<VV> Walk thru and spectate....

Wed Mar 5 08:42:38 EST 2014

i was neither aware of nor interested in local clubs or CORSA when i bought
my 1st corvair in 2000.  simply put, i liked and could afford the car.
club membership followed more than 2 years later as i got to know some
other local corvair owners - i bought into the camaraderie, not the idea of
being in a club.  of course, i then dove in and got immersed in chapter
membership, newsletter editing, club webmaster, PR, etc...

IMO...

- Engagement always starts with the CORVAIRS themselves, then the owners,
then the local chapters, and finally CORSA.  "Sell the car, not the clubs."

- All engagement begins at the hands-on, local level.  Our Corvairs need to
be visible and accessible to non-Corvair owners.  That means we should be
driving them and happily acknowledging smiles and thumbs-up from other
drivers, talking with people who see us in parking lots, encouraging clubs
to create publicly-accessible parking corrals at local events and chapter
mtgs, etc.  Dispel myths.  Watch the smile on someone's face when you let
them sit behind the wheel.  Have a simple promotional flyer available in
your glovebox to hand someone.  Invite someone to go for a drive or join
you for your next Corvair event.  Offer your phone # or email in case
person may ever consider buying a Corvair.  The connection is a fun common
interest, friendly people you enjoy hanging out with, and a generally
affordable hobby car.  Everything club-related, be it local or national,
follows.

- Be it CORSA or any other product, anything resembling a high-pressure
sales pitch will drive anyone from a casual window-shopper to serious
customers away faster than any other method...the key to engagement and,
eventually, a sale, is a friendly handshake and helpful information that
answers questions and allows someone to weigh his options before making a
decision.   Teasers and incentives are great, but no one wants to be forced
to buy something.  If said person finds value, said person will opt-in.

just some thoughts...

Rod Murray
66 Monza convt and 64 greenbrier
CORSA & Corvanatics member

On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 1:06 AM, <karlhaakonsen at comcast.net> wrote:

> As someone who has never had a drivable Corvair to take to a convention,
> my experiences have been consistent with what James said.
> Karl in Boston
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: ricebugg at comcast.net
> To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Cc:
> Sent: 2014-03-04 23:20:52 GMT
> Subject: <VV> Walk thru and spectate....
>
> All:  So far as I know, Bryan is correct.  The convention sites I've been
> to are open to the public.  Including the vendor area.  We do not employ
> security guard to check ID's.
>
> Truth be told, at CCE's second convention, I had little time or money.
> Things were tight.  I had a LM Corvair 140/4sp.  It was the blue one, which
> I got from editor Mike, who got a silver LM 4 door 110/slushbox w'AC from
> me.  I drove up to see my aunt and uncle in Lake Zurich north of Chicago on
> Friday(?), drove down to whatever the convention was on Sat(?), walked thru
> the open doors and thru open rooms, walked out at the correct hour and
> watched the autocross, and drove home.  I was a CORSA member, without a
> name tag, but nobody said Boo!
>
> The next time CCE had a convention (2001), I was on the BoD with a Yenko
> Stinger clone that Herb Burkman and I shared as I entered all the events.
>  Since my car did not have a speedometer, he used the GPS from his airplane
> during the rally & ecomomy run.  We had a ball.
>
> At all the other conventions I've attended, I was registered, but
> generally walked around some w/o the the ID showing, except those years I
> was on the BoD.  Nobody recognized me, nobody said Boo at any of them.
>
> Thus, my experience is that anybody can walk into the host hotel and
> pretty much have the run of the place.  They just cannot enter any of the
> events or attend the awards din-din.
>
> So, as I think about my experience, I'm beginning to wonder what all the
> fuss in about.  Go figure.  Time to rethink this whole discussion?  Anybody
> else share my experiences and be willing to fuss-up?
>
> Historically Yours,
>                         James
>
> Message: 1Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2014 15:53:57 -0500From: Bryan Blackwell <
> bryan at skiblack.com>Subject: Re: <VV> membershipTo: vv
> virtualvairs at corvair.org
>
> On Mar 4, 2014, at 3:26 PM, mike & bev mann wrote:
>
> > in the future he may/may not buy a corvair but to make him pay money> to
> walk through a convention where he might develop a interest doesn't make>
> sense to me.
>
> Just a note - there have been a few questions on this, as far as I know
> spectating at a convention has been free as a general rule. You have to be
> a member to participate. Plenty of people were at the Car Display on the
> last day of Kalamazoo who weren't CORSA members, and in fact the last few
> conventions I can think of went to a lot of trouble to make the show
> enjoyable and accessible for the general public.
>
> --Bryan
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-- 
Rod
*"Reloaded in da 'burgh"*
412-719-3449