Never Forget - We’re All in Sales

We are all in sales.

If sales is the process of establishing credibility and rapport in order to further a relationship, don’t we all do that? CEO, communications director, attorney, paper delivery person? Every communicator in your association is charged with getting a member to do something. So it’s fair to say we are all in sales.

No one ever makes a sale just giving the facts.

• First the buyer (the member) has be aware of you and what you do to bring something different to their business. Knowing what the members needs or wants is crucial. (Target your audience.)
• Link how your offering (service, tools, information) will help the member do something better determines if they will consider you to help them (this is called the benefit exchange).
• Be clear on what you want them to do (your solution). The term Always Be Closing, or the ABC's of selling means giving the member options to respond to your call to action. Anything from a place (or person) to get more information, to registering right there.

Sales: the process of establishing credibility and rapport in order to further a relationship, Look at your work from a sales perspective, and change the way you present your communications. This approach helps you step into your member’s shoes to craft key messages to help solve their problem, versus promoting the association's best features.

Never Forget - We’re All in Sales

Strategic Planning’s Link to Communications

Association Executives spend this time of year planning to do strategic planning. Yes, we all plan to plan.

To be honest, during the past 25 years I wondered the practical purpose of a mission statement, a vision, and a strategic plan. I pretended I “got it” each time I went through the process during my years in corporate America - but it was more of an exercise than a part of the operational plan.

The mission didn’t really guide our daily actions, even though the statement was framed and hung on the wall. Most of the time, the head of the organization didn’t talk about it; nor could the managers reiterate the mantra. I don’t think it guided their daily actions.

A vision was misinterpreted for the mission, and didn’t inspire anyone.  Rarely did we talk about it, or use it for any communications about long term goals and directives.

Strategic planning was a required activity, but no one referred to it. Until the end of any given year when it was time to do it again. We were focused on today and tomorrow. Plans were all short term, in hopes we would hit our annual goals.

Truth be told I pondered this question for years; does it all really fit together? And what does it have to do with communications? I have resolved that communications is a critical part of all three of these concepts.

Communicating the mission and vision is the foundation of any organization’s work. The strategic plan doesn’t get done without communication of the big goals, the progress, and the work that needs to be done today. For an association:

• Strategic goals translate into annual goals.
• Annual goals are the basis of marketing goals.
• Marketing goals guide the planning for how you will get members to do what you want them to do, by communicating in a language they will respond to.

I wish I knew who to give credit for this saying. I know I didn’t invent it. But I adopted it many years ago:

Most of the time, we don’t see the world as it is; we see the world as WE are.

Thanks to whomever coined this phrase. It works for associations and it works in life.

It takes a clear set of eyes to get an association’s real work on track, and remind the leaders what they already know: members don’t know as much, care as much or want as much as those who volunteer for and run the business. That's why it's an art to developing a strategic plan to reinforce your promise to members so that you’ll get more of their attention.

Association Executives tell me communicating value is one challenge they never finally overcome. It may be the reason your communicators give members the facts and think that’s enough. So think again. See the world as your member sees it, let them know your vision and how you plan to get there. If you do, you’ll take the first step to connecting your strategic plan, your mission, and your vision to your daily work.

Strategic Planning’s Link to Communications

Having One of Those Days?

Have you ever had one of those days? You know what I mean...one of those days - where you don’t feel inspired to keep at it, stick to it, hang in there, and not give up. I suspect each of us has a quiet moment when we let this thinking overtake us for a moment. Or even longer.

Just as I have a habit of collecting subject lines and newspaper headlines that I like (ever since high school), I also keep a "keeper" file. It used to be a manila file, then it became a plastic sleeve, then a large file folder in the cabinet, and now the keeper file is on my desktop. It contains sayings of all kinds, but each of them hit home at some moment. So in my sub-file called “one of those days” there are some sayings that help keep me going.

