2. Our General Approach
Your Chapter leadership creates, maintains, and pays for your ChapterTracker.com account. The cost is very affordable, as the price is for your whole group, not per person. We are positive you will appreciate the benefits you receive in return!
Our main goal is to make this program easy for you to use…so you will consistently use it. You will see that the program is pretty straightforward. True, this User Guide is about 20 typed pages, but we include explanations for both common and uncommon questions. From a little data entry on your part, we place robust analysis at your fingertips.
We encourage you to put meaningful data into the program, so you will get meaningful data out. To ensure data integrity, your Chapter Administrator has the ability to approve, modify, and decline entries submitted by members. Also, from time to time, Refma may analyze and change any data that we deem to be inflationary or otherwise out of line (you will be notified of any such activity).
Some chapters of networking organizations already collect data during weekly meetings, and perhaps input that data into a file or program. If your method differs in a way that is difficult to accommodate with ChapterTracker as is, we will work with you as much as possible to help you adapt to the program. If you have an existing program that provides a feature that ours lacks, we will certainly consider our options. This version is only the beginning...
No doubt many of you have great ideas, improvements, and different ways of tracking performance. We would love to hear from you, and we will try to incorporate your ideas when feasible/possible. If you are a programmer, and you have a solid concept for an add-on or a fresh take on current functionality, we'd love to hear your proposal.
ChapterTracker provides great detail, but the program relies on human participation. We apologize to perfectionists up front, but we've learned that any chapter-tracking program must allow for one significant, underlying philosophy: Close counts.
The beta version of ChapterTracker required chapter members to input Referrals as well as Revenue. Unfortunately, most people will only do so much. Now our primary request of members is to simply keep up with Revenue. Entering Referrals is a function best placed in the hands of the Chapter Administrator, based on the Referrals that are officially passed via your organization's standard process.
Several years of experience tracking chapter performance leads us to the following basic assumptions:
- ChapterTracker must allow the chapter to maintain consistency even when the chapter's leadership changes.
- Extreme ease of use and consistent reinforcement are needed to ensure that a significant percentage of your members participate. Another way of saying this is that some people just won't do what you think they should, so the program is designed with them in mind.
- An important extension of point #2 is that members will be discouraged and/or inaccurate if required to enter referrals they already pass by some other means (email, phone, during a meeting, etc.).
- Members will commonly fail to look up old referrals to enter repeat business.
- Similarly, most members will bring Revenue to this program from existing clients who have no Referral history in the system.
- Privacy laws affect the way a number of professions (legal, financial, medical) share client information. These businesses must have the option to report Referrals and Revenue without naming a client; therefore, tracking a Referral from conception to close is impractical for them.
- Each chapter will experience a handful of members who are slack in their participation. We assume there to be similar slack in all groups, making ChapterTracker comparisons relevant. If your group overcomes the slackers, then you will shine.
You control your client privacy. Refma will never make your customer information known outside of your chapter and organizational leadership. We maintain such information solely for your use. If you desire your transactions to remain "anonymous," simply omit the offending information.
Please bear in mind that any customer names (or comments) that you enter on the revenue Entry Screen, as well as any indication of revenue "For Self," may be viewed by your fellow chapter members, regional and organizational leaders, and Refma.
Likewise, any similar referral information you pass along to your chapter Administrator (whether in writing or verbally) that the Admin enters into the Referral Entry screen may be viewed by your fellow chapter members, regional and organizational leaders, and Refma.
Refma reserves the right to view all data and utilize data (mostly in the aggregate) for analysis of referral networking. Refma will periodically monitor entries to ensure accurate/honest input into the system...and reserves the right to make adjustments as necessary.
Eventually, all users of the site will be able to view summary comparisons of chapters and organizations. Also, all users may see your name and your performance (total or average) in a specific category if you rank high enough as an individual to gain attention. This is similar to having your name posted on a video game's "high score" screen. The only users who will be able to view your individual data in detail are the members of your chapter or your organization's leadership.
Advertising & Affiliates—Refma may feature key affiliates who help us promote or execute this program. Our aim is to nurture affiliates who benefit all networking groups. Your contact information will not be used by our affiliates. We do reserve the right to run advertisements on the website, but we will try to avoid stepping on the toes of any member users. Refma is an unbiased tracker of data, not a competitor of networking organizations and their members.