How to Attract a Younger Member

Almost all of the networking organizations that I interviewed confessed to me that they are fearful of losing a large number of members to retirement in the next 5 - 10 years. Yikes. A common goal, naturally, is to try and attract a younger entrepreneur. But how? Well, you need to know what young entrepreneurs really want.

A 2011 study by IMD discovered that young entrepreneurs don't want capital, office space, health insurance, or compensation. Nope.  They want a MENTOR. They would actually choose advice over capital!

We know that our organizations are full of mentors (whether we call them that or not). You see them at work every week in the meetings; guiding and helping other members. Sometimes even the mentors have mentors.

Mentoring is a natural bond that forms.  There is no need to say 'Hey, will you be my mentor?' Those that can help and those that need help are naturally attracted to each other.

We are full of the very thing young entrepreneurs want! I think this is a big deal. And this is something we can all capitalize in our marketing for our groups:

Ask your membership about their mentors in their networking group:

• How did that relationship form?
• How did the mentor help?
• What was the result?
• Do you have more than one mentor for different situations?

Let's shout these stories out on social media and on our websites. Let's get the word out that in person networking groups are and excellent place to find mentors. 

Zig Ziglar once said, "A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could."

Do you have a good mentorship story? Do you have a unique way to attract a younger member? Please let me know.  I'd love to share and inspire others.

Reference:  IMD Study Reveal What Aspiring Entrepreneurs Really Want

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