The professional education and certification programs that associations offer have long been an effective tool for recruiting new members and increasing revenue.  This year these educational offerings may become the most effective tool an association has to accomplish these goals.  The value placed on these benefits of membership has been on the rise in recent years.  According to a study on member engagement by Abila, professional education and certification is identified by all age groups as one of the most important benefits obtained from association membership.  An article, written by Jessica Lane at Abila, explains in more detail why associations should focus on education this year and what the benefits of doing so are.

Let’s be real -- the buying cycle in the association industry is much slower than in for-profit industries.  As a past for-profit sales manager, I basically had to forget everything I knew about sales rules and start fresh when I began working in the association industry.  In the for-profit industry, sales naturally move more quickly and the flow of the conversation is different.  Cold calling, being aggressive, and being blunt are expected. In the association industry, however, relationships matter and trying to sell someone something right away is, for the most part, frowned upon. 

Well-written content can change the way people think and act. It can have a major impact on people and help you show potential customers why they should consider your products and services over your competitors. Words matter and a quality copywriter can help you craft words into the right message. 

So another ASAE Tech is in the books.  While I didn't actually attend the conference, I did spend a good deal of time following this event on Twitter and the Twitter feed was going full force.  The tweets were flying.  By the way, a special shout out to Abila for sponsoring the charging stations that kept everyone going, thank you!  Aside from the normal call-outs to visit various vendor booths to try and win various prizes, there were a few sessions that were getting a lot of buzz.  They were:

After years of working in education and studying many different learning theories and techniques, I still find myself coming back to the first one my father taught me when I was young, the Rule of Three.  While the Rule of Three is nothing new, in fact the theory can be traced as far back as Aristotle, the simple principals are easily applicable to implement in your workforce strategies.  

What is a consultant and how do you know if you need one?  A consultant is someone from outside your company or association who makes his or her skills, knowledge, and experience available to an enterprise in an advisory role, including implementation and education.  You may need one if the growth of your business has slowed, or worse, stalled out.  Continued growth is essential for success. Hiring a consultant can put you back on track to grow.  Below are 5 reasons why hiring a consultant may be exactly what your business needs.