Renewal Phone Calls script

The following are a few suggestions for calling members whose membership has expired. It may be replaced with a more complete 'script.' In the meantime, feel free to add any suggestions.

Preparation

If you haven't made "cold calls" before, you should practice your opening line several times. Record it, listen to it, and determine if you need to make any changes. Once you are comfortable with it, make your first call. It gets easier with practice.

Check for duplicate contact records. I spoke to Joe Austin who told me he (and his wife) had renewed a few weeks ago. Turned out he had renewed as Joseph Austin, creating a duplicate record. Enter the last name followed by a comma in the upper left corner of CRM and press enter. This will give you a list of all the contacts with that last name, with addresses. If two have the same address and the first names are variations, like Robert and Rob or Bob, they should be merged.

Before calling the member have a look at their record on CRM, especially their donations. If they’ve made a donation recently, it should have been treated as membership renewal. Update their membership record or call someone who can (Matt, Keith, Jim) See if they live near one of our pub nights. Under "Activities" filter for Events and see if they attended any previous conventions.

Have the Party phone numbers handy in case you want to refer them to the Party (416-283-7589 and 1-855-668-5423).

In anticipation of them giving you their renewal over the phone, you could pull up their Membership Record. Click on <more> on the far right and click on <Renewal-Credit Card>.

The Call

While you dial the number and while talking to the member, SMILE. You will feel more upbeat and the person on the other end will notice.

If the person you are calling is not at this number, confirm you have dialed the intended number and apologize. Given the number has been re-assigned it needs to be deleted from the member's record.

If the number is unassigned, it should be flagged as “Not in Service”.

Voice Mail
If the call goes to Voice Mail, leave a message such as
This is a message for [member name] from _____________ of the Ontario Libertarian Party. I’m calling to remind and encourage you to renew your membership which expired (last month/year, a few months ago, on [date]). You can renew online at ontariolibertarian.ca. Or it you have an email from the Party it should have a link for renewing near the bottom. Or you can call me to renew or if you have any questions. My number is ________. Repeat your name.

OTHERWISE

Introduce yourself
“Good evening, my name is __________ and I’m the (Executive position, candidate in your riding) for the Ontario Libertarian Party. Is this [member’s name]? Am I interrupting anything or do you have a few minutes." Schedule a time to call back if necessary.

Conversation
You may be the first person from the Party to call the member in a while, so they may have questions and/or want to chat.

• Are you aware of the Convention Nov 2? Leadership contest
• Pub Nights in their area if any?
• Your Question: "I see that your membership expired (last month, a few months ago, some time ago). Is there some reason why you haven't renewed?" Here are a couple of possible answers you might get and how you could respond to them. (Please add other answers and responses.
  • Their Answer: "I forgot/haven't got around to it."
  • Your Response: "I would be happy to process your renewal now. VISA or MasterCard? (See below)
  • Their Answer: "I don't see much progress. The Party isn't going to make any difference." i.e discouraged
  • Your Response: "I understand how you feel, and sometimes I get discouraged. But I think it's important to do what we can to slow and reverse the drift into socialism. Do you agree?" Pause for agreement. "And we are not alone. There are many organizations promoting economic freedom and personal liberty, like the Fraser Institute, the Institute for Liberal Studies, Students for Liberty, and Generation Screwed here in Canada. In the US there is the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEE), Reason Foundation and Cato. They help them understand that government "solutions" are not the answer. As a result, a lot of voters are "Politically Homeless" because they don't agree with the parties they know about. Our biggest challenge is to let them know we are here and offering an alternative to more government "solutions". To get our message out we need more members and money. We need your help."
  • You might want to share your reason why you are involved with the Party.

Payment by Credit Card

• If they are willing to give you their card # get the expiry date and CSV as well. Ask if they would like to add something to the membership fee. Remind them Memberships and donations are eligible for the 75% Political Tax Credit. If you’re not familiar with how to process a renewal, call me, Keith or Matt. Double check the amount before clicking on [Save].
• If they are reluctant to provide their credit card number, invite them to go to our web site and click on [Become a Member].
• OR we should send them a CRM email with a custom link to renew their membership, similar to the one currently being sent to members whose membership has recently expired. This would eliminate the risk of a duplicate contact record.