Standardizing your Club Closings: 10 Tips to Get Started

Crafting the perfect contract closing is both an art and a science; one must include all the necessary compliance components while also ensuring an efficient and enjoyable experience for the new member. Based on our experience, 20-30 minute closings seem to be about the standard and 15-20 minutes seem to be exemplary. Here’s a preview list of ten things we recommend you think about as you begin to standardize closings across your club to make them as efficient and effective as possible:

1. The closing agent greets the new members with a smile and a handshake
2. The closing agent should work immediately to establish rapport with the new member upon introduction
3. Any documents necessary for the closing are ready
4. Any technology necessary to conduct the closing is ready
5. The closing agent provides the new member with an overview of what will take place during the closing
6. Any new member gifts are ready and given to the new member at the appropriate time
7. The closing agent does not talk over the new member and takes time to adequately address any of the new member’s questions before continuing the closing
8. The closing agent should show a genuine curiosity in learning why the member decided to join the club
9. The closing agent accurately goes over the list of terms within the contract and any fee or payment schedules included in the agreement
10. The closing agent takes time to congratulate the new member on their joining and even goes so far as to providing personal tips on maximizing their membership

The above is just an initial list of things clubs should be thinking about as they work to make memorable closings for their new members. There is an ever-growing list of things to think about, but establishing this baseline will help you understand where your club is at in terms of closing proficiency and what you might be able to improve upon. As you begin to grow more serious about standardizing your closings, our team would love to speak with you to share our experience on honing your closing standards and how to safeguard those standards as you continue to bring on new members.