Implement a structured phone outreach programs to improve renewal rates and strengthen relationships with your association members.
Last week I attended a seminar where a representative from an organisation said that they had seen a significant decline in members’ engagement with their emails, most likely due to the volume of emails that they were sending. Judging by the collective nods and murmurs of agreement in the room, they weren’t alone!
A lively discussion followed exploring potential solutions. But what no one suggested was one simple, yet powerful alternative…picking up the phone!
Obviously, there can be a lot more cost and effort involved in making phone calls. But if email and social media aren’t connecting with your members, then a well-planned calling strategy could more than justify the effort by delivering stronger results. Indeed, according to the 2025 Membership Performance Benchmark Report by iMIS, phone outreach remains the third most effective way to win back lapsed members. A personalised phone call can be the bridge that reconnects members and reignites their engagement.
Report: Phone outreach is one of the top 3 strategies to win back lapsed members.This method is a consistent leader, having been in the top three for several years. Source: 2025 Membership Performance Benchmark Report by iMIS
In this article I’d like to explore how you could be using phone calls to connect with your current, prospective and past members. We’ll look at key reasons to consider it, how to plan an effective calling strategy, and some practical tools to make it easier.
Whilst the title of this article is about winning back members with phone outreach, let’s address the bigger picture. Phone outreach is just as powerful for retaining your members and avoid needing to win them back in the first place. Many of the strategies I’ll discuss can easily be applied to member retention as well as re-recruitment.
I don’t know about you, but my email inbox is constantly filling up with messages I’m not the least bit interested in. I delete lots of emails without ever reading them. I make snap decisions based on the subject line, opening sentence, or simply my mood at that moment. Unfortunately, that means I sometimes miss a useful or interesting point that might be lower down the email.
The problem? Email is often a one-way street! It delivers information but doesn’t engage in a real conversation.
Speaking with a real person helps establish trust, answer questions in real-time, and offer immediate incentives for rejoining. A phone call is also much harder to ignore. Even if you let the call go to voicemail, you have to listen to a few seconds before you can delete it. But, if someone answers the phone, the right start to the call can quickly lead to a proper conversation.
Associations that implement structured phone outreach programs consistently report improved renewal rates and stronger member relationships. Speaking to your members means that you can:
People are much more likely to open up about the things that are concerning them in a conversation than in an email exchange. A phone call gives you real time insights into the issues that may be or become a barrier to them rejoining. When you truly listen, you can address their concerns in a way that feels personal and responsive – not just transactional.
People appreciate being recognised and valued. A personalised call, rather than sticking rigidly to a generic script, can make a huge difference in the relationship. You’re able to acknowledge the member’s past engagement and highlight the benefit that brought to their professional development. Listen to why they left and show that you genuinely care.
Even if the result isn’t them rejoining there and then, you can at least remove barriers to them rejoining in the future. The simple act of listening and caring can remove barriers to a future return and will make them feel heard and respected.
So you’ve hopefully listened to the member, heard their concerns, and had a conversation about what’s gone before. Next comes thinking about solutions.
Make sure you’re ready to respond with solutions to their concerns. Maybe it’s the cost of membership? In that case do you have lower levels of membership which would help them re-engage at an affordable price and then let you grow their membership again from there? Maybe you offer the option to pay in regular instalments rather than in full.
Offer the solutions and listen to their response. Discuss and refine… that’s the power of a phone call. What might take several days or weeks by email (if you managed to get the member engaged in the first place) can be accomplished in five minutes on the phone. The efficiency alone makes a strong case for investing in phone outreach.
As anyone who’s done telephone sales will tell you, not every conversation will lead to a membership renewal. For every member who rejoins, there will be another 9 where that didn’t happen (yet). But those conversations still have value.
Why didn’t the member re-join? What were the reasons they gave and what might have changed their mind? Gather that feedback, record it, and make sure it’s fed back into your organisation’s strategy and decision-making process. Over time, these insights can help you refine your outreach approach and boost overall retention rates.
