AFE National News

A Message from AFE's Executive Director

Dear AFE Member

It is a pleasure to be hired as the new Executive Director of AFE. I haven't been here for two weeks yet, but I am already impressed by the desire and hard work of your volunteer leaders. They believe in AFE and have some great ideas for the success of the association and our industry. And more importantly, they are concerned with your individual success. I am also pleased to be working with a talented and dedicated staff, who want to see AFE reach its ambitious goals. We recently held a staff planning meeting in which we laid out our mission for customer service:

AFE Staff will provide professional, friendly and knowledgeable service to our members (and potential members) and those affiliated with them as promptly as possible.

OK, It's a little wordy right now, but the point is that we are here to provide you with the tools and information you need. As a first step, the office hours have been extended from 8 AM to 6 PM EST. And chances are better than good that someone will be here earlier and much later than that. We will return your phone calls and e-mails as soon as possible, but never more than 24 hours later. If we do not, I want to hear about it.

And, if possible, I would also like to hear about it when we do a good job. My door, my phones, my e-mail (mireland@afe.org) are open. If you have an opinion on how we can better serve you, please let me know. This is YOUR association.

AFE will hold it's winter planning meeting on Saturday, February 1st at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in Covington, KY near the national headquarters. Committee sessions will begin at 8:00 AM and the Board of Directors will commence at 4:00 PM. These are open meetings and you are invited to attend. If you cannot attend, but have concerns you would like to address, you can contact your local Regional Vice President or any member of the Board.

AFE has a rich and storied tradition. In fact, next year is our Golden Anniversary. Over the next few months, you will be hearing a lot more about how we will celebrate 50 years of AFE excellence. And as we look back, it's also natural to look ahead. We have some obstacles to overcome, but together, staff, volunteer leaders and YOU can make the next 50 years even better!

Mike Ireland
Executive Director
The Association for Facilities Engineering
(513) 489-2473 Ext. 11

Final Message from Joel Leonard

AFE Members!

As I pass the torch over to a very capable and perhaps mythic- John Scheuch. For those who do not know John he is the big guy in the attached picture. As you can see from this article AFE has the right man for the role. He has a huge heart- and he now has my 22 EEE shoe, so my advise is not to tick him off. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/4791082.htm

www.pulsepointe.com

Association for Facilities Engineering (AFE)
Invest in Yourself - Join AFE today!

Joel Leonard
Vice President of Membership
(843) 296-9043

As we all know there is a major crisis looming on the horizon in the maintenance and engineering sector. The average maintenance professional is 46 years old and for every 5 retiring in the next 10 years only 2 are joining the ranks. There is a major need to develop and elevate more maintenance and engineers. This year we are making major progress in growing AFE to help address this problem! Your chapter efforts to support these initiatives are greatly appreciated.

Also want to share with you some positive AFE activities from one of our new 2001 Regional Vice Presidents to elevate maintenance growth and development. As opposed to just complaining about the problems he is getting out there and making a difference in his region. He is making serious progress and getting his region back on stable footing by revitalizing numerous dormant and supporting weak chapters.

Please share your AFE revitalization efforts. These inspire us all! Bet there are some great things happening but we haven't heard yet. We always like to hear about success. Please share.

Addressing a complaint and solving major problem for the chapters - What do we get from National HQ - Most chapters don't have the time or resources to promote their meetings.

More chapter meeting promotion means more attendance by prospective members, which will yield more future members and future leaders. Therefore more meeting promotion is very important to our short term and long term success of AFE and our efforts to elevate this profession.

We have worked very hard to set up a system in place at National Headquarters to provide meeting support to chapters. National will provide prospective member lists, provide emails, provide blast faxes for each chapter. Next year we will be providing this service in February, May and September.

If you wish to receive support for this September promotion campaign, please forward your September meeting information a.s.a.p. to dmangold@afe.org 

Numerous members surveys have discovered that most of our members view AFE BIGGEST BENEFIT-- NETWORKING WITH COLLEAGUES-- We are not an engineering coffee club we are a national organization for the development and growth of excellence in Facilities Engineering. In order to grow we must develop and promote our activities.

Please help us continue our revitalization by both lighting a fire under your chapter officers and showing them the way to future AFE success!  "Leaders think and talk about the solutions.  Followers think and talk about the problems." - Brian Tracy - active leadership generates more activity and results!

Each of us have a terrific opportunity to making the 2001 a great year but only if we move and each leader leads.

Looking forward to seeing each of you on the prestigious AFE Web-of-Fame. www.afe.org     

Please let me know how I can support you further.

Best Regards

Joel A. Leonard
Vice President Membership

Association for Facilities Engineering

AFE Meeting Planner

6 meeting plans

New members can be added online Just make sure that they put the sponsors name in the sponsor field. We will send out applications and brochures if needed or in a pdf file if that is accessible. Please contact our terrific membership team at akipp@afe.org  or dmangold@afe.org  if you would like a pdf copy or hardcopies of the AFE information and membership application. (Click on membership application to download a PDF copy) 

Looking forward to assisting in the quest to transcend the barriers of traditional stereotypes!

Thanks for all of your past and future support!

