Attrition is a fact of life in membership programs, mastermind groups, and long-term mentoring/training programs.

There will always be drop out in a membership continuity program and you’ll always have to find new members. You could lose 10-25% of your members each year, either from early drop-out or from members not renewing at the end of their contracts.

The bottom line is this: it’s not just about attracting members to your mastermind group or membership program, you have to retain them, too.

These are the 30 common reasons why your attrition rate may be high

The reasons fall into these groups: financial, needs fulfillment, group dynamics, outside influences, and personal choice.

1. Expired credit cards. This is the number one reason why people stop paying. The card expires and members see it as a “sales decision” whether to continue or not (even if they’re still under a membership contract for the remaining months).
2. They don’t see the value for the money they’re spending.
3. They feel like they’re not getting enough individual attention.
4. They’re not being held accountable or not being pushed enough. You’re not asking them to check-in on their progress towards goals.
5. They’ve had some success and now the motivation to move forward has eroded.
6. They’re not being recognized/rewarded publicly for their achievements.
7. The content isn’t good quality.
8. The content doesn’t help them solve their problem.
9. There’s not enough new content each month to keep them interested.
10. There’s too much content and they’re feeling overwhelmed. They don’t know what the roadmap or system is for consuming your content in a logical order.
11. They’ve completely solved their problem and don’t need you anymore. You need a “growth stage plan” for them so there’s always another level to achieve.
12. You haven’t paid attention to members whose needs have changed as they’ve grown through your membership.
13. They’ve had some failure and they’re disheartened/frustrated/guilty.
14. They’re comparing themselves to others in the group and feeling like they’ll never achieve the level of the superstars.
15. They feel the group is too big/too small.
16. They don’t get along with the other members.
17. New members are not engaged or quickly assimilated into the group/discussion.
18. They don’t want to make the effort it will take to grow.
19. They can’t emotionally handle the change that’s being asked of them.
20. They have money/budget issues.
21. They have time management issues.
22. They have family/friends/colleagues/business partners who are suggesting they walk away from your group.
23. Life events happen (illness, death, divorce, new babies, new jobs, move to a new location).
24. Business events happen (mergers, acquisitions, budget crisis, bankruptcy, retirement, change in business goals/focus).
25. You’re not telling them the truth.
26. You’re not putting the work into serving your members daily.
27. Your competitor sold them on a different membership program that fits their needs better.
28. They don’t have the skills to do the work. What they really need is a done-for-you model, not a done-with-you model or a do-it-yourself model.
29. They’re trying to do it all themselves and they don’t have anyone to help them get the work done.
30. They don’t like a continual monthly membership payment model where there is no end date.

Keep track of your monthly attrition rate and length of membership numbers, and plan your marketing campaigns and financial budgets accordingly.

Take Action Now

Some of these causes of attrition you can control; others you cannot. In order to fix the problem of members leaving your group, ask yourself these questions:

1. Have you asked your members about their satisfaction levels and why they’re leaving?
2. Which attrition causes are active in your group? What is the reason why most of your members leave?
3. Which attrition causes can you fix? What can you do to solve the problem so they’ll stay with your group?
4. What marketing strategies and business processes do you have in place to lessen or eliminate these problems? How do you attract the right members and make sure they’re committed to their goals?

Mastermind Group Facilitator Training begins May 6, 2024. Are you are ready to sharpen your facilitation skills and learn powerful group techniques for running thriving mastermind groups? Join me for Mastermind Group Facilitator Training. In this live virtual workshop, we focus on learning new facilitation skills so you can run awesome mastermind group meetings and help your members be successful. Click here to learn more about the Facilitator Training virtual workshop.