If You Build It, Will They Come?

Last night's meeting brought up DCP related issues again. My club, with two weeks left of the year, has just gotten comfortable with the idea that we will not be distinguished again this year. We have the points, but we don't have the membership. Our membership numbers are in the same place they were last year: 17 members. We have a number of new member, but we have cultivated an environment where we focus on their goals. We feel it brings in the new members no matter what else we do.
Two years ago at this time was a very different story. We celebrated our 15th anniversary mostly because we had made it through that year. We had just been on the brink of closing the club due to no members. This was the end of the first year we had gone back to focusing on member goals. Before this we hadn't focused on anything except talking. Over the past few months we had seen a number of guests, but had struggled with closing the sale (if you will). We got people in the door, but we struggled to make them members. Three co-workers came as guests a few times and seemed to enjoy it. At the anniversary party they expressed an interest in joining before the end of June. They were encouraged to do so. That was the last we saw of them. That is, until last night. Two years later all three ladies walk in to the meeting. After two years, there are really only three or four people left who may remember them. Two of us happened to be at the meeting. I could place their faces, but not their names.
This was a very cool experience. Mostly because of the connections being made in introductions alone. One of our members is the head of a local charity. These three guests happen to work for different non-profits now, but one of them knew her. A current member, upon hearing about where one of our guests was employed, got very excited and wanted to talk to her after the meeting. At the end of the meeting, they were asked for their impression of the meeting. They commented that things had really changed, but they were comfortable with the group and had enjoyed themselves.
Once they left, everyone was buzzing with the possibility of them joining. They seemed to be interested still and we are much better at getting guests to actually join. We had a great meeting that played to our strengths, was run like a tight ship (I was toastmaster and I know how to control the meeting) and we had a variety of speakers with a new member speaking and an experienced member trying something new. We filled all the roles with ease, but it was still a typical meeting. Plus, we ended on time.
Will these guests join? Who know? We built the club, we have had many successes as a result. It is up to these three guests. They took the time to come back two years later. That has to mean something.
Oh, for you DCP nuts: if they join before the end of the month we will become presidential distinguished. Yes, the club president and I are both very, very aware of this. Is there pressure placed on these women to join as a result? I didn't get the sense that there was. Nobody begged or offered them discounts to do so. Those who talked to them after seemed to focus on their needs, get current contact information and told them to come back any time.