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Membership Update for Jan. 29, 2021

Membership is progressing great: We currently have 53,352 paid active members. Thirty-eight counties have kicked off their membership campaign, and many more will occur over the next couple of weeks. These counties have started to reach out to new member prospects, former members and those not renewed from the last few months. I have heard that even though the volunteer campaign is different due to the pandemic, counties are excited about this year’s membership campaign.

We have launched a multi-touchpoint winback campaign to help with your conversations with these former members. Currently we are engaging with these prospects through social media and email. By the end of next week, we will be mailing a membership dues invoice to active members in counties who have former members who have not paid their dues in the last 33 months. Below, Adam Carney, senior director of membership sales and marketing, provides some thoughts on having conversations with these and other prospective members to help you get started.

If you are not already a part of your county membership team, I encourage you to reach out to your county Farm Bureau regarding how you can get involved. There are more reasons than ever to step up and tell your story of why you are a member. 

The excitement is building; let’s keep that going. Thank you for everyone’s commitment to grow the organization.

Having conversations that result in membership growth

by Adam Carney, senior director of membership sales and marketing,

When it comes to preparing for the membership campaign, we want to provide you with additional tools and resources that will allow you to put yourself and your county in a position to increase membership and grow our organization on all levels.

Our message for this campaign is one that I know each of you can relate to: Having conversations that result in membership growth.

I can say with confidence that each of you is an advocate of agriculture, you are passionate about Farm Bureau, and you are a leader within your county. These are all traits that give you a tremendous opportunity to have these conversations with prospective and former members, which will lead to increasing membership within your county.

Within these conversations, the most important element is telling them why YOU are a member of Farm Bureau. They will see your energy and passion and want to learn more about you and how a relationship with Farm Bureau would provide value and benefit them.

Our “Winning Memberships” quick guide has been included for your reference. This is a great piece that outlines some simple steps you can take while having a conversation with a prospective member as well as key things that a Farm Bureau membership supports.

As you prepare for your membership conversations, remember the most important part of your interaction is: Why are YOU a member of Farm Bureau?

County Farm Bureaus in action

How can you help

• Ask another member to be involved in the campaign.
• Develop your prospect list for both individual members and group members.
• Review the value that Farm Bureau provides to members.
• Reflect on why you are a Farm Bureau member.
• Engage in a conversation about the value of Farm Bureau with family or friends.
• Ask at least two people to join Farm Bureau this week.
• Contact your county Farm Bureau for more information.