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” - Theodore Roosevelt

"Whenever you see a successful business, someone made a courageous decision.” - Peter Drucker

"All I ask is this: Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause -- there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once." - Joss Whedon

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” - William James

"Going one more round when you don't think you can. That's what makes all the difference in the world." - Rocky Balboa

And at the last COCSA meeting I heard one of the best yet:

"You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time. Let’s roll up our sleeves." - Kate Rufolo-Dreher, Incoming President, Congress of Chiropractic State Associations

In a moment when you are tempted to throw up your hands thinking you’ve done all you can, and need a little inspiration, perhaps this will be a start, or an addition to your keeper file.

Having One of Those Days?

Explaining Member Benefits

It can be a challenge to help members connect the dots about the benefits of their association membership.

We know from studies conducted at ASAE and other sources that members join an association for two overarching reasons: for their personal benefit and for the good of the profession.

Yesterday, a real life story helped me put my arms around a sometimes-intangible benefit called legislative affairs. Most associations consider governmental or legislative affairs a primary member benefit. How to explain this in a way the newest member can understand?

My husband, Dan Sight, a commercial REALTOR®, flew from Kansas to Washington, DC at the request of the National Association of REALTORS® to speak to the United States Senate subcommittee on banking about the state of the commercial real estate market.

The lobbyists prepped him, got him to the Senate Chamber on time, because they wanted a REALTOR®, not a lobbyist to "testify".

Before I go any further, remember that we should focus on three important decisions before starting to write:

• Who is your target audience?
• What does the news means to them?
• What is the goal of the message?

Here is what I would say to every commercial member of an association about the value of being a member of the National Association of REALTORS®:

Have you ever wondered about the power of an organization with 1.1 million members to a commercial REALTOR®?


Today, the Senate subcommittee on banking heard from Dan Sight, Chair of the Commercial Committee of NAR, about the state of commercial real estate lending. Dan is not an officer of NAR; he is just a caring, involved volunteer leader who supports his industry and his fellow practitioners.


The meeting provided a direct line of communication from the real estate industry to government officials - efforts that will sustain the viability of the business for all members. In other words, conversations like this can change the future for the better for your profession, your buyers, renters, and sellers. It can change banking laws, lending laws, taxes, and other conditions that affect the commercial real estate market and your ability to be successful.


If you were an 80,000-member commercial association (and not part of NAR), you may not have a seat at the table.

• The target audience – commercial members
• What the news means to them – the association influences important decisions for their business
• The goal of the message – to explain the power of a collective membership in fighting for members.

Whether your industry is real estate or not, this link is just as important in your association. Explain local member benefits and national activities. Link them to what members want and need. This is a clear and direct way that might just get through to busy, distracted, and sometimes indifferent members.

Explaining Member Benefits

Play Back What You Learned for a Payback to Your Members

After attending two well-run conferences this past week, I am energized by your open minds. Your willingness to share, and the time you spent together  will better your associations.

Organizations make an investment to bring staff and volunteer leaders together. These conferences were full of excellent programming, collaboration, and networking.

It occurred to me while riding the down escalator this morning: Let’s face it, member dues are in some part what makes meetings like this work. How do members back home get an ROI from your time at the conference? How can leaders and staff best communicate back your learnings from the week? And what will you change for the better?

Association staff, you are better at what you do because of what you learned. Communications directors spent the better part of two days in “continuing education”. The sessions were intense. Can you identify two or three gems that you will take home with you? Will you write them down and share them with your counterparts? Will you apply the knowledge to connect better with your members or fall back into your old ways?

Association leaders spent a lot of time talking, listening, thinking, and collaborating at this meeting. You are in idea overload. Can you find the energy to report to your staff and even your members about the best information you bring home with you? Can you think of two ideas that are worth pursuing that you never though of before?

Being there is not enough. Representing your members is not enough. I wish you the determination to communicate what’s in it for the member. Make sure your members know the changes you make. That’s a return on both your and their investment.

Play Back What You Learned for a Payback to Your Members

I Am Convinced of the Potential of Association Marketing

I am convinced of the potential of Association Marketing.

I am convinced that any association has the potential to add enormous value to the member experience.