Best Regards
Joel Leonard
VP AFE Membership

 7 Power-Packed Prospecting Pointers For Increasing Membership

"He that questioned much shall learn much," said Francis Bacon. Nowhere in RECRUITING is that statement truer than in the prospecting phase of recruiting. As part of that strategy, let's examine a basic but important principle of value-based recruiting: In a crowded marketplace, all other things being equal, the one with the most information, who applies it most effectively, wins. Translating that statement into a prospecting principle that you can use in your sales career gives us what can be called: Power-Packed Prospecting Principle I: The most productive sentence in the AFE Leader's vocabulary always ends with a question mark! Good prospecting is a matter of developing a solid game plan that works well for you, then following that game plan to the letter.

The Prospecting Pointers

1. Treat prospecting as the lifeblood of your region growth. Focus on quality. It is the only way you can spend most of your prime time with qualified prospects. It is also the only way you can have enough hours in a week to be successful. Focus on quantity. Your success as an AFE LEADER depends on having enough solid prospects. Focus on consistency. A steady supply of qualified prospects can enable you to avoid slumps and plateaus, eliminate call reluctance and procrastination, and keep you from pressuring current customers. Do it now. Increasing your prospecting effectiveness is the fastest single way to boost your sales and income. 

2. Treat prospecting as your most valuable time management tool. Remember that you are always looking for ways to better leverage your time: Use it to avoid wasting prime time on people who are not qualified to say "yes." Use it to ensure that you will always have enough qualified prospects to keep you productively busy. Avoid time wasting through sloppy or haphazard prospecting.

3. Take an organized approach. Never keep leads on scraps of paper or post-it notes. Use a contact management program. Whichever platform you choose, select one that ensures you will never: Lose or forget about valuable leads. Be late on promised follow-up call and visits. Waste time looking for lost information. Improperly value your prospect inventory. Fail to do mailings and other footwork due to a disorganized prospect list. 

4. Remain alert for "suspects" who have the potential to become qualified prospects: In today's fast-paced society, people's needs may change rapidly and radically, giving you prospects where you had never thought to look. Develop a prospecting mindset that automatically asks, "Is this person a prospect?" Assume all suspects are prospects until proven otherwise. Keep looking for new places to find prospects. Cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with everyone who can give you leads or open doors for you. Take full advantage of every effort by your organization to generate leads. Maintain close alignment with your marketing department. Make it your policy always to secure referrals from satisfied members.

5. Stay in constant touch with active prospects through phone calls, periodic mailings, and personal contacts. Keep in mind the "Top of the Consciousness Principle" which states that: The only certain way to ensure your members think of you first is through frequent, repetitious contact. Others are always competing for a finite amount of your prospect's attention and dollars. You never know when your prospect's motivation to buy will suddenly, dramatically increase. You need to be sure that he or she thinks of you or your product first when they evaluate how to fulfill their business needs.

6. Rework your suspect inventory regularly to try to upgrade suspects to the status of qualified prospects. A good filing system will help tremendously: Learn to use the telephone in a professional, pleasant, and business-like manner. Then use it regularly. Constantly search for people who can give you a referral for every suspect on your list. Or, better still, will they make a contact for you? Look everywhere for the slightest clue that the suspect's buying status might be changing.

7. Continually upgrade your prospecting system and strategies: For a steady flow of fresh ideas, you should read books, journals, magazines and business news, listen to cassettes, invest in CD Roms, watch videos, attend sales seminars, and talk to other successful AFE LEADERS. Above all, keep a positive attitude about prospecting. Make a game out of it. The key to a successful recruiting is knowing how to open. And it all starts with an organized, systematic approach to prospecting. And how can your leadership grow without an adequate supply of prospect members.

This article was adapted from the world renowned Brooks Group to provide us proven tactics to help us grow.

Joel Leonard
AFE 
VP Membership 2001

 VIRTUAL MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY NOW ONLINE!

This directory, designed by MemberClicks™, will improve the way we communicate and conduct our business. This online membership directory offers a number of powerful benefits and:

Is always up-to-date. Instead of waiting for a directory to be printed and mailed to you, all information can be updated by you within seconds at any time. You will be able to access the most current information at all times.

Allows easy communication and printing. By easily searching and selecting the data, you can send individual or group e-mails with just one click. Also you can print out a directory of the entire membership - or any subset.  Is always accessible. Just because you've misplaced your directory or don't have it with you, don't worry. The online membership directory can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet at any time.  Is ready to go to work for you. It's not just a listing of pictures and information. You can use the directory to conduct searches for criteria on fellow stations as well as perform other valuable functions. Improves networking capability. Now you'll have more tools to make your membership with AFE even more rewarding. 

The online membership directory is up and running and can be accessed through the Member's Only section at www.afe.org  This directory, which can only be accessed by members of AFE, is password-protected. Therefore, to log on for the first time you will need your AFE Member ID number.

One of the main benefits of this online directory is that member records can be updated at anytime. Whenever any personal information changes, such as your job title, e-mail address or area code, you can simply go into the directory and edit your profile. It's that simple. However in order for all members to have access to the most current, reliable information, it is important for changes to be made promptly and accurately. 

We encourage you to access the directory immediately to upload your picture and edit your profile. Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to personalize your user ID and password upon logging in.  To edit your individual profile, search the directory, then click the magnifying glass to see your full profile.  To make changes click on the pencil in the upper right hand corner of your profile. Make any changes you would like, then click on the Submit button (at the bottom) to save your changes.

We hope you thoroughly enjoy this new benefit of membership!