3 Winning Traits to Growing your New Business Pipeline

One of the more challenging things about being in the qualitative research business is continually filling a pipeline of new business.  I know that when I am in fieldwork week after week and then in report writing mode, I don’t always focus on where the next set of projects are going to come from. This can lead to a few months of solid work followed by a month, or two, of “slowness” and anyone who knows me knows how much I hate “slowness.”

That said, this year has been pretty good for me.  If I were an independent moderator, the revenues and margins from my projects would have left me in a very comfortable position.  However I am not an independent moderator, I work for the US office of a London based consultancy called Truth (www.truth.ms) and it is partly my job to keep the lights on and mouths fed.  As such, I have been focusing more and more on new business even when I am in the middle of fieldwork; I simply have no choice.

There are three elements of new business development that I have found to be crucial in my own success; personality, persistence, and foresight.  I am fortunate in my life to have relationships with people who taught me the importance of these characteristics and would like to take a moment to introduce you to each of them now.

First up is my father, Don Carlon.  Dad spent his entire professional career (43 years) as a salesman and general manager within American Express.  I say professional career because he was also a bus driver, ice cream store manager, serviceman, and “letter carrier” prior to wearing a suit and tie. I am sure I am forgetting something and no doubt will receive an email from my mother with some additions (as well as grammatical suggestions to this piece).  The Don taught me one important lesson about sales, “Michael,” he would say, “The most important thing is for people to like you.  If someone likes you, they will buy from you.” He would then go on to tell me how no one was able to sign up Stew Leonard’s (a unique grocery store in CT and NY) to accept the American Express Card.  Dad went in and met with Stew Leonard himself and signed him up after one meeting (this was before Stew went to “college” for a little register skimming issue). When dad asked what changed his mind, Stew replied, “I like you Don. I didn’t like anyone else that you sent, but I like you.”

Being likable is something I always keep in mind and I think it is one of the reasons that my clients come back to me time after time. In addition, being likable is a pre-requisite to being a moderator (it takes a unique personality to not only be comfortable leading a discussion while clients observe but also to encourage groups of strangers to divulge their attitudes, opinions, and emotions on a wide variety of topics).

If my father is the embodiment of personality, then Tom Deierlein (@tomdeierlein) is the personification of persistence. Tom and I worked together in the early days of a company called Dynamic Logic (@dynamiclogic) and he taught me many things about business development. The most important thing he taught me, however, is the importance of being persistent.  Tom knew he wanted to work for DL when he saw our founder, Nick Nyhan (@nick9nyc), speak at NYU.  There were only 4 or 5 of us at the time and we were very much a start up.  Rather than having us think we couldn’t afford him, Tom led us to believe that we couldn’t afford to succeed without him.  He went so far to show up at a trade show where we were exhibiting and started pitching our company’s AdIndex product to attendees.  Needless to say Tom was hired and was a large part of the company’s success.  Tom also has a very compelling personal story that you can read about at www.tdfoundation.org.

We cannot rely on our clients to always call us when we get slow.  We have to be persistent in reaching out to our existing client base and new clients in order to grow business. I find that when I pick up the phone and start calling old clients I have more proposals to write.  In this age of Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogging, and Facebook, it is relatively easy to always stay in front of clients and prospects; you just have to be persistent (and disciplined) in using these tools to stay top of mind.

When foresight is combined with personality and persistence, you can really become a new business machine.  No one taught me more about the importance of foresight than OTX founder Shelley Zalis (@ipsosexchange).  An entire book can be written about Shelley and my summary of her story will not do it justice. Lets just say Shelley left a really big research company (Ipsos) because she had a vision that marketing research had to evolve through the use of interactive applications.  She started a company called OTX and later sold it to Ipsos. She taught me how to “skate where the puck is going to be,” and continually reminds me that some people are never happy they are comfortable.

In a business development sense this means always bringing new thinking and products to your clients particularly when they are not asking for it.  I am pretty sure the phrase “innovate or die” will be on her tombstone (which is the only way she will stop innovating).

Obviously there are more ingredients than personality, persistence, and foresight to being successful in driving new business.  However, I do consider these three elements the foundation to all business development efforts.  This is my opinion of course, what have you learned in your journey? 