I am convinced that choosing your target audience and beginning with your association goals, you can get more members to do what you want them to do.

I am convinced that if you don’t resource marketing properly, you will not advance your value.

I am convinced that without a clear message platform, you cannot establish a connection with your members (a connection is a prerequisite to “convincing”).

I am convinced that creating a Marketing & Communications (MarCom) plan helps you segment, target, and measure your results against your goals.

I am convinced that good customer service is not enough.

Barriers you might be up against:

• I don’t have time to create a marketing/communications plan
• I can’t invest in a plan I’ll never use
• I can’t afford it
• I can’t sell this to my board
• I don’t have a marketing department
• Every department has different messages
• I want to show value but I just don’t know how to do it

Think about what you can do if you remove some or all the barriers above. And besides, none of them are true.  If you are as convinced as I am, what’s stopping you?

I Am Convinced of the Potential of Association Marketing

Create Your own Career Karma, and Make a Difference in the World

This is Breast Cancer Awareness Week, so I’m dedicating this post to those who work and fight for breast cancer awareness and other great causes.

In 2007, Bill Gates quoted one of his mother’s favorite expressions in his commencement address at Harvard. I Googled it and found that Mary Maxwell Gates’ expression originated in the New Testament: Luke, Chapter 12, Verse 48: "From those to whom much is given, much is expected." That is an inspiration.

TIKKUN OLAM is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world.” Michael Jackson made it memorable with this song: “Heal the world, Make it a better place. For you and for me and the entire human race. There are people dying, If you care enough for the living, Make a better place for you and for me."

Do you ever wonder if you make a significant difference in just one thing, one small difference that might start a ripple of change?

Trying to make a difference is always on my mind. It’s part of my values. It’s a key component of my business. It’s part of my brand.

I think of this every Monday on my drive to Rotary. There are special people who dedicate hours and days and years of their lives to making the world better through great community causes.

·      As I review marketing material for Reach Out and Read, a non-profit in my town, I appreciate how a group of generous people can make a difference in the lives of pre-school children they don’t even know. So I help out, too. 

·      As I read in the news about my friend Barb Unell, founder of Back in the Swing, I’m again inspired by the power of one person’s tireless efforts.  Back in the Swing is a one-week campaign that helps breast cancer, and all cancer survivors, get back to living after cancer treatment. The Kansas City program will go NATIONAL this year.

·      As I help my soulmate Ethel Davis celebrate the honor of "Fearless Leaders of Kansas City,” I’m touched by the endless ways she gives back to the world. She inspires me and teaches me more about the brand of giving with your head and your heart.

·      As I see my friend Christina Eldridge lead missions to Africa and at home, I am inspired, and I think about how making a difference is a tangible piece of her values and her personal brand. 

·      And always, as I watch my mom continue to work tirelessly for our local children’s hospital, her ongoing dedication to a cause reminds me how important one person can be. She’s been volunteering her time there for thirty years.  Whenever a special occasion comes around, she tells us she doesn’t want a gift. Her standard response is always “Please just make a donation.”

I also see a lot of people working hard, but taking what they can and forgetting to give back. There are people who expect things from the world, who maybe don’t understand how good it feels to give back as well.

When I think of them, I come back to thinking to myself: "From those to whom much is given, much is expected."

Create Your own Career Karma, and Make a Difference in the World

A Communications Plan Comes to Life!

Rarely do I get the chance to say WOW so early in the day.  But this morning, association executive at GrNBAR, (Massachusetts) Robin Maccini wowed me.

In May, 2010 I assembled a small but diverse group of associations (in size) to do an experiment in innovation. We selected one of the biggest challenges common to all the participating associations. To gain agreement was relatively easy:  Not enough members read and appreciate our communications. This problem statement gained agreement across the board: small and large associations alike.

