends
> > three meetings before we vote at the fouth. Must be
> > unanimous.
>
> Good time for a new topic. To new clubs who haven't had the pleasure of
> melding in a new member (!) 3 months must seem like a long time. But I
> think it takes that long for the member to make sure "this is for them." It
> also gives the club a chance to see if a member will mesh well. Anyone can
> be on their best behavior for a month or two. Three is more difficult!
> True personalities start to show.
>
> Since we don't want to drag it out any further, we've discovered a way to
> speed up the voting process. Our meetings are on Tuesday night. At the 3rd
> meeting, the prospect is subjected to a slew of interview questions that we
> have made up in advance. It's not so bad! <G> But we do ask them about
> their commitment level.
>
> After the meeting, everyone has until Friday at 5 p.m. to vote for the
> member. This is done by sending an email to the president. She tallies
> the votes and forwards the email to the secretary who verifies the votes.
> The new member is informed right away. The 4th meeting is their official
> 1st meeting. In the meantime, the voting result is announced at the next
> meeting so that it can be made a record of the minutes.
>
> Now about this unanimous thing! We used to have unanimous voting in our
> original bylaws...until a disgruntled member who was getting ready to leave
> the club decided to hold up the voting process to be a stinker! At the
> meeting where the new prospect was to be inducted, we simply made an
> amendment change to allow "majority" voting, and inducted the member that
> day. Pretty silly, I know. Who would have ever thought of that?
>
> Not all our members are inducted unanimously. We have some pretty picky
> members with some pretty stringent requirements! So far, in some cases,
> they were right to offer a dissenting vote! Some worked out; others didn't.
> But we're getting much better at it now. After you've done this awhile, you
> hear catch phrases from prospects that guide your decision process.
>
> Hope this helps some of the new clubs!
>
> Lynn Ostrem, VP
> garbagecop@earthlink.net
> Crow River Investment Club
> www.bivio.com/crowriver

> OK, I want to know what are some catch phrases?

Hi Gary,

First off, prospects who end up working out tend to be the ones who show up
for 3 consecutive meetings before joining. They are usually the first ones
in the door and the last ones to leave. They listen intently at the
meetings, and they ask lots of questions when it's over. They even call in
between with more questions. They are interested and excited! They start
buying books we recommend and the software we use, even before we ask them
to.

Catch phrases that spell trouble:

So, how many meetings do I have to attend each year?
I might be late. It all depends on the traffic.
I've got 3 kids in sports, but I can usually work that out.
Does it really take 4 hours a month for this stuff between meetings?
Do I have to be an officer?

That's all I can think of, off the cuff. But you get the point. All I can
say is, after 13 years of screening potential members, I've discovered that
anyone who comes with a caveat (I'd like to join, as long as...you fill in
the blank) eventually, they become a problem. Contrast that with members
that have no issues coming into the club. They are the ones who work out
over the long term.

Lynn Ostrem, Vice President and Education Chair
Crow River Investment Club
garbagecop@earthlink.net
www.bivio.com/crowriver