My Father, My Self

In my professional life, I am hired by large and small companies alike to uncover market insights designed to identify new opportunities for my clients be they product innovations, communication platforms, or in many cases, simply a better understanding of a group of consumers/shoppers. While the processes I use to identify these insights will vary based on the unique needs of each client, every engagement shares something in common; the process is always external. I check my biases at the door as I speak with consumers, analyze trends, and immerse myself into the business issues at hand. If I were to do otherwise (e.g. look inward instead of outward), my findings and recommendations would be based on, well, me and I can promise you this; my thoughts and opinions are not necessarily reflective of the market as a whole.

This is not to say that I am not an introspective person; quite the contrary actually. I consider my job as a marketing consultant more than a job or even a career; I consider it a vocation (mind you this is not the vocation my parents had hoped for as they always wanted a priest in the family). At the heart of this vocation is an innate curiosity that leads me to ask ‘why?’ until I am satisfied with an answer. While it is true that I apply this externally on behalf of my clients, I cannot help put employ this internally as well (I simply can’t turn it off when not put to use for my job). In fact, because my career calls me to travel frequently, I find myself with a significant amount of downtime that I choose fill by turning this “high powered perception” toward myself in a way that would appease even Clarice Starling.

I recently uncovered an insight into myself that changed the way I look at the world. This excavation into my own psyche was not something I completed overnight; rather it was a puzzle I pieced together over the course of many years. After countless hours on airplanes and in hotel bars I have uncovered probably the single most important insight into my own life; I have become my father. Consider the following:

We both graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Grandma Carlon School of Economics.

Our spouses would both consider us, to put it politely, frugal. When I was a kid growing up in Stamford, my father would only take me and my twin brother Jimmy to the movies if the movie we wanted to see was playing at the State Cinema. Why? It was the cheapest theater in town. Back then, the State only got a movie after it had been released for a few months and, as such, the tickets were sold at a discount. This alone would prove my point of frugality but there are two more pieces of evidence I would submit supporting my father’s penny-wise ways; we would stop off at Food Bag on Hope street to stock up on cans of soda and bags of popcorn that we would sneak into the movie theatre (“that’s how they get ya boys, on the concessions!”) and regardless of how old we were (or appeared) dad would try and pass us of as “children under 13” so he could save an additional dollar on the price of admission. One time he asked me to “bend down a bit” as we approached the box office because he himself doubted that I would qualify for the children’s rate while standing 5 feet 10 inches high. At that point it became clear to me why it was so important to him that I shave before leaving for the theatre.

I myself have adopted my own penny pinching strategies. When signing up our triplets for any extracurricular activity, I tend to start with the line, “It is great that you offer a buy two get one free discount” just to see where it might get me.

When dealing with our spouses, we are all talk and no action.

My mother and my wife are different in many ways yet they do share something in common; they have a thirst for change that is never fully quenched. Such a thirst is only fueled by HGTV; a cable network which I believe is to women what Playboy TV is to men.

My mother is always telling my father about all the projects she wants to do on their condo in Ft. Lauderdale and his answer to each request is as predictable as death and taxes, “no.” Just this morning, she was telling my father how she wanted a new bedroom set and I can affirm that the patriarch of the Carlon family responded with a vehement “No.” I can guarantee, however, that when I take my own brood down to visit next April, my parents, who have been married for almost 55 years, will be sleeping in a new bedroom set.

My kids will, no doubt, say the same thing about me. In the last year I have said “no” to hardwood floors, picture frame molding, new windows, crown molding, and a new bathroom. In that same period of time I considered having my daughters share a bedroom so that our contractor could have a place to sleep.

We both pick sides and stick to them.

My father and I are quick to defend a position and will argue it with our “opponents” until we are beating a dead horse. I once witnessed my father arguing over the morality of bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a Catholic priest my mother invited to dinner. The argument was so heated that the priest left our home in haste and we quickly switched parishes.

I once got into an argument with a group of British Au Paris over Elvis being more influential than The Beatles in the history of Rock and Roll. Mind you, this was over drinks on my 21st birthday at Murphy’s Townhouse. The argument came to a sudden stop when their boyfriends showed up and convinced us to reconsider our point of view; we were stubborn and did not capitulate. It was closing time anyway, so we fled to the waiting arms of Port Chester.

I do not mean to suggest that I am a carbon copy of my father. While dad never met a Chardonnay he didn’t like, I am more of a Sauvignon Blanc man. Dad never misses an episode of The O’Reilly Factor while I am glued to The Colbert Report. However, enough similarities are present whereby I am tempted to go up to him and quote the Dark Father himself, “When I left you I was but a learner, now I am the master.”