Over the next four months, we lost a few association executives to other pressing issues; but four of us have been meeting frequently to chip away at this problem. The process involved:

• Brainstorming the root of the problem from the AE’s point of view
• Conducting member communications survey to understand members' point of view
• Conversations and education about what innovation and communication means
• Promising practices from various associations who have addressed their communications issues already
• An overview of the strategic communications planning model
• The assignment to write a plan of their own.

This is where WOW comes in. This REALTOR® association in New Bedford, MA - with 580 members and a determined association executive has developed a strategic communications plan that will both (1) earn her respect from her board and staff, and (2) give the association, and the communications staff clear and though-out direction, including built-in measurements.

Every association has the chance to WOW your members with a renewed approach to your communications. I doubt that Robin will fail in her efforts to change the way members perceive the value of their membership.

For more information about the communications plan, click here.

A Communications Plan Comes to Life!

Calling All New Association Staff Directors! It's Time to Live Your Brand.

If you are a fair weather football fan, like me, you can appreciate the connection between coaching, playing, team dynamics, structure, process, hype, spirit, determination, coordination in football - and business. I love a competitive, well-matched game.

True football fans block out everything else and focus on the players, the coaches, the rivalry and the true grit that happens when 22 players get on the field on any given Sunday. Those like me try to learn something I can use on Monday.

So when Danny (my husband) showed me this inspiring article of a rookie who gives his heart to the team, it speaks to me that really amazing football players have their own personal brand. In my presentation on Creating Career Karma (your brand), I make the point that your brand is your internal promise, a reflection of your values, and the unique footprint that is only you. It’s the way you package and use what you have every day that makes you unique.

The second thing that competes for my attention during a football game is how one new person can change the dynamics of a team. So, new Communications Director, Marketing Director, GAD, Membership Director, CEO - what do you bring to your team that’s different, and makes the whole team perform better?

You are your story.
What is the unique feature
that distinguishes you
from all the others? 

If you want a great example of a solid personal brand and how it can change a team, click here to read a great article.

Calling All New Association Staff Directors! It's Time to Live Your Brand.

Communicate About the Latest National Housing News

Housing is front and center in the media this month: NBC nightly news on September 1st, home sales was the lead story, and now on the cover of time magazine. These are difficult times for your members who interact with consumers every day. Kudos to you if (1) your association’s lead (newsletter) story or (2) special email report addresses this timely topic.

This is a perfect time to help provide your members the answers to their - and their customers' worries. Below are five things you can do today to show empathy and relevance in light of this negative media :

- The news reports may or may not be consistent with your market. If you have current market reports for your area, publish them again.  Use e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, your website(s) and other means to clarify the negative reports. If this reaches consumers, it is all the better.

- Reinforce the reasons to own a home: build a home for their family, build community, and have privacy, and build equity throughout consistently paying down the principle of their loan. These are still the reasons to buy a home.

- Work with your AE and your MLS director to prepare simple, direct talking points about your market easy enough that a new member can understand.

- Offer someone to explain the reports - someone accessible at your office. Or schedule a webcast to review them as a group with members.

- Tell members NAR is working on a response to the recent reports.

Communications are critical now. Provide information that members can use today. This is a real life timely example of how to be relevant and deliver member value.

Communicate About the Latest National Housing News

Strategic Communications Plans

I am working with three associations who are in the process of writing a strategic communications plan.

This impressive group of three association executives began with defining a problem statement about their association’s communications back in May. They range from 200 to 800 to 4,000 members. I refer to them as Partners In Innovation. They are partnering with each other to figure out how to better communicate and get more of their members' attention.

As they look past Labor Day, each association is at a crucial step; they have all the information, conducted the research, and know the 8 elements of the plan they’ll create.

So now it’s time to write the plan. Their challenge is to block out the time, sit in a quiet empty room with all of their notes, survey results, matrices and thoughts, and prepare to make sense of it all. Their goal is to come out with something worthy to present to their board of directors.

It can seem overwhelming, but in getting to know these CEOs (and one communications director), I think they will create some great work.

