Description
You have a cohousing dream. Or maybe your dream has launched and you simply need more people who will bring you to the finish line. Where do you find those people, how do you capture their attention, and how do you gain their commitment? In this fun and informative intensive, Shelly Parks of CoVision Consulting, will share her tips on the best ways to market your community and secure your members. The morning session will focus on marketing and topics covered will include: Understanding the difference between marketing and sales and why this is important. How to create a Strategic Marketing Plan and what analytics to track to understand if your marketing is working. What is a realistic budget and where will I get the best bang for my buck? And more. The afternoon session will focus on what happens once you’ve captured their attention and how do you convert them to an Equity Member. Topics will included: How do you keep an interested person coming back for more. How to create a membership path and what should you do to help people stay on the path to commitment. Why and how to manage your interested people using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. How to avoid the most common mistakes cohousing communities make in their membership recruitment process.
Topics covered will be applicable for groups just forming and for those needing to get a recruitment boost.
Objectives
Intro
Crash course in marketing and recruitment
Best practices in the professional world of marketing and sales
Clarify the difference between marketing and sales and why is this important
Marketing gets people’s attention
Sales gets them committed
Create and message your community’s “brand”
Defining your community’s vision so that you can create a brand.
Understanding the market and does your vision/brand fit
SWOT Analysis to clarify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
How to create a Strategic Marketing Plan
What elements should be in this plan?
Effective marketing tools and tips for each
Websites
Social Media
E-Communication
Advertising
Events
Outreach
A few tips on a visuals (good visuals vs bad visuals)
Analytics – How to track the numbers
Common Mistakes
Unclear messages
Mismatching
Creating a realistic budget
Why it is important to embrace the sales process and how to do this when you don’t think of yourself as a sales professional.
Elements of a good Membership path
Tips on keeping people on the Membership path
What is a CRM and how to set one up
Common mistakes
Giving away too much too soon
Not listening
Not understanding the importance of engagement
Speaker: Shelly Parks
Shelly Parks left her nationally renowned career leading Sales and Marketing teams in retirement living start-ups to focus on sharing her knowledge with cohousers. In 2017, she founded CoVision Consulting and now offers tools, strategies and best practices for membership recruitment, all with the goal of helping groups secure their members needed to get their project built. She is a graduate of Katie McCamant’s 500 Communities Program; currently serves on the CohoUS Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and marketing committee. Shelly recently founded Cohousing PNW, and is a community member of Skagit Commons, a new cohousing community in Anacortes, WA.