This Father's day, I would challenge each of you to consider the ways in which your father has had an impact on your life. Additionally, if you are a father, understand that your own behavior and attitudes just might be adopted by your offspring. Ask yourself if you want the behaviors you exhibit to be present in your own children’s lives and adjust accordingly.

Happy Father’s Day.

Do you shop at a dollar store?

Traveled to Columbus Ohio this week followed by Phoenix Arizona. Some interesting experiences along the way.


I was conducting in home interviews amongst hardcore dollar store shoppers. These people tend to have incomes under $40K a year but apparently have enough money to feed multiple pets. In the first home we went to, we were greeted by two very large and friendly dogs. And when I say friendly I mean to suggest that my client and I were violated by these K9s in ways that would make TSA agents blush.

Finally, our host let the dogs outside but this lasted only minutes. The host’s husband came home and let them back in. He watched some TV on their high end flat screen and proceeded to smoke like Morton Downey Jr. He then mentioned something to his wife about where he was going and who he was going with. It sounded something like this,

“OkayMaNowIGonnaGoWithBarryToGetSomeJackBennyAndMaybeDoSomeFishinTellYaWhat.”

Our second interview of the day was with one of the most political 28 year olds I had ever met. I learned all about the social stance of various retailers, who gave money to who and for what causes, and why the government wants us all to get fat. Apparently, the government is to blame for her obesity, “They won’t let me buy organic peanut butter with my food stamps.”

I had to admit I was somewhat distracted as sitting on the floor was an original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). I wondered where the Robotic Operating Buddy (ROB) was. I then wondered if it met the same fate mine did; my friend Chris and I made homemade napalm, smothered it on ROB, and watched it burn on a rock in my parent’s backyard. I digress.

She then reminded me that she was living off of food stamps and WIC. This made me wonder how she paid for the brand new flat screen TV the NES was hooked up to. Also, the 40 or so tattoos she had over her body could not have come cheap. But who am I to pass judgment?

Our final interview of the day was with a recent college grad in her first pad out of college. This could have been the dirtiest apartment I have ever been in. While sitting on the couch my hand slipped between the two cushions. I kid you not when I tell you I had visions of the woodbeast from 1981s Flash Gordon biting me as I hurried to remove my hand from imminent danger.

We went to a dollar store with this consumer and ran into two shoplifters on the way out (although we did not know this until we walked into the store and the manager was on the phone with the police). We spent about 15 minutes in that store before leaving (most of the categories we needed to discuss were locked up behind the counter. Apparently in that part of Columbus, Deodorant, Shampoo, and Body Wash are high left items). Makes me wonder what the thieves got away with.

This is one of those projects that reminds me to remain thankful for the blessings I have received in this life. It also makes me thankful that my tetanus is up to date.

Ode to the Waffle House

This week I had the pleasure of running a series of focus groups and accompanied shops in Kansas City. Ironically enough, all of my flights departed and arrived on time. This is noteworthy given the fact that I departed from and returned to Westchester County Airport. Those in the know realize how much of a gamble that can be given that there are 2 factors working against you; 1. Westchester gets the lowest priority when NY airspace is congested and 2. A flight out of Westchester likely means you are connecting through Chicago O’Hare. Enough said.


So, while I hate leaving the family on a Sunday afternoon, I was happy to get to where I was going on time. The upgrade from Chicago to Kansas City was a nice touch –even though it was only an hour flight and the flight attendant (who apparently is now only present for our safety) did not bring around those scalding hot towels or the warm nuts. I for one was disappointed by the later as I always like to have some warm nuts in my mouth when I travel business class. In the immortal words of Ed McMahon, “Hey Ohhhh.”

Before I get to my experiences with the research itself, lets first discuss the meals of the week. A 2 hr layover in O’Hare (both coming and going) means a stop at the Burrito Beach. No towel or sunscreen required, just the desire to eat more calories in one sitting than the average bear needs to consume in a day. Hey, it beats the other choices of McDonalds, Panda Express (where I am convinced that their signature Orange Chicken is actually Panda meat), or the heartburn guarantee you get at Gold Coast Dogs.