For anyone who is undertaking writing a communications plan, I’d remind you, in Dave Ramsey words, “You can’t wander into a goal.” You’ll never get there without a plan. I know one thing: if this were easy, everyone would be doing it. And they are not.  Here are three reminders about constructing a usable plan:

•  Creating strategic communications ties your communications to your association’s strategy.

•  A Strategic communications plan is specific in the tactics, but first it aligns to the annual objectives of your association.

•  The plan begins with “why we’re doing it” and “what we need to change”; then it lays out the “how”.

This project began with three associations defining a specific problem with their communications.  The temptation is to document today’s communications, and justify why it still works. But we all know this is not the way to get different results. For Partners In Innovation, this is their chance to be bold, do something different, and hopefully change their minds about how they communicate.

Strategic Communications Plans

Get a (communications) plan, man!

Every day, 6,000 pieces of information travels in and out of your brain. This means there is a lot of multi-tasking going on inside your head. And for you type A personalities, this means competing priorities.

Building a business, or an association, presents a continuing dilemma of just what things to do first. Part of the leader's job is to carry the big-picture torch.

I went to a meeting this morning with two very bright, aggressive real estate professionals trying to build a business-quickly. One is the leader, another the agent. One of their reasons for meeting centered around the question "What do we do with social media? How should it fit in to our "plan"?

Social media can be miles more efficient than the most sophisticated tools from the olden days (in the 80's). Think Hoovers, Standard & Poors, Lexis/Nexis, Dunn&Bradstreet, as examples. Remember? Volumes of hard copy books sat in our office or bullpen with descriptive company and contact information.  It was already out-of-date by the time we received the volumes via postal mail. But it was all we had to get to the right decision-maker, or to determine connections.

In later years, Xerox had a department of its own with a hotline for up-to-date business information we could call to navigate a prospective corporate account.

Today, tools like this are accessible online. These profile resources are invaluable, and we can add tools like LinkedIn to the list. Social media can help make connections we only dreamed of in the 80's and in a fraction of the time.

That said, I can't stress enough the importance of setting tactics (activities) and specific clients aside, and starting at the beginning, with three marketing basics:

The WHAT: Your specific goals and time frame - To build [what area of your business] between now and [when] for [what offering or product]? This determines the connections you need to make.

The WHO: Your target market (by segment, geography or other descriptor). If there is more than one - prioritize them. EVERYONE is simply not a practical target audience. You can attend to most of your audiences, but listing them specifically forces you to think about the individual needs of each audience.

The HOW: The ways you get your message across (media choices - including social, traditional, in-house, outsource, live, technology use).

I could feel one of my coffee-mates thinking on a larger scale. He began talking about how to re-look at their next informational video for a particular area of his business, and how several activities could link together to form a campaign. He even talked about the prospect list and various components of the plan (video, email, postcard, and phone calls) based on the newly identified goals.

The other one could not get past a variety of ideas swirling around in his head and what he had to do today. And maybe, in the scheme of things, this is where his head should be.

I could tell one of them will probably carry the plan and keep them focused on the goal. That was the Broker. If the leader thinks ahead with a systematic approach, I think the team can make it work!

Get a (communications) plan, man!

If you asked them, what would they say?

During an Association Executive workshop yesterday we went off-track to a great conversation about surveys. Most association executives know the value of conducting surveys, but about half of those that were in the room say they do not conduct a survey of their membership at least once a year.

Let's begin with a thought that will ground this discussion: Members don't join to solve association problems. Members join because they want the association to solve their problems. They want their association to be relevant. Danger: don't look to your board or your loudest members to tell you what's important to them. Invest in your members' feedback with a survey.

Some great questions came up in the meeting, so here they are below, along with the answers:

1. Should I send several small surveys or one large ones? I suggest one survey per year. They should be roughly the same questions each year. This way, an association executive can review results over time. I think polls are fine more than one time per year (a poll is defined as a one-question survey for a particular purpose, and not so often that it becomes an annoyance).

