Membership managers oversee teams of people who meet clients’ needs at service companies such as workout facilities or hotels. These individuals aim to keep current members happy while attracting new customers to help their organizations achieve their goals. If you wish to become a membership manager, you must complete four years of college training and work for multiple years directly selling your company’s services to others.
An individual who wants to become a membership manager needs to consider completing a four-year bachelor’s degree in business or marketing. You must be prepared to provide a copy of the results of any standardized tests that you have taken as well as submit proof of having earned a high school diploma or the equivalent certification to your potential schools. In addition, colleges will ask to see your high school transcript and require that you fill out their admissions forms before starting school to become a membership manager.
Marketing classes serve as the foundation of any program dedicated to preparing students for this career area. In these types of courses, pupils study how to create marketing communications plans that tailor to target populations. You will also take classes on how to identify a strong salesperson versus a weak salesperson and how to motivate sales teams to achieve established goals. If you want to become a membership manager, you must master these concepts because you will be responsible for leading a team that creates campaigns to draw new members and retain current members at your organization.
Companies often will allow you to complete an internship with them for several weeks to help you to gain experience in this industry. During your time at these organizations, you should practice creating reports that highlight how successful a company has been with attracting new members in an allotted time frame. You also need to hone your skills with the business’ customer service software, which you should use to keep track of members’ information with the goal of developing better ways to cater to them.
Building your customer recruiting expertise over a period of several years typically is necessary before you can move into a higher supervisor role in this field. During this time, you must be willing to perform cold calling, or directly contacting potential members via phone to entice them to join your organization. Your company also might have an internal sales training program that it wants you to complete. You can use this period to prove your ability to work in a team environment, multi-task, and be self-driven so that, when the opportunity to become a membership manager arrives, you have a strong chance of earning the position.