Monday morning involved a breakfast meeting with my colleague (Iggy) and my client (Bob). The logical choice was Waffle House for four reasons; 1. Bob wanted to go there and even though we picked up the tab, he is the one paying the bills. 2. Iggy had never been to one so we had to rectifythat. 3 The Waffle House has a jukebox filled with outlaw country (I always like my “two dots and a dash” with a healthy side of “A Country Boy Can Survive”). 4. Where else can you go for breakfast and be served by a pregnant teenage girl wearing a tee shirt stating “Jesus is my Savior?” Did you know that the Waffle House is the world's leading server of T-Bone steaks? I would add this as a fifth “reason to believe” but I am hesitant to do so without a source for the data for fear of being sued by Denney's or the Oasis Truck Stop on 441 in Ft Lauderdale.

I suppose that I should mention something about the research itself given that is actually what I get paid to do. The topic this week was health and wellness. Now just about everyone around the table for each group was able to tell me what health and wellness means to them by providing examples around eating right, exercising, and reducing stress. That said, I am not sure everyone practiced what they preached. Many were, how shall we say, not wanting for food. One actually brought a Big Gulp in with her – or maybe it was one of those diabetic destined beverages from Sonic. I am not sure as I was too busy counting  her chins.

While it was quite ironic having a few overweight people talking about how health and wellness fits into their lives, I could not help but be inspired by one woman who claimed to have lost over 70 pounds in the past few months. “Why did you decide to lose the weight?” I asked to which she replied, “I was just so sick of being overweight.” She did not point to a health scare or being embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit. She simply wanted to be healthier. Amen to that!

All in all, I really enjoyed my time in Kansas City – the people were friendly and the town itself is quite nice. That said, the best part of any business trip is coming home. Thursday night was St. Patrick ’s Day so my wife and I did the obvious, we went out for Mexican (really, it is amateur night at the Irish Pubs in town). I was recounting my trip to Kansas City to our waiter when the woman one table over informed us that she just moved back east from Kansas City and really misses the town. I could not help but think to myself, I can see why; there are no Waffle Houses out here!

RIP Jeff Indusi

When you have a career that takes you away from your family on a somewhat regular basis, you tend to find ways of coping with the loneliness.  Fortunately, my job has me interacting with people; mostly our focus group / interview respondents.  In addition to those who get paid for their opinion, there is a whole host of others with whom I interact; clients, the people who work at the facilities we hire, and (of course) taxi cab drivers. 

Over the years I have come to know another important cog in the qualitative research machine, the guy who works the video camera.  He is probably the only other guy who pays as much attention as I do to these interviews as my clients spend their time in the backroom doing email, updating their Facebook pages, and eating rubber chicken.

As such, I always like to chat with the camera operator to hear their perspective; oftentimes he (or she) provides an interesting point of view that is worthy of consideration.  When my projects require a high quality video, I always hire a fellow by the name of Joe Indusi. He is an excellent cameraman and also a very talented editor.  We also have many things in common such as a passion for pop-culture, a snarky sense of humor, and the fact that we each have a twin brother.  I have met Joe’s twin, Jeff, as he was part of Joe’s business for a while.

A few weeks ago I was working with Joe in Chicago when I found out that his twin brother passed away suddenly a few months back.  I was shocked as Jeff was a relatively young guy who seemed quite healthy (wasn’t overweight, seemed to eat well, etc.).  He complained of a sharp headache with blurred vision and the next day he was gone. Poof!

Looking at Joe in the eye as he recounted this story, I could not help but think of my own twin brother who I don’t see or speak with nearly enough.  I could never imagine losing him. I do believe that all brothers and sisters have a special bond, but the bond between twins (and other multiples) is different.  We don’t have any special ESP or anything like that, but we did share a womb together and we did spend the majority of our childhood in each other’s company.  As such, to this day, we can finish each other’s sentences, recount stories of our childhood with ease, and seem to be able to communicate without speaking.

Hearing of Jeff’s passing is another reminder of how fragile life really is.  Unfortunately, I know that I will soon forget about this and revert back into the “I am at the center of my own universe” mindset.    

RIP Jeff Indusi.  May you enjoy that great big film set in the sky!