2. What is a good response rate? Reliable data depends on several factors — response rate is one of them. I like to strive for a 15% response rate for an association — and it is achievable. The next factor is percentage of accuracy, or your confidence level (it is easier to rely on extreme answers, like YES or NO, than middle of the road answers, so you'll have to decide what margin of error you are willing to tolerate.) Finally, your population size: the smaller your population or sample size, the higher your response rate should be to be valid for the entire membership.

3. Should I share the findings? One way to actively listen to your members is to show them you hear them. The best way to do this is to share the handful of the loudest or most revealing results, and say what you plan to do with them. Communication creates confidence, and confidence helps build trust.

4. What about focus groups? I love focus groups for specific, direct feedback on a specific topic. I wouldn't substitute a focus group for a survey. The sample size is too small.

5. How long should surveys be? A survey should ask the questions you most want feedback about — but no longer than 15 minutes to take the survey. You'll be wise to tell your members how long the survey will take and how you will show your appreciation for their time (see next question).

6. Should I offer an incentive? Yes, I rarely achieve the response rate an association needs without some kind of incentive. This can vary from 1 year free dues or fees, to a $25 gift card. Members are busy, so an incentive almost always improves response rates.

7. How can I assure members that the survey is confidential? One option a CEO suggested is surveying your members after a big meeting, in person. This way you can collect anonymous results. I don't recommend that option for one important reason: it doesn't represent an adequate sample size. You achieve an adequate sample size with either a random sample or your entire membership. Those members who attend meetings are a demographic of their own; they are not random. An electronic survey records email addresses; therefore, if this anonymity a priority, you might consider a third party to administer your survey.

And finally some advice no one asked for but I think is very important: Decide on the goals of your survey in advance. Don't just survey for satisfaction purposes. If you don't really want to know if your members find their membership valuable, then don't ask. And if you ask, be sure to follow up with questions like "What makes your membership most valuable?" and then "What one thing the association can do to make your membership more valuable?"

Collecting feedback should be as much a system as any other system you have in place. You'll see the value of conducting an annual survey year after year when you have the data to compare your results over time. Using your survey results to set new goals is productive. Setting new goals and then measuring improvement year-over-year will keep you relevant.

To serve members well I would share the following rule...associations should formally solicit feedback from members one time per year. Why? Because there is one person who can tell you if you are on the right track, and that's your members.

If you asked them, what would they say?

Communicating the Top 10 Benefits of Membership

When someone asks me the question about how to list or display the top member benefits, I ask the Association Executive what they think are the top benefits of association membership? Many times, that list includes features (a list of tools, offerings, classes, services, plans) described as “benefits” of membership. Beware the laundry list of benefits.

Benefits vary from person to person, but there are only a few true member benefits to any one member at any particular time. They usually fall into three categories: 1) What’s in it for our profession,  2) What’s in it for me as a business owner?  3) What’s in it for me as a practitioner to become better at what I do (or keep my license)?

I would limit your member benefits to  a few, and answer about the significant processes, tools, offerings, or services that you do really well and what it means to the member; the important things that members can count on you to deliver consistently from person to person, every time you interact with them.

I think association executives have a perfect opportunity to ask their board of directors together to talk through your most valuable member benefits. I promise you will spur some great discussion about what you do well today, and what you'll want to work on for the next 24 weeks of 2010 and into 2011.

Communicating the Top 10 Benefits of Membership

E-mail Etiquette: What's the First Thing You Want to See in Your Inbox in the Morning?

Each morning, I admit, while my single-cup coffee is brewing, I glance at my blackberry out of habit to see "what's going on". I also admit, I am rarely up after 10pm, which is when many of my vendors and colleagues do their best work. So often I'm getting answers and questions, and to-do's to move projects to the next step. Then there are mornings when I wake up only to this (see the image right over here).

Maybe others share my habit. I read from a so-called expert that if you want someone to read your e-mail, send it at 6:30am. I confess, I read some email as early as 5am. Listen, I don't want it to be from my association, and I don't want it to be even my own e-newsletter. PLEASE...

I will tolerate a "past due notice" from my hosting service, or a subscription. It's a gentle reminder of what I should do that day. 

