Keeping your members coming back for more is vital to the health of your organization, but all too often, associations only rely on emails to remind people to renew. That may not be enough.

In a recent Association Success blog post, Matt Mantione, senior director of membership at the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) shares what he learned from implementing a new call center program.

“We decided that calling up individual members to have a conversation at this critical point in their membership journey would be more engaging than sending a reminder email and hoping they followed up,” says Mantione.

He goes on to say that it’s important that senior folks lead by example when it comes to making calls. Leaders making calls tells all employees that a membership mindset comes from the top.

Keep in mind that some employees may be reluctant to pick up the phone because it feels too sales-y. But Mantione recommends guiding your team to rethink their approach to calls. “Callers were not trying to sell, but understand, not talk, but listen,” he writes. “As the champion of this project, I had the information to guide us through the process of a consultative selling approach.”

Be a Stronger Leader

4 Halloween Tricks For Leaders https://t.co/eAuirZxeAI via @TerriKlass | #Leadership

— Kate Nasser (@KateNasser) October 30, 2017

This year, trick-or-treating isn’t just for kids.

Just in time for Halloween, leadership skills training consultant Terri Klass shares a few tricks for leaders to become more effective.

To start, internalize and define your leadership values. “The secret to a strong leadership strategy is having a clear understanding of your most important values,” Klass writes in a LinkedIn post. “When we identify what behaviors and attitudes drive our actions and decision-making, then we can build our own brand.”

Other Links of Note

There’s a good chance your event marketing emails are winding up in junk folders. The Event Manager Blog shares a bunch of ways to get around spam filters.

Make sure you’re reaching your audience. The Capterra Nonprofit Technology Blog reveals several ways to improve your social media marketing campaigns.

Chatbots are convenient, but CMSWire says customer service still requires a human touch.

(BrianAJackson/iStock/Getty Images Plus)