The Man with One Suede Shoe

When people find out that my wife and I are the parents of triplets, we are reminded that our professors and managers were wrong; there are such things as stupid questions.   Consider the following questions/statements that are posed to us on a somewhat regular basis:

1. “Are they natural?” No, they are synthetic.  This is sometimes asked as “did you have any help?” Of course people want to know if our kids were the result of fertility treatments.  I think you would agree that this is a pretty personal matter. As such, I think it is a stupid question.  And, for the record, I was once told that I have immature sperm, which, if you know me, you realize that this diagnosis is spot on.
2. “Is it hard having triplets?” The stupidity of this question does not even dignify a response. How could it possibly be easy going from zero to three children in a matter of three minutes? 
3. “Well, better you than me.” Honestly, this is an insulting comment.  We love our kids and while it is hard to raise three kids of the same age, they bring us immeasurable joy.

One question, though, that I don’t mind so much is when people ask me “What was their first month like?”  When people ask it this way, it recognizes the obvious (that it must have been difficult) while at the same time shows that they have in interest in the kids as well. 

What does this have to do with moderating?  I am getting to it!

Their first month of life was hectic. I was a zombie and my wife and I did not get much sleep – at all.  One day, I went to work and it wasn’t until noon when I realized I was wearing two completely different shoes; one suede shoe and one non-suede shoe. 

I felt like such an ass.  I was completely self-conscious and felt as if all eyes were on me.  I literally did not leave my office for fear of being outed as the man with one suede shoe. 

Remembering this makes me question how much of our behavior is on autopilot. Yet, it strikes me that for a living I constantly ask people to describe their behavior and explain it.  Under normal circumstances, I could not tell you what pair of shoes I wore yesterday – it would be a complete guess. However, I can tell you exactly which shoes I wore 8 years ago because of the suede shoe incident.

This makes me wonder, would I get more reliable information out of consumers if I asked them to change their behavior for a week leading up to an interview/discussion group.  For example, if I were doing groups for a shoe company and we were talking to loyalists of that manufacturer, would we be better off asking those consumers to stop wearing that brand for a full week in order to better explain the benefits they receive from those consumers? Perhaps tension can be a good thing.  What do you think?

Don't be a Club Member

I started my career in marketing research at an interactive marketing agency in Westport, CT known at the time as Modem Media.  It was there I saw my first focus group and, upon doing so, I knew immediately that I wanted to be the person in the room asking questions rather than the person taking notes behind the glass.  As such, I studied everything I could about moderating and facilitating techniques, I picked the brains of the moderators I would hire to run research for me, and I even self funded my own training at RIVA. 

All of these steps were invaluable in my development as a moderator.  Interestingly, though, none of the training I had, formal or informal, prepared me for how to deal with what I call “Club Member” respondents.  Allow me to digress for a minute:

When I was a kid, my family would drive from Connecticut to Pompano Beach, Florida during our spring recess from school.  The route was exactly 1,307 miles door to door.  Along the way, the family would play three games to hold our attention:

• See who could spot the first billboard for South of the Border featuring the infamous (that’s more than famous) Pedro.

• See how long dad could drive without passing out.    My mother learned early on that “Hooked on Classical Music 3” was not the best tape to play on long, straight, monotonous drives.  Dad almost killed us three times one year via “Highway Hypnosis.”

•  Count the number of “Club Members” we could spot along the way.

“What’s a club member?” you might ask.  Well, let’s just say my father has a bit of a temper and when some one would cut us off on the highway or if someone was weaving in an out of their lane, he would call them a member of the “[Bleep] hole Club.” My mother, concerned for the well being of the two young sons in the back seat, would chastise my father for using such language.  To appease her, he shortened his reference to bad drivers to the more simple, and innocent, “Club Member.” Every now and then a particularly bad driver was considered to be either the president of “The Club,” an executive director, or another type of member with distinction.

Seeing as this was the 80’s, I could not help but picture a meeting of “The Club” with all members dressed in Members Only jackets going up to each other and saying, “So you are a[Bleep] hole too. How long have you been a [Bleep] hole for?”

Those were the days.

Now I am all grown up and experience club members in different ways; certainly I run across a few “Club Members” in my own family car trips, but every now and then they wind up in a focus group I am running.  These are not “dominators.” There are techniques for dealing with dominators.   The “Club Member” of a focus group is typically a respondent on a completely different plane of reality.  It is that person who does not follow simple instructions or who wants the group to be all about him or her - as if they are going to be “discovered” by the Hollywood agent behind the glass who has turned to marketing research as a new method for spotting talent.