So it got me to thinking about the best time for associations to send e-newsletters, calls to action, latest market statistics, education reminders, and other information material. So here's a list of rules I am establishing for myself as a mid-year resolution that you might want to think about too (July 5 seems a good half-way point in the year):

1. I will clearly identify the headline with a compelling title that will encourage my clients, future clients, and my followers to read it.

2. I will carefully shorten the topic of each of my three articles with a working link, so readers can make an educated decision to read it.

3. I will insert a relevant video or cartoon to entice, entertain, and educate my readers.

4. I will measure my open rates and links to see what my readers seem to be interested in. I'll take action to keep getting better at it.

5. Regardless that I only send one "mass" e-communication each month, I will send it on the same day, and the same time, but never first thing in the morning. 

My "first things" are for catching up on what I don't get to do the other 23 hours of the day. So unless I owe you something, or have a spectacular idea for you, I will not send general information first thing in the morning. Deal?

E-mail Etiquette: What's the First Thing You Want to See in Your Inbox in the Morning?

Apple Lives Their Brand. Here's What That Means:

Apple is a marketing phenomenon. I know, you don't need anyone to tell you this, but I'll ask you to indulge me while I share a short story:

I pulled into the Apple store yesterday morning for a major technical problem with my new MacBookPro. I mean major. The spinning wheel that couldn't be stopped, shut down, re-started or ignored. That means I'm out of business.

As I pulled in, there were 200 people lined up outside the store. It is iPhone launch day. How did I not know that? Which means Apple really didn't have time for me yesterday.

Apple sells to hundreds of customers every single day, at this store alone. I know this because I'm there pretty often with my new laptop for training and technical problems. Or perhaps, seriously, it very-well-could-be a few operator errors!

The manager met me at the door, called me by name, and asked what was going on. I've been in several times with laptop problems. She is always somewhere in the store and we make eye contact. There were no "Genius Bar" appointments today, but she took my laptop anyway. She disappeared behind the silver door to the back room.

As I wait in the store, with a steady flow of apple-heads with credit card in hand, it occured to me that Apple, while they do not make a perfect product, does have best-in-class customer service.

In the middle of this chaos, the manager made me feel like I'm the only one who matters right now.

_________________________________________

A few hours later the Apple store called. To my complete surprise, they had a new laptop waiting for me. I brought it home, ran the back-up to restore my files and I'm back in business in less than 24 hours.

Sherri and the Apple team delivered on their promise, otherwise known as their brand: Innovation, Reliability, and Simplicity.

What's your brand promise? Would any Joe (or Melynn) off the street feel that you deliver on your promise after any interaction?

Apple Lives Their Brand. Here's What That Means:

Collaboration: The Intersection of Common Goals and Creativity

Partners in Innovation (PII) is a project in innovation as much as it is an effort in collaboration. Four diverse associations are participating, along with four dedicated, quality Association Executives They vary in size and geographic location, from Pennsylvania in the East to Utah in the West. We will soon see results from the communications survey sent to 6,000 members. While we wait for the responses, let’s remember why we came together in the first place – to innovate and overcome their most pressing communication problem: Not enough members open, read, and appreciate their communications.

During my travels this past week, I found the new "all-in-one dental floss gadget" tucked into my travel kit. Using it for the first time, it hit me what we are trying to accomplish with this communications project  - to approach ages-old communications in a new way. It will require innovation.

One of my favorite marketing philosophies is a concept called "The Possible Service." It happens in big for-profit business, and can happen in your association. It's a marketing approach containing one (or all three) parts. Marketing has evolved from being:

1. Service-driven - offering services or tools to the member based on what the company decides to deliver.

2. Market-driven - finding out what the customer needs, and building services or tools to meet them.

3. Imagination-driven - this kind of marketing answers the needs of the customer through innovation. It’s based on what the customer says they want; but it’s also about giving the customer something they need that they haven’t even asked for. Let’s use an example anyone can relate to: the 1970’s introduction of overnight (too many spaces in these lines) shipping. Before this, the only option for sending and receiving important documents and items was either the fax machine or US postal mail.

