Young Kiwanian spreads ‘infectious enthusiasm’

For Mount Olive, New Jersey, Kiwanian Brian Siegelwax, recruiting new members into Kiwanis comes naturally. The 32-year-old Kiwanis TAG (Together Achieving Growth) Team member is excited about Kiwanis; so, it’s a topic that tends to come up during conversations with friends, clients, and pretty much everyone he talks to. And the topic of Kiwanis, coupled with Brian’s enthusiasm, has proved to be contagious.

“I’ve had it happen with two separate clients,” he says. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it. But I was just talking naturally about Kiwanis, like I would anything else in my life that interests me. I guess I have Kiwanis on the brain.”

Both clients eventually joined Kiwanis.

Brian personally has sponsored 11 Kiwanians into membership, and countless others inspired by Brian’s enthusiasm, also have joined.

He relates his success in member recruitment to that of a salesman: “If you like the product you’re ‘selling,’ it’s a lot easier to sell it.

“When you’re enthusiastic, and you’re talking about Kiwanis, telling someone about a project you’ve done, or bringing them to a good hands-on service project, they are going to say, ‘Gee, that seems like fun.’”

Better still, he says, when you utilize the recruiting tool of “infectious enthusiasm,” as he calls it, “Sometimes you’ll find people ask you about Kiwanis and how they can join.”

Equally important to talking about Kiwanis, Brian stresses, is listening during casual conversations.

“Everyone is a prospective member, so I’ll talk to everyone about Kiwanis in casual conversation, listening to something that captures their interest,” he explains. “And then talk more about that. People have different motivations, and you need to find out what motivates someone.”

He says former membership in one of Kiwanis’ Service Leadership Programs, such as Key Club, often is a great conversation catalyst that kindles interest in Kiwanis membership.

“It’s just talking to people. That’s all there is to it.”

Infectious Enthusiasm
(and other recruitment tactics): A few tips from Brian

Natural Kiwanis conversation catalysts:

• Wear your Kiwanis pin often.

• Keep your ears open. If you hear something that makes you think of Kiwanis, it’s a natural conversation shift.

• Listen for Kiwanis connections. For example: past membership in a Service Leadership Program, a connection to a Kiwanis service or fundraising beneficiary, a news media reference to Kiwanis, a parent or sibling who was/is involved in the Kiwanis family.

• Bring up service projects in which you have recently participated.

• Work Kiwanis’ defining statement into your conversation.

Other ideas to pique prospects’ interest:

• Generate “buzz” about your club by frequently publicizing your club’s activities in the news media. This is a constant reminder of the impact your club makes in the community and that your club is an active, thriving group.

• Bring prospective members to hands-on service projects—especially those aimed at children—where they can see firsthand how your club is changing lives.

• Invite prospective members and their families to attend fun fundraising events.

• Arrange for sponsors who are donating an item or funds to meet their beneficiary face-to-face during a special item/check presentation at a Kiwanis meeting.