Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









How To Use Change To Grow Your Association

Written by: Leigh Farnell

Article Overview: Most Associations want to grow but they have limited resources to do it.. Here is an article to help with your next Association Planning meeting..

Free Download - Why Financial Planners and Mortgage Brokers Need to Wake Up and Dream By Leigh Farnell
Name: Email:

How To Use Change To Grow Your Association


You already know this to be true.. but I’ll say it anyway..
If your Association isn’t changing, then it will be changing anyway..


If a plant isn’t growing, its probably dying…and that’s also true for your association.

If your committee or Board do not have a strategy in place to adapt, take advantage of and thrive in these changing times, you can be guaranteed, your membership numbers, financial turnover and budget will be going down the plughole.

There is no such thing as security as we knew it..
The rules of the game have changed…

In the good old days the public service was bigger.
You could go to lunch all afternoon (if it was on ‘business’)
You belonged to an Association because it was the ‘thing to do.’
If you wore the Association tie, you were accepted in the inner circle.

Now, if you go to lunch it better be good for business…
If you’re in an Association you’d better be able to prove it will add value. If you put work time into Association projects you’d better be able to justify it..
And if you’re wearing the tie, you’d still better be able to deliver the goods..

Solution… formulate a strategy to be secure in insecure times.

The only security is the security of perceived value.. The value our employers, our members our customers perceive we add to their lives…

If your Association isn’t perceived to add real value to the bottom line of your members businesses, you’d better sit down and work out how it will..

Here are 4 keys to consider in your planning.

# 1. Ask better questions about change..

‘Nothing is constant except change.’ - The Kabala

The way to handle change is firstly Accept it…. Then to ask better questions.

The longer you allow people to complain and whinge about change instead of accepting it, the longer it will take to adapt to the change.

The keys to coming up with innovative strategy is to ask new questions, more innovative questions –

1. How can we turn these changes to our advantage…?
2. How can we increase our membership base by 30% - this year?
3. How can we give even more value to our members, for less cost to our members?

#2. TAP IN ON THE FEARS AND DREAMS OF YOUR MEMBERS

People are motivated to either move away from pain, or move toward pleasure.

You wear shoes to avoid the pain on walking over rocks, and gain the pleasure of shoes that match your suit… (bare feet just don’t look as good with the new suit do they?)

Your membership will grow when you step into the shoes of your prospective members.

Here’s how you go about it.

1. Work out your ideal member profile.
2. Who are the 20 percent of your members who give you 80 percent of the revenue and support?
3. Where do they come from?
4. What are some of their fears and problems?
5. How can you help them solve those problems?
6. Why do they join? How does joining your Association help make their lives easier, better, more enjoyable?

7. Then offer new solutions, new membership packages to attract more of them.

8. Once you have a clear package of solutions and benefits… Tell the world… No don’t tell the world.. Tell more people like your Ideal Members.



Use;

• telemarketing
• direct mail
• newsletter with offers.. tapes, books, seminars to help your members
• make contact every 60 to 90 days..
• manage their perception - how you are offering benefits

#3. OFFER SUPPORT

As part of your membership package, offer support to help your ideal members realise their goals.

Meetings and newsletters are not enough these days. You need to provide more.

• mentor groups - synergy
• tools, systems, packages and benefits they cant get anywhere else..
• what do I get when I join you..

You can use the same formula when attracting sponsors

TAP IN ON THE FEARS AND DREAMS OF YOUR SPONSORS..
• increased business
• exposure

#4. PLAN IT NOW… DO IT NOW

You’re reading this and asking .. ‘so what does this mean for me? What’s the next step?’

I believe the next step is getting your key executives, Board Members or committee members into the one room to
• clearly understand the issues facing your association
• get agreement a plan of action should be developed
• put a structure and strategy in place to make it happen

The big mistake most Associations make here is they get someone from within the industry to chair or facilitate.

The reality is, if you are to change your Association, you need outside thought to catalyse new thinking. In Nature its called genetic diversity. In business, its called intellectual diversity.

You cannot have the same 10 people sitting around a table for 10 years and expect a breakthrough idea to come from within the group.

