Seven Steps
- Have a plan. If and when you decide to host a MREA book club, your first task is to recruit. Think about how many people you want to participate. The size will likely be dictated by the place where the group meets. There are many ways to recruit. Advertising on your website, flyers, direct mail, networking with friends and colleagues are all excellent ways to meet new people. Click here for a free PDF sample announcement and here for a free Microsoft Office Publisher version of the announcement.
- Organize the details. Will you meet in your home, a welcoming bookstore, local hall or school? Non-Keller Williams agents might feel more comfortable meeting away from the Market Center. This will allow your group to get to know each other as individuals without being weighed down by the preconceptions that come from meeting at a Market Center. Hosting at your house also fosters a more relaxed atmosphere and lively discussion, and might be perfect for those with small children and no babysitter - it might be the only way they can attend.
- Hand out MREA at your initial meeing with the group and meet everyone face to face. You might consider handing out nametags, to give everyone a jump start on getting to know each other or spend a little time at the beginning having each person tell a little about themselves. That way you may answer questions and help guide the group from the start (e.g., tell them to pay particular attention to certain sections as you read). Give them your contact information to call or email if they have any questions while they are reading. One way of giving this information out might be as a bookmark for MREA that they may use while reading. Bookmarks are easy to use and create. Bookmarks are also a great way to recruit new members.
- Create House Rules, listing MREA, the meeting place, what you expect from each other and a mission. For example, "This is a group of proactive agents whose aim is to grow personally and professionally, and increase profits through a better understanding of the Millionaire Real Estate Agent" Or, "This is group whose main goal is to support each other in the real estate industry."
- Decide on when you will meet and for how long. Most groups meet in the evening, but others meet during the day, over the weekend, or even for breakfast!
- Suggestion: Select the time of day/evening that will best fit the profile of your group - and try to stick with the same time and day of week once chosen. For example,1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, 7pm.
- For a relatively relaxed meeting schedule aim for about 1 to 2 hours. For example: Arrive at 7 p.m. (meet, chat, snack - if food is offered, and discuss any book club issues). 7:30 p.m. start talking about the book. 8:30 p.m. close 'formal' discussion allowing for plenty of time for discussion/chat outside of the group before the meeting ends at 9 p.m. If you only have an hour to spare, consider setting up an email list for discussion of the book outside of your meeting.
- Serve refreshments at the book club gatherings. Your meeting time will help determine snack options for your group. The recipe link will help provide you with some Millionaire-related recipes for your book club. If you come up with any of your own please email them to us for posting.
- Have fun. A relaxed atmosphere always fosters great discussions and allows you to get to know everyone better. Use our 14 book club sessions for a sample of how you can break down the book.