My
last blog detailed the preparation needed prior to extending the first invitation to a customer executive for your Executive Sponsor Program (ESP). You are ready and your executive is ready to make initial contact with the customer executive. There are many methods of contact, so determine the best approach for each customer executive.
• Meeting
• Phone Call
•
E-mail as the last resort
In my experience the majority of the invitations to customer executives are all made via phone. Everyone has a hectic schedule, so actually getting the customer executive live on the phone the first time is pretty low. I would like to offer a few tips in getting the customer executive to respond to your invitation:
Voicemail
• Zero-out to gain access to their administrative assistant
• Find out the mode of communication preferred and the time of day they can be reached; schedule 15 minutes on their calendar
• Focus attention on the company’s key challenges, industry trends or a compelling event
If you have been unsuccessful in contacting the customer executive by phone, as I mentioned earlier, the last resort would be to reach out to the customer executive through e-mail.
E-mail
• Grab their attention in the subject line
• Keep the message brief (mobile device friendly)
• No attachments
Don’t be discouraged if multiple attempts have to be made before you receive a “yes” from the customer executive. It is your follow-up and follow through that will make the difference to your customer executive.
The customer list has been vetted and the customer executives have been identified…you are ready to extend your invitations. How do you invite your customer executives, so they accept? Here are a few things to consider:
1. Has the right person been identified to make contact with the customer executive?
2. Does a relationship exist today with the customer executive?
3. Has information been gathered on each customer to thoroughly brief the executive who is extending an invitation? 
Contact
You only have one shot at inviting a customer executive to participate in your Executive Sponsor Program (ESP). Make sure you have identified the right individual. The highest level executive that has direct ownership of the account or the executive next in line should be the one extending the invitation. Remember, that ESP isn’t meant to be a sales opportunity, so assigning the Account Executive to extend the invitation is not recommended.
Relationship
A hurdle that many of our clients face with their program is that no relationship exists with the customer executive. If this is a problem you are facing today, you will need to create a strategy for gaining access to the customer executive. Who do you know that has a relationship today with the customer executive? For those of you who aren’t challenged with a relationship issue you are well on your way to the finish line.
Information
Information is power! Before your executives begin to make contact with the customer executives, arm your executives with the information they will need to become knowledgeable about the account. A great place to begin your information gathering is on LinkedIn. Information that is helpful includes:
• Customer Executive Bio
• Account Plan
• Management Discussion from 10-K
• Outstanding Customer Service Concerns
I know you are anxious to begin getting customer executives to participate in your ESP, but with careful preparation and thought prior to the initial contact your ability to get a “yes” on the first attempt will sky rocket.
In the final installment of How to Gracefully Remove Customer Advisory Board Members I will discuss the contributions of your Board members, the second area of focus when deciding if it is time to remove a board member. A board member should be asked to leave based
on a set of objective and subjective criteria; picture a scorecard and grade each member in the following areas:
• Overall attitude
• Level of participation
• Insight/feedback provided
Board members were sought after based on their ability to provide insight, actively participate in all discussions and demonstrate their sincerity in wanting to see your company become a success. Any board member that doesn’t resemble these characteristics is not delivering to the expectations set in the Advisory Board Charter. For those who may not appear to be contributing, take some time to better understand why, i.e. their area of responsibility might not mesh with the other board members, or it could be as simple as they are no longer providing new insights.
Often the feeling of not fitting in or not realizing the time commitment is a reality felt by the board member. With everything clearly stated up-front in the Charter, the conversation about not returning to the next meeting should not come as a surprise to the board member. Perform a review of each member’s availability and contributions. Remember, in the end the board belongs to your company and you owe it to the other members to have a cohesive group of like executives that all want to contribute to the success of your company.
When faced with the difficult task of removing a Board member that has failed to live up to their commitment, don’t take it personally. All you need to do is perform an objective review of a member’s attendance at each meeting and their participation in the in between meeting activities. If the availability of a board member is not meeting your expectations revert back to your Charter.
The Charter includes details about the membership commitment for your board; assigning membership based on a staggered 12 – 36 month term will allow you to roll a member off of the board after only two meetings. The charter should also clearly state the number of meetings each member is expected to attend each year and the way in which absences are handled. When a member signs their commitment form for the board, they are signifying that they are aware of the time commitment and the expectations set for board meeting attendance.
When a board member has not been meeting attendance requirements, give them the benefit of the doubt; ask the member directly what the reason is for their absence. If the reason provided is valid and they are a contributor during board activities, it is my recommendation to put their board membership on hold and invite them to return to the board when their current obligations allow them adequate time to participate actively on the board. If the reason for an absence clearly states the member’s unwillingness to participate, it is time to respectfully tell the member thank you for their contributions but your time on the board has come to an end.
Don’t forget that your first line of defense when removing a Board member is the Advisory Board Charter. The charter was created for a reason, so referencing the charter during each Board meeting will continue to reinforce the importance of the document and the commitment made by each member to your Board. The contributions made by members will be discussed in How to Gracefully Remove Customer Advisory Board Members – Part 3 of 3. I will provide some recommendations on how to leverage your Customer Advisory Board charter to remove a board member based on the contributions they provide to the Board.
In my blog,
Awkward Conversations with Members; I provided some recommendations on how to handle the retirement of a board member. Today, I want to provide some additional recommendations that were shared during the CAB.org conference about removing board members that just aren’t the right fit. Everyone has had a member that is disruptive, doesn’t have the right job role/title or the member that never can seem to make each meeting. Have you ever asked yourself the question…
Is it time to ask “Joe Board Member” not to return to the next CAB meeting?
We can break down the answer to this question into two focus areas; the
availability of the board member to attend board activities and the
contributions the board member provides. All members of your board were selected according to a pre-defined profile, which included things like the desired job role, strategic thinkers, geography, etc. Even though you did your best to screen each member and select members based on a profile, potential mistakes can be made during the recruitment process. You will find out quickly during your first board meeting whether or not you have the opportunity to make some course corrections with members. So, the question becomes how can I respectfully ask a member not to return to the next board meeting when a change needs to be made?
I will discuss the
availability of your members in How to Gracefully Remove Your Customer Advisory Board Members – Part 2 of 3. A little hint, your first line of defense is the Advisory Board Charter. I will provide some recommendations on how to leverage your charter to remove a board member based on their level of participation in Board meetings and activities.
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