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7 Habits of Highly Successful Coalitions
by Josephine Romano
Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist
and Community Coach
Here are the 7 areas I use to evaluate a coalition’s comprehensive plan to see how successful a coalition is. I use these criteria with my own clients, and most of them pass 2 or 3 of the 7 at first. Rate yourself in each area on a scale of 1 to 10 to get a
better idea of where you may need to improve.
1. Know your Target Populations and Niche Penetration
How well defined is your coalition and it’s purpose, values, needs, and desired outcome? What percentage of your niche community knows you and your solutions? Is there an organization or a magazine where at least 80 % of members or readers will be interested in what?
you have to say? Is there anything specific you’re known for? If I need someone with your expertise and start asking around, will your coalition’s name and members come up in the top 3 resources that could help me? In the top 10?
2. Be Clear with Solutions
How clear are your solutions for each and every sector in the community, and how structured are your programs that solve specific problems?
Is there a time-defined process or series of steps your prospective coalition members, volunteers and community partners have to go through to achieve what they came
to you for? A Board Member orientation program? A set of orientation trainings? A time-limited project? An ad hoc committee? A PR campaign?
3. Do Business as a Coalition
Do you get the word out about the coalition and market the coalition providing a marketing funnel with giveaways, sign-up forms, and multiple ways of getting involved? Is there a well-streamlined process to acquire prospective coalition members, volunteers and community partners? Do you know exactly how community members find you, what steps they're taking to enter your prospecting funnel, what you do next to make them aware of your solutions and sample what you do, and finally what needs to happen for them to become a member of the coalition and be involved in reaching the mission ?
4. Create Passive Revenue for Sustainability
Do you have products, multiple sources of revenue, and leverage everything you say and do four times over?
Do you have at least 25% of your income coming from products? Do you understand the different strategies for creating a new product fast? Do you consistently
repackage, repurpose, and re-use your knowledge to create multiple products?
5. Write Systems to Automate and Avoid Duplication
Do you have systems written down describing how to….in every aspect of your coalition? Do you have a system for follow-up, for updated member database, for billing, for delegation, and for recording what works? How full is your "yuck" bucket? Are there a lot of activities you do that you don't want to be doing?
6. Brand Your Coalition and Create Visibility
Do you have systems for getting the word out through newsletters, speaking engagements, trade associations affiliations, articles, events, and TV and radio appearances? Do you have 2, 3 or more activities you do that consistently put your name and your Coalition’s name in front of your target audience. For example:the Youth service bureau supports and finds shelter for runaway youth Is there anything specific that you're known for?
7. Retain Members
Do you have a system to keep members satisfied and for constant referrals? What is the average life of your coalition member ? Could you say, with absolute confidence, that your coalition members get their time and energy and money’s worth? Do they refer their friends to get involved and share in the coalition’s mission? Do they stay with you for at least 6 months or longer? Do you have a maintenance program in place to keep your coalition members and volunteers on track even after they've achieved their goals?
The 8th Habit
Create Your Ideal Work and Lifestyle
- Do you enjoy people, facilitating, visioning, tending to details, and setting up systems and problem solving?
- None of the above matters unless you're happy. So
- Do you enjoy working with coalitions members and community partners?
- Do you love waking up every morning to do your prevention work?
- How about
your schedule? Do you balance your work and personal life to your satisfaction?
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