A Plan to Breakthrough

We recommend the following options:

• A Breakthrough Vision Day: Catalysing Leaders in Action
• a one day workshop with your key players to set a new vision and strategic outline for your Association. This is a unique process based on Worlds Best Practice Business Growth Strategies.
• A Breakthrough Planning Team: Formulating the Strategy
• A team that is formed to flesh out the details based on the Breakthrough Vision Day.

• Breakthrough Coaching Journey - A 12 Month Plan of Transformation
• a unique 12 month process to ensure the ideas and strategies are implemented and delivering measurable, profitable outcomes.

LEADERSHIP

Change requires leadership.

If your Association is to change something has to happen. If your Association is to turn insecurity into security; someone must take the initiative.

If you’d like your Association to move to the next step, to break through from the past, to take advantage of the future, take action.

Pick up the phone and make a call to get the wheels in motion.

Either way, things will change….





Related Articles
  Franchising in Indonesia
  Advertising That Drives People Away
  Preservation of Modern Day Philosopher Videos
  Selling to Specialized Markets - Associations, Buying Groups & Chambers of Commerce
  What is happening to credibility in the online world?

Home > Sales > Leigh Farnell > How To Use Change To Grow Your Association
Article Tags:

About the Author: Leigh Farnell
RSS for Leigh's articles - Visit Leigh's website

Leigh Farnell is co-author of the internationally best selling "Cracking the Million Dollar Sales Code - Easy Step by Step Strategies to Increase Sales Without Feeling Rude or Pushy.' For over 20 years he has helped over 300 of his clients across the Asia Pacific make millions of dollars in extra sales and profits. Leigh's Blue Rocket Selling System has increased sales in retail, mortgage broking, real estate, banking, motor car sales, insurance and fashion. With his Blue Rocket business partner John Blake, he provides 'rocket fuel for sales teams.' Blue Rocket even offer a 'Improve Your Sales or Your Money Back Guarantee..

Click here to visit Leigh's website
Dashed Line

More from Leigh Farnell
Quadruple Your Business
Double Digit Growth eguide
How To Double Your Business


Related Forum Posts
Re: My 3 best business books Re: My 3 best business books - 1. Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill 2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey 3. Permission Marketing - Seth Godin Think and Grow Rich seems more powerful each time I read it or dip into it. The 7 Habits not only offers some very effective ways to organize your life (which I have yet to master!), but also some great quotations and thought provoking statements including this by Nazi concentration camp survivor, Viktor Frankl: [i:2naxzsom]Between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose.[/i:2naxzsom] Seth Godin's Permission Marketing is a good read for anybody seeking to understand how to approach doing business on the Internet in the right way with regard to winning people's trust.
Re: My 3 best business books Re: My 3 best business books - It seems that Napoleon Hill works help a lot of business men. He had done a really good job. I bought Think and Grow Rich many times.
Think like an Association Think like an Association - Hey Sebastian, Maybe you could try thinking like an Association... I would study the structure or formats used by other Associations. What are they doing to add value for their members? The BBB plays a monitoring role for consumers by gathering data about business' that are behaving badly. And they're pretty successful at it too. Maybe you can offer a 'Platinum Program' that franchisors buy into. Accredited members only. Criteria could be strict: 1. Age (stability): 10+ years 2. Satisfied franchisees: 85% + satisfaction 3. Size (stability again): 250 units 4. Strong profits 5. Great management -Maybe a 'Gold Program' for those Franchisors that aren't quite at that level, but can strive to reach it... -Top 100, 500, 1000 Listing for qualified members... maybe a slap at Entrepreneur.com and their biased top 10 lists... -Maybe act as a monitor like BBB? -Maybe team up with FranSurvey OR do something similar for each member (not sure about Fransurvey's rep, but I like the concept) There's so much discontent within the franchising arena that I think if you were part of the solution, then you could create a win/win with your Association. The only downside is that this power can get abused if there aren't good checks and balances within the association.
Think and Grow Rich Think and Grow Rich - Hi Moira, What a great post! I completely agree with it and it really is too easy to underestimate those 3 points but once we learn to use them the sky is the limit. I am currently reading Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. Have you read that book?
Re: Spellcheck? Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri


Recommended Article for You close

  Franchising in Indonesia

Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

12 Principles to Spark Innovation

Are You Listening?

Why Use an Advertising Agency

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.