Successful phone outreach doesn’t happen by accident. It requires planning, coordination, and investment in both training and in your systems. Not everyone is comfortable or skilled at making these calls so choosing the right team is crucial. There’s also an element of selling, which your team needs to be prepared for.
But here are some tips to maximise your success.
Make it easy for your team to know who they are calling and why. Hopefully your membership management system will do a lot of the work for you. If you're an iMIS user, you can use an IQA to show who needs to be called along with their phone number. The easier it is for your team to find this information, the more efficient and effective they’ll be.
I can’t count the number of sales enquiries I’ve responded to where something like “Integrate with our telephone system” was listed as a key requirement but was rarely delivered. That’s now entirely possible with most IP based telephone systems.
Our Connect for Phone integration opens up phone integration to iMIS users. Calling a member is a matter of a single button click. The fact that you’ve called them, whether they answered or not, and how long you spoke for, are all recorded automatically. This means you can then make sure that no one else calls the same person before you’re ready to try again.
Prioritise calls to members most likely to renew. Use your association membership data!
If you're an iMIS user, you can use engagement scoring and IQAs to your advantage. These tools will help you identify your top prospects without a lot of manual digging. For example, you can identify those who were previously highly engaged, attended your events, or purchased from your shop.
Focusing on these members increases the chances of meaningful re-engagement.
Learn from every member interaction. Start your journey to becoming a learning organization with our free guide.
%20Series/3%20-%20Learning%20Organization/whitepaper_mockup_learning-organization-800x900.png)
Prepare your team, as these types of call aren’t something that everyone will be good at from the get-go. Even the best team members need training.
Calls won’t always be easy. Some members will be warm and receptive, but others may be frustrated or disengaged. It’s inevitable that there will be a few “Mr. Angrys” who will end the call abruptly. You need to be ready for those.
Whilst being able to deal with them will become second nature after a while making these calls, the first few may be discouraging. So be ready to support and coach your team.
Knowing as much as possible about the member's history with your association helps you to tailor the conversation and make it more relevant.
Having a general script can help guide the conversation. But like I’ve previously said, personalising the discussion based on the member’s history is crucial. So exploit the data you have on them. Maybe build a report that can give a one page summary of the person you’re calling. But also don’t make that report so large and all encompassing that it takes 5 minutes to read.
Just as with email communications, making telephone calls is a volume task. You don’t want to have more than 30 to 60 seconds prep time between calls.
Your data is one of your most valuable assets. But do you have an expert (or team of experts) tasked with keeping it clean, up-to-date, and reliable?
Use our 10-point plan to tame your data and keep it fresh going forward.
The time of your call can influence how receptive someone is to speaking with you. Avoid calling too early or late in the evening and consider the time zone!
If a member expresses interest but doesn’t commit immediately, schedule a follow up call to keep the conversation going.
People may have reasons for hesitating and addressing these concerns is key to moving the conversation forward. The language you use can shape the outcome of the call. Positive language encourages engagement and makes the conversation more persuasive.
This will allow you to refine your outreach strategies and possibly identify common reasons for lapsing. If you’re using Connect for Phone, you’ll already have a record of your call in iMIS along with a notes field that you can use to record any notes or actions.
For associations looking to reconnect with lapsed members, phone outreach remains one of the most effective and personal engagement strategies.
By implementing a structured approach, personalising conversations, and following best practices, you can boost retention, rebuild relationships, and create a stronger, more engaged association membership community.
Integrate iMIS with Zoom Phone, Teams phone, or any IP based phone provider.
See the top priorities for associations, unions, and non-profits and get actionable tips to improve engagement, retention, and data management.
We're giving you a few key insights before the report is released. Check out 2025's top member recruiting strategies and most popular tech trends.
Uncover key trends from the Membership Performance Benchmark Report and explore member retention strategies for your association, union, or...