In a recent coaching conversation with a Chair in my Chair Coaching Program for Leveraging Social Media to Find Members, she indicated that I was embarrassing her due to her lack of knowledge of what to do in social media to attract new members. She found my ease and comfort of knowing exactly what steps, techniques, tools, and methods to use unsettling. She was particularly dismayed at the speed at which I was able to accomplish certain tasks that were taking her 10x more time.

Here’s what I said:

You shouldn’t feel embarrassed or humiliated. I’ve been doing this daily for 6-7 years and have perfected my knowledge and use of social media over that time. Unlike this coaching program, I learned it all on my own through trial and error.  I was on LinkedIn when it was just a few million members. I was using Jim Cecil’s ideas on drip nurturing from a TEC presentation 12 years ago - long before the Internet became popular. Today, the buzz words are content marketing, content curation, and content distribution – these concepts integrated with social media are new – but the basic approach has not changed in two decades or more. It’s like learning a new sport, skill, specialized piece of knowledge – there is a definite learning curve. But you should never feel embarrassed or humiliated due to lack of knowledge. In fact, I’ve got to pat you on the back for taking the big step to start learning and discovering how these new tools might help you acquire more members.

Two problems with getting started:

First Problem: The problem with coming up to speed in social media - especially for chairs trying to figure out what’s the best tools and techniques that can be applied in the minimum amount of time with the least effort – is that there is a 2-3 year learning curve to gain a moderate level of competency in using the tools to get results (potential CEO referrals that convert to members on a regular basis).  Here’s the rub: a small percentage of CEOs are using social media now. In 2-3 years, adoption will be mature and everyone will be using social media. Do you wait for that point on the maturity curve to get started OR do you get started right now so that when that inflection point hits in 2-3 years, you’ve mastered the core elements of being effective in engaging CEOs with social media? Tough question because if you start now it requires a basic time investment of a few hours a week. If you get started in 2-3 years “when you might have more time”, you risk being left behind since the train already pulled out of the station.

Second Problem: Where do you learn how to get started? There is no ONE place to figure out how to get started. There is no ONE resource on the internet to help you through all the tedious problems, roadblocks, bottlenecks, and frustrations that keep popping up as you set up your social media infrastructure. There is no “user manual.” It’s initially painful and most dread it. I compare it to the Wild West – unstructured, free wheeling, fraught with fear and frustration. This is exactly why I created my Chair Coaching Program for Leveraging Social Media to Find and Attract New Members.

Here’s how to solve both problems right now:

In a one-stop model, I’ve created a program for chairs to immediately build their social media infrastructure, knowledge, and expertise in a friendly and trusting environment. A lot of knowledge, problem solving, and tedious set-up combined with just a little “utzing” for accountability, appears to be the right combination to launch most chairs down the path of finding and acquiring new members through social media.

Don't take my word for it - ask some of the 70 plus chairs worldwide who are currently participating in this flexible personalized coaching program.

If you would like to register for our next coaching class (which by the way is FREE for chairs), then send me a quick email or use the CONTACT US form on our Chair Coaching Blog.

Barry