Luckily, I only see “Club Members” in one out of every twenty projects or so as the true “Cub Member” is few and far between.  One time, about three years ago, I was in a northeastern market conducting some focus groups on coffee.  In walks a young man who I can only describe as a cross between officer John Baker from CHIPS (immortalized of course by Larry Wilcox) and Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  “Officer Spicoli” comes in with mirrored shades, a large coffee, sits down, puts his feet on the table and proclaims, “I’m here dudes. Lets talk about coffee.”

I knew I was in for trouble. The natural instinct is to bump him from the group immediately, but he was one of two people who showed up for this group on a very stormy Philadelphia morning.  Compounding the problem was that the other person in the session came with the aforementioned Spicoli. Fortunately, a few more people showed up but I was asked by my client to keep him in the group but to “manage him,” so we trudged on.  The danger was that his attitude had the potential of shutting down the other members of the group who wanted to be a force for good in the conversation. 

To mange this, I used humor to my advantage and took slight jabs at Spicoli during the session.  Take for example the following exchange:

Mike:  “I want each of you to take me back to the first time you ever had a sip of   coffee.  What drove you to coffee? What was that experience like.”

Spicoli: “I started drinking coffee when I was two.”

Mike (sarcastically): “Well, that certainly explains it.”

The truth is, this respondent knew he was a bit off and banter such as this disarmed him somewhat. Not only that, it loosened up other members of the group who were at first put off by his behavior.  At the end of the day, the group turned out okay.  That said, there is no doubt about it, Spicoli was certainly a card-carrying member of “The Club.”

In a project of one on one interviews, I met “Crazy Alice,” a corrections officer from Ohio.  Apparently, Alice had been exposed to some pretty strange stuff in the prison where she worked because she had developed a conspiracy theory whereby there was a syndicate of Internet based organized criminals out there who were using Cyrillic Alphabets as a method of coding organized crime activities:

Mike:    “Tell me about some of the reasons why you engage with social media services like Facebook.”

Alice:     “I originally started hacking to combat cyber organized crime.”

Mike (Internally to myself): I don’t remember asking her about hacking, but lets see where this goes…

Alice:   “Haven’t you ever received an email with a bunch of funny characters in the preview pane.  Don’t open it, you will be linked to human trafficking.”

Mike (internally to myself): I wish some traffickers would storm into this room and take you away. 

The whole time this interview was going on, I thought a client would come in to the room and stop the interview.  No such luck.  As I walked the respondent out to the reception area, I half expected her to be greeted by a team of psychiatric aides from Ohio Hospital for Psychiatry with the phrase, “Alice, you know you can’t leave the ward without supervision.”

That didn’t happen either.  Crazy Alice was just another Club member I had to interview over the years. 

As a moderator, my life is on the road so I come across “Club Members” outside of focus groups as well; airports in particular are a great place spot to them!  The guy in front of you who argues with the TSA agent about having to remove his shoes, the gate agent who thinks your roller board bag won’t fit in the overhead bin even though after a million miles of flying you know it will, and the fellow passenger sitting next to you on the plane who wants to chit chat about “this, that, and the other” are just a few examples.  By the way, I have developed a technique to prevent the latter. If I have a lot of work to do on a flight or just want to chill out, I develop a nervous tick the minute someone sits next to me on a plane.  This usually prevents them from starting a conversation with me.

I have some other tips for dealing with “Club Members” in focus groups:

1.     The first step is always prevention.  Always ask the person at the front desk of a facility who is responsible for checking in respondents whether or not anyone seems off.  Pay and send that person if you have over recruited for the session and have the ability to do so.

2.     If someone starts showing the symptoms of being a “Club Member,” use body language to your advantage; don’t look in their general direction, don’t make eye contact, etc.  If they start rambling, provide a gentle verbal warning such as, “thank you for that comment, but I need to hear from some others in the group” and then invite others to chime in.  Sometimes calling them out on their own behavior is enough to get them to stop.

3.     If the respondent in question continues to act up/be disruptive, ask them to leave the session.  While this can be somewhat uncomfortable for the remaining respondents, there is little fear of “survivors guilt” coming into play.  If the respondent was truly disruptive, than the group will be relieved that the offender is gone. 

I have come to realize that “Club Members” are a fact of life.  I wish that one of the pharmaceutical companies I do work for could invest some of their resources to develop a pill, an injection, or even a mist as an antidote (or better yet an immunization) for whatever microbe causes one to become a “Club Member.” I would be happy to run that project pro-bono. 

If you have any “Club Member” stories that you would like to share, please do so below!