The PROBLEM: Original documents and products took too long to send and receive.

The BIG GOAL: Sending documents with reliability and speed.

THE ANSWER: Overnight shipping. (Think “absolutely positively overnight,” and “It’s not just a package, it’s your business.”) These award-winning campaigns promoted the solution to a customer problem that they never dreamed possible.

So, does this happen inside associations? As a matter of fact it does. The Florida Association of REALTORS® delivers concise, compelling, information to their target audiences through their innovative (and award-winning) website. Oklahoma City REALTOR® Association (OKCMAR®) gives members a cup of Starbuck’s coffee when they visit the association’s retail store. They grew the R-Shop from a closet to a non-dues revenue-machine for the association.

We’ve already made progress in this collaboration to change the way associations communicate regularly with members. While members respond to the communications survey with their thoughts about their communications preferences, let's collect ours, and continue to innovate. Start making your own short-list of the unexpected ways to get your highest-priority messages through to your members.  We'll be back together soon to continue the collaboration effort, so stay tuned.

The best part of this project - members will get out of it what this dedicated group puts into it.

Collaboration: The Intersection of Common Goals and Creativity

It's (Mostly) All About the Package

If you don't think your communications acts as your storefront, think again.

I was in a neighborhood yesterday I don't frequent often. I have seen a little grocery store 50 times.The building is great. The windows are great. Cossentino's neighborhood grocery is very enticing and 'hip' from the outside.

I came downtown for a meeting and decided to come 15 minutes early to finally visit and go into the store.When I walked it, it had really good eye appeal, but with further strolling, it was just that, a grocery store.

The outside design pulled me in, and I left, along with my recycled bag with of $16 of nothing...a greeting card, some jumbo corn nuts and purple spinach!

I think there's lesson here... whether it's your association's "store", your Facebook page, your newsletter or your website - is it  inviting? Intriguing? Does it look good enough to your uninvolved member so that one time, they will come in and look around?
Think about communications that are eye catching, straight-forward and scan-able. In other words, show members the quality you bring to them with the package; Then, deliver on the promise once they chose to come in.

Even if the content isn't fancy, when the package is interesting, you are likely to sell them something. If your message is simple and reliable on the inside, you have the chance to bring them back or even compel them to make a PAC contribution, attend a class, or become a fan.

It's (Mostly) All About the Package

The Brand Called You

From: Issue 10 | August 1997 | Page 83 | By: Tom Peters

Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here's what it takes to be the CEO of Me Inc.
________________________________________

It's a new brand world.

That cross-trainer you're wearing -- one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone who's got you branded. That coffee travel mug you're carrying -- ah, you're a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with the distinctive Champion "C" on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominent Levi's rivets, the watch with the hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on the face, your fountain pen with the maker's symbol crafted into the end ...

You're branded, branded, branded, branded.

It's time for me -- and you -- to take a lesson from the big brands, a lesson that's true for anyone who's interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the new world of work.

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.
It's that simple -- and that hard. And that inescapable.

Behemoth companies may take turns buying each other or acquiring every hot startup that catches their eye -- mergers in 1996 set records. Hollywood may be interested in only blockbusters and book publishers may want to put out only guaranteed best-sellers. But don't be fooled by all the frenzy at the humongous end of the size spectrum.

The real action is at the other end: the main chance is becoming a free agent in an economy of free agents, looking to have the best season you can imagine in your field, looking to do your best work and chalk up a remarkable track record, and looking to establish your own micro equivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you'll not only reach out toward every opportunity within arm's (or laptop's) length, you'll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team's success -- you'll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season's free-agency market.

The good news -- and it is largely good news -- is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.

Click here to read the full 8-page article.

The Brand Called You

Jump Start Innovation by Following a Few Ground Rules

Most real estate associations realize the value of innovation, but some find it hard to achieve. Association leadership, especially in small and mