Still Recruiting? Sell What's Important
Tom Shefchunas
August 26, 2010

There is nothing more important to your ministry than the quality and quantity of your volunteer leaders. So your priority needs to be that. Normally when I talk about the job of getting leaders, I talk about treating it like a job interview. You can’t be desperate…and you can’t take just anybody. You have to […]

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There is nothing more important to your ministry than the quality and quantity of your volunteer leaders. So your priority needs to be that.

Normally when I talk about the job of getting leaders, I talk about treating it like a job interview. You can’t be desperate…and you can’t take just anybody. You have to find the right people. I mean that…and still do.

For this post however…I want you to think like a salesmen. Not that you need to sell the job…but you have to think like a salesmen thinks.

Here’s how a salesmen thinks.

1. I make about 1 sale every 5 meetings.

2. I get one meeting for every 10 cold calls I make.

3. If I’m going to make 3 sales a week, I need to have 15 meetings, and therefor I need to make 150 cold calls a week.

At North Point Middle School ministry, we “get” around 1 out of every 3 people that come to see the program. Because by the time they get through the long process, agree to the three year commitment, and go through interviews, 2 of the 3 have fallen off for one reason or another.

In addition to that, it seems that we get 1 out of every 3 people who say they’re interested after an intitial “sales pitch” to actually show up to observe. Whether they say they will to get us off their back or feel inspired in the moment, I have no idea. The reality is, that’s how hard it is to even get people in the environment so you can cast vision and talk about the program.

So, in order to get the 80 new leaders we need a year, we have to get 240 people to come and observe, meaning we have to make 720 “sales pitches” a year….whew!

So let’s say you need 10 new leaders a year. That means you need 30 come to observe and 90 “sales pitches” a year.

Here’s my point. That’s not how most of us think. We think the 10 we are talking to are going to work out. But we’ve got to be realistic.

Here’s point #2. You can’t do it alone. You definitely can’t do it if you also have to worry about programs, curriculum, speaking on Sunday, crazy moms and dads, picking up a case of Ready Whip for the game on Sunday, and being a decent parent and a spouse to your family. You need help.

You need a system.

Check back next week for Part 2 and some practical ideas on what to do. For now, how do you do it? Share your best practices.

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Leadership,   Volunteers,  
Tom Shefchunas WRITER
Tom Shefchunas—better known as Shef—is the Executive Director of Student Strategy at Orange. In this role, he leads the development and strategy for XP3 Middle School and High School curriculum. Previously, Tom was North Point Ministries’ Multi-Campus Director of Transit, their middle school ministry, for 12 years. And before that, he spent 10 years as a high school teacher, coach, and principal. Additionally, he is the co-author of Lead Small with Reggie Joiner. Tom and his wife, Julie, live in Cumming, Georgia, with their three children, Mac, Joey, and Cooper.