LESSON 2 CURRICULUM:

RECRUITING CHAMPIONS

Lesson 2 of “Building a Tobacco Control Champions

Network” is broken into the following topics:

• Topic #1: How to reach out to potential champions

• Topic #2: Vetting potential advocates
TOPIC 1: HOW TO REACH OUT TO
POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS

By the end of this lesson you will be able to build a successful pitch
together to reach out to all of the high-quality leads you identified in
Lesson 1.

LESSON 1: IDENTIFYING CHAMPIONS STATUS

TOPIC 1: HOW TO REACH OUT TO POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS START NOW

TOPIC 2: VETTING POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS

Building A Successful Ask

You should now have a list of targets ready to go. The next step is figuring
out how you’re going to reach them and what you’re going to say.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to build a successful pitch
together to reach out to all of the high-quality leads you identified in
Lesson 1.
 Building A Successful Ask

Make Personal Outline Clarify Tease Upcoming

Appeal Benefits Expectations Action
Make a connection to What are the benefits for a It should be clear that there What upcoming campaign
make this ask seem Champion that might entice are expectations on would you like to include
personal and unique them to join the program continued involvement but the Champion in
it will not be onerous
Make an Introduction
To start introduce yourself, your organization and why you personally are
a strong advocate for Tobacco Control. You can also include here
specifics on tobacco as an issue in your country and why the Tobacco
Control Movement is important.
Personal Appeal

At the beginning of the ask you want

to make a personal connection on
what stood out to you about the
potential Champion/why you think
they would be a great addition to
your Champions Network.
Personal Appeal

The personal appeal will depend on the type of relationship:

• Personal Connections: Connect as you would otherwise

• Professional Network: Name drop your mutual connection and why
they thought the target would be a good fit for the program.
• Digital Network: Share that you’ve noticed their online advocacy and
want to see if they’d like to take it to the next level
• New Connections: Showcase the reason why you found them/they
stood out to you in your social listening research
Make It Specific

The more specific you can be about why the potential Champion is
special and would be a good fit for the program the better. It makes the
ask seem less like a form letter.

• We saw you at xyz event

• We saw your post on xyz
• You’re one of our top supporters on social media
• We saw you in xyz earned media piece
Personal Appeal Example:
Professional Network

We’re starting recruitment for an exiting

new program. My colleague x
recommended you based on your past
activism and strong social media
presence. We need more voices like
yours from the medical community in
our network to help ….
Personal Appeal Example:
Digital Network

We’re starting recruitment for an

exiting new program. We know that
you are one of our top supporters on
social media and are so thankful for
your support. We’re looking for strong
online advocates to join our network
and take a vital role in our upcoming
campaign on XYZ …
Personal Appeal Example:
New Connection

We’re starting recruitment for an exciting

new program. We saw that you recently
shared content on tobacco and COVID-
19, a key issue that we’re working on.
With your expertise in xyz and your
social media following we think you
would be a great fit for our new Tobacco
Control Champions program …
Outline Benefits

After starting with a warm personal

appeal you’ll want to pivot to
showcasing the benefits of the
program. We want potential
champions to see the program as a
two way street.
 Main Motivations to Join

Prestige Promotion Access Community

This is a select group of We will promote Champions will have You’re a leader of a
elite advocates working Champions to help them access to exclusive global network
in the top of their fields reach a global audience resources and
opportunities
Prestige

Make the potential Champion feel like its an honor

to be nominated for this opportunity.
Access

While we’re still developing global incentives, you can note

that high-performing Champions may have access to special
resources + opportunities like global or local events.
Promotion

Social media influencers are always looking to expand their

audience. One of the ways that we can offer value to them is
by promoting their channels/content to a global audience.
Example: Outline Benefits

… If you join my Champions Network

you’ll be joining a select group of
medical professionals, legal experts,
grassroots advocates, and public
figures. Already we’ve had notable
people like xyz join the network.

As a champion you would have access

to resources and opportunities and
events as key members of the global
network …
Example: Outline Benefits

… You’ll be joining a global network with

advocates in over 20 countries around
the world, and will the chance to have
your profile promoted with other
champions and with CTFK’s global
network …
Clarify Expectations

After outlining the benefits you should make

the expectations very clear. Please lay out:
• What are the types of things
champions do
• How often are they expected to do it
• How much time it takes
 Potential Actions

Below are some of the different actions that you’ll be asking

Champions to do. Choose one to highlight as an example:
• Share or engage on social media
• Create user generated content
• Send content directly to network on WhatsApp/FB Messenger
• Mentions policymaker/KOL on social media
• Call/email policymaker
• Attend and promote an offline event
• Participate and promote online event (Twitter chat)
• Sign a pledge
Actions Will Be Tailored

You should note that Champions will only be asked to take part in
actions that they are comfortable with and make sense.

A top legal expert would be asked to share their expertise in a Twitter

chat not participate in a grassroots protest action, etc.

Proposed actions will be tailored to fit the capacity + audience of an

individual Champion.
Frequency + Intensity of Ask

• Average of 2-4 asks per month, but Champions can be as involved

and proactive as they want.
• Most online activities would only take a few minutes, although
others like participating in a Twitter chat or offline event would
potentially take more preparation.
Showcase Easy-To-Use Web Portal

Highlight the fact that we built an easy-to-use web portal where

Champions will receive updates on actions they can take and can
easily upload a link or screenshot to report on their success.
Example: Clarify Expectations

… As a Champion you will be expected

to complete approx. 2-4 actions a
month that are developed by me and
tailored to your capacity and specific
strengths/interests. Many actions, like
sharing a graphic or promoting a
petition, won’t take more a couple of
minutes to complete. We even have an
easy to use portal where I can give you
specific instructions and then you can
just pop in a URL or screenshot
reporting on your success …
Tease Upcoming Campaign

You can close out your message by teasing

upcoming campaigns and why you’re excited
about it/why the Champion would be a great fit
to participate in this campaign.
Tease Upcoming Campaign

Be sure to underline that your campaign is

incredibly important campaign that will save
real lives and that the Champions support
could make a real difference in getting the
policy change over the finish line.
Example: Upcoming Campaign Plug

… One of our key priorities for 2020 is

going to be raising our Tobacco Tax. With
your knowledge and platform we’re really
excited to collaborate on creative tactics
to support the campaign on social media.

Raising the tobacco tax is critical to

addressing the growing tobacco crisis in
our country and you would be a key
player in our campaign to make Country X
healthier and more prosperous.
Put Together the Pieces
Put together all pieces and you’ll have a pitch that will convince
the biggest influencers that join the Tobacco Control Champions
Network is the right move for them!

+ + + =
Choosing the Right Messenger

Sometimes the best person to reach out and do the initial ask isn’t
going to be you. You can ask, for example, a colleague to make an
introduction email, or even have a Champion make an introduction
to another potential Champion.
Choosing the Right Channel
Email is best as you can easily include attachments and hyperlinks. Try
doing some digging to see if you can find the persons email if you can’t
find it

Direct Message: Available on nearly every channel with some

limitations. Use as a back-up to email.

Mail: If you have an address you can directly send a letter as well
Combining Outreach with Ongoing
Engagement

Think about how you can also engage with your targets and accepted
Champions on social media, liking and sharing their content.
 Follow-Up Email/Message

If you see that they post about Tobacco or something relevant, try
using that as an entry point to follow up with someone. Sometimes it
takes multiple entry points to land someone as a Champion.

If you have a new action, you can also use that as a reason to reach
back out or target new potential champions.
 Expectations: Defining Success

Our goal is for you to have at least 15-20 Champions in your network
We expect your success rate to be between 25-50 percent.

25% success rate: 60 quality targets to get 15 Yes’

33% success rate: 45 quality targets to get 15 Yes’
50% success rate: 30 quality targets to get 15 Yes’
Expectations: Reality
Reach Commitment Strategic Value

The reality of this is that the success rate will

vary wildly depending on their CRS scores and
their relative closeness to you on the
relationship diagram.

This is why its good to have a wide variety of

different targets, some easier and some more
difficult to land as Champions.
Next Steps
You have now completed Topic 1 for Lesson 2 of the Tobacco Control Champions Network
Manager Training. You can now move forward to Topic 2. There will only be one assignment for
the whole of Lesson 2.

LESSON 2: RECRUITING CHAMPIONS STATUS

TOPIC 1: HOW TO REACH OUT TO POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS FINISHED

TOPIC 2: VETTING POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS

 Questions?

If you have questions or concerns about the curriculum and your work, you can reach us at
trainer@digitaladvocacycenter.com

The Tobacco Control Champions Network is a project of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.