Running a Club as a Business – Part 6

Many of the rules are the same for letter writing as I expressed in the last article (Part 5) about writing Newsletters. The sort of advice I would add is – always try to give a response very soon after receiving a letter from someone. Even if it’s just to say, “We have received your letter dated …. , which is receiving our attention and I shall be writing again soon when we can formulate a proper response to your points.”

The fact that someone took the trouble to write to you entitles them to a quick response, but don’t try to fob them off with any old story, double check first with your fellow committee-men.

He could be your best member, don’t lose him!

You may also be writing to members who failed to renew this season. Now look at this:

Dear angler,

We have checked our records and discovered that you still have not renewed your membership with us for this season. Time is pressing now and we need as many members as possible in order to cover all of our commitments.

If you don’t join us soon you will be the loser as all of our fisheries will later this month become member only waters with no day tickets available any more and guest tickets will also be stopped.

Don’t forget also that if you fail to rejoin this year then next year you will have to join again as a new member by paying the £ 10 joining fee and you will also be fined for not having attended the work parties. We also keep a list and when that is full your membership will be returned and you will have to wait for another year.

Avoid disappointment and join now.

Yours faithfully

Quite honestly, that sort of tone is very threatening and you deserve to lose anyone you send it to as a member. It also fails to suggest what the member should do about it, who should he contact? It might be that he posted off a cheque and it really did get lost in the post. Don’t forget, THEY ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL – treat them nicely!

Dear Alan, (or could be Mr Brown)

It’s July already and having checked our lists we have no record of your membership being received so far. We would hate to think that you won’t be rejoining us this year so hopefully there is some logical explanation for this.

Whether you have been a member for many years or last year was your first, you will appreciate the quality of waters we can offer to local anglers and all with safe parking. This is important nowadays just as good fishing is and our lakes and the river are full of fish of all species, as you will know, especially the small pond! Our membership fee works out at less than 20p per day over the year and no commercial fishery can offer that kind of value. Even the bait costs more.

Perhaps you felt a little left out in the cold last year or that no-one took any notice of you. Please, do come to the meetings where, I promise, we listen to your suggestions and comments. Other anglers too would like to know how you feel about the club and whether or not it’s going in the right direction.

Unless you have already posted your application and it has been unfortunate to have got lost we would all dearly love to see your renewal in the next post, but if for some reason you feel unable to rejoin, please write to me personally and tell me why. I will certainly take note of your feelings.

To renew your membership, please complete the form below and return it to the address shown or drop me a line. Don’t forget now!

Yours sincerely,

Now this letter is so much better. Perhaps a little mushy, but at least it informs the member as to what to do (you should also print an application form and your address below this letter). It explains the benefits properly and even calculates the cost per day. This letter also says – we care about you as a member. I cannot guarantee it, but my experience has been that most people will respond positively towards this kind of letter and will rejoin. Think about it and if you don’t do this already – do it in future!

The only other rules regarding letters really are the grammar. If your letter starts with “Dear Sir,” or “Dear Angler,” then it should end with “Yours faithfully.”. If it begins with “Dear Fred,” or “Dear Mr Brown,” then it should end with “Yours sincerely.” – it’s as simple as that.

Letter writing has changed much over the past fifty years, let alone the past 100 years. No longer do you need to open with “Pray thee to lend thine ears to our plaintive lamentations.” when writing a letter of complaint. Neither do you need close with such sentences as “We remain, Sir, your most honourable and obedient servants.”

Just make sure that your letter seizes the attention, outlines the detail, summarizes the remedy, and specifies the action to be taken. You won’t go far wrong.

Watch out for silly things you might inadvertently say
Just a little look at some letters supposedly sent to the Nottingham City Housing Dept.

1. I wish to complain that my father hurt his ankle very badly when he put his foot in the hole in his back passage
2. The lavatory is blocked by the boys balls
3. This is to let you know there is a smell coming from the man next door
4. The toilet seat is broken. Where do I stand?
5. I request your permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen
6. The man next door has a large erection which is unsightly and no doubt dangerous
7. My cooker has backfired and burnt my knob off
8. I am writing on behalf of my sink which is running away from the wall
9. Our kitchen floor is very damp. As we would like a third child, can you send someone damn quick to do something about it
10. My wife tripped on the broken path and is pregnant. What shall I do now?
11. My lavatory seat is broken and I can’t get BBC 2
12. The toilet seat is broken in half and is now in four pieces.

THE ‘INNER SANCTUM’
There is a need in most clubs for ‘urgent’ decision making. These are decisions on items, points, offers, issues, or whatever, that come in suddenly and demand an immediate response. There isn’t time to call another committee meeting or even draw the full committee together for an impromptu meeting. If you were to say that a decision will have to wait then the offer (or whatever it is) will be withdrawn or lost.

For example; one of your landlords phones you one day and offers you an extra lake at a bargain price that you always wanted and would be crazy to refuse and you know the club can afford it without seeking more subscriptions. Take it or leave it, he must have a response in 24 hours or another club, your arch rivals, will be offered it. What do you do?

For these purposes you need to create within the committee an ‘Inner Sanctum’, a small group of the top officers (including trustees if these are separate). Certainly include the chairman, secretary, treasurer and the fisheries officer because he will want to know about any major developments. You could also include the president and/or a vice-president or two, but don’t let it get too big because these people may be called on at a moment’s notice to make fairly instant decisions. You don’t want wafflers and fence-sitters.

Each member of the ‘Inner Sanctum’ should have a good understanding of business principles and be able to take decisions and defend them later. For this they will also need to be knowledgeable in all aspects of the club’s circumstances. If any situation then arises that demands an immediate decision these people can be relied upon to either meet or give a telephone response and – this is important – STICK to it!

Any decisions they make will, of course, have to be backed up later by the full committee. All the members of the ‘Inner Sanctum’ should be talking to each other on a regular (more than at meetings) basis. If one fails to attend any meeting he can rely on another ‘Inner Sanctum’ member to inform him about the discussions and the decisions made, accurately!

Each officer of the ‘inner sanctum’ should also keep in contact with other committee members including those reporting to him (officers with duties, but not included in the ‘Inner Sanctum’ group) and other committee members who can be allocated to his charge. Eg:

Treasurer -responsible to inform Membership Secretary
Secretary -responsible to inform Junior Organiser and Match Secretary
Chairman – responsible to inform President and all Vice Presidents
Fisheries -responsible to inform the Head Bailiff

Within 24 hours a proposal can be put to the Inner Sanctum members and a straw poll taken as to whether or not a particular decision can be later upheld. The poll also gives the Inner Sanctum members some confidence in reaching a decision.

Is this undemocratic? I don’t think so, certainly no different to the Cabinet taking decisions for Parliament. Just so long as you are open to all concerned about its existence.

Next – ‘Rules – Too Many?’