Hi and welcome, here are the slides from the presentation I, Sofie Sandell did in Belgium for JCI Vlaanderen in January 2015. I was JCI London’s president in 2008 and in that year we grow the chamber from 30 to 75 members. I’m happy to share these insights for other membership based organisations and I’m planning to put together the content into an online course as well. Get in touch with me for more information sofie@sofiesandell.com Thank you, Sofie

1. The JCI London Story
Sofie Sandell - sofie@sofiesandell.com
Twitter: @Soffi_Propp
Instagram: sofiesandell
LinkedIn: Sofie Sandell

2. Hi and welcome, here are the slides from the
presentation I, Sofie Sandell did in Belgium for JCI
Vlaanderen in January 2015.
I was JCI London’s president in 2008 and in that
year we grow the chamber from 30 to 75 members.
I’m happy to share these insights for other
membership based organisations and I’m planning
to put together the content into an online course as
well. Get in touch with me for more information
sofie@sofiesandell.com
Thank you, Sofie

3. Past and current
JCI London Presidents
2007
Tina Strack
2008
Sofie Sandell
2009
Marco van
den Heuvel
2010
Solveig Malvik
2011
Sarah Beckwith
2012
Simon Bucknall
2013
Eyad
Hamouied
2014
Dexter Dash
2015
Soraya Bowen

4. Brand promise
When JCI London keeps it brand promise with the
kind of events our members want - both small and
big, interesting projects and clear communication
about all opportunities the members stays.
When the brand promise is lost members leave.
Over the last 7 years:
- lowest numbers of members 30
- highest number 150 members
- currently JCI London has 100 members

5. The never ending story
All membership based organisation around the world have
the same kind of issues:
• They want more members
• They want more engaged members
• They want members to stay longer
• And they want to build better relationships with their
sponsors and partners.
Do you agree?

6. My year 2008
• The chamber started out with little confidence - was
JCI London really needed in the London community?
• Small chamber and big history
• Awful website…
• We did events for ourselves
• London - very busy place - hundreds of events every
day. Risk JCI being totally invisible…
• The digital change - social media started to grow
• My motto: leaders do things first
• Leadership, inspiration, energy & courage!

7. Here are two slides from my inauguration
presentation January 2008.

9. We wrote down all directors plans and objectives
into one document in the beginning of the year.
Writing down your objectives and sharing them
with the rest of your team creates a good energy.

10. This is the JCI London’s business plan that all
directors, and I as the president wrote 2008."
"
All goals were reached and we won 9 awards that year.

12. Communication
Telling your members about all opportunities is key
for a chamber to grow.
Email addresses = valuable currency
Never abuse emails or be too salesy in your email
marketing. Use a professional email system as
Constant Contact or Mailchimp.
Make all your council members visible on your
website and social media. Your members and
potential members want to see who they are.

13. Three different kind of
leaders in JCI

14. The skier"
!
Knows all the JCI sloped and
lifts, skis fast and alone. Is
very well connected but
never contributes to it’s local
organisations growth. Knows
the organisation in and out,
but rarely share the
knowledge in a way to
engage more members.
!
Often seen climbing the
international career ladder
and goes to plenty of
international conferences.

15. The beach party organiser "
!
This kind of leader is great at
getting people into the room.
Bums on seats count the most
for them.
!
After getting hundreds of
people into the room nothing
happens… there are very little
activity and no follow up.
!
No personal connection are
made and people remain a
number.

16. Delegating organisers "
!
The most productive leaders
in membership organisations
are actively sharing
knowledge and delegate
tasks to several teams.
!
This creates a strong sense of
belonging and active
members.
!
Active members will stay
longer and give their time and
energy to your organisation.
The image is from the book: ‘How organisations develop activists’

17. Commitment and Contribution
• Community gives energy
• Contribution make you feel important and
connected
• A volunteer organisation is built on something
else than a corporate organisation
• We want to be part of something bigger that gives
us belonging and identity.

18. Why people leave?
• Lack of value from the membership
• Lack of relevance in the information provided
• Lack of time
• Changed job
• Other reasons!

19. Many people will rejoin
• Do you have a strategy to get people to rejoin?
• Can you provide more resources?
• More relevant events?
• Can you share your resources online?
• Better networking opportunities?

20. Why people stay
We want to network, share ideas, go to event, develop our
knowledge, and socialise.
• Friendship
• Personal development
• Travel to international events
• Commitment to projects
• JCI becomes part of your identity
• JCI has many strong leaders without big egos.

21. Different kind of members
1) Lifelong learners (not only focused on their profession)
2) Information consumers - always learning about whatever through
books, seminars, online courses…
3) Continual professional development members.
4) Aspiring leaders and thought leaders. Raising their profile in their
industry and community from their membership and involvement.
5) The networkers and connectors
6) The CV members - JCI looks great!
7) The activists, mission and purpose members. They LOVE JCI.
8) Happy to pay but don’t want to be involved members
9) Money savers - want the discount on JCI courses and
conferences.
10) You “should” join members. Told by others they should join.

22. Metaphors for JCI chambers
• Rich chamber…
• Needy, we need your help
• Poor, no financial resources
• Fluffy? No identity
• Superior and exclusive
• Forward thinking
—> Are you clearly telling your members what you
need them to do?

23. Here are the tricks we used to make the chamber
grow.
This was used for an open discussion with me, the
speaker and the audience. It makes more sense
discussing…

24. Mentorship
Partnership
Good
&
planned
handovers
Committed
leaders
Diversity
Clarity in the
chamber
Tolerance
Consistency
Constantly
learning
Business
plan
JCI is NOT for
everyone
Brand
promise
Clarity
among the
members
Big projects
Small events
Open for
collaboration
In JCI you can
make anything
happen
Board member’s visibility
Welcome new ideas
Being
personal &
different
Build
confidence
Regular
communicationThe membership
spreadsheet
Welcome pack
Big events
Encouragement
Learning from
other chambers
Resilience
Networking with other
organisations
New roles
Low barrier events i.e
Thirsty Thursday
Council
book
Awards
Data
base
SWOT
SEO
New
website
Strategic
discussions
Time bitch

25. The membership
spreadsheet
Encouragement
Learning from
other chambers
Build
confidence
Board member’s visibility
Mentorship
Partnership
Good
&
planned
handovers
Committed
leaders
Diversity
Tolerance
Consistency
Constantly
learning Business
plan
JCI is
NOT for
everyone
Brand
promise
Clarity
among the
members
Big projects
Small events
Open for
collaboration
In JCI you can
make anything
happen
Welcome new ideas
Being
personal &
differentRegular
communication
Welcome pack
Big events
Resilience
Networking with other
organisations
New roles
The council book
Awards
Data
base
New
website
SWOT Low barrier events i.e
Thirsty Thursday
SEOStrategic
discussions
Clarity
in the
chamber
Time bitch

26. Recourses and tips
www.sofiesandell.com/resources/knowledge-sharing/

27. Please connect online:
Sofie Sandell
sofie@sofiesandell.com
Twitter: @Soffi_Propp
Instagram: sofiesandell
LinkedIn: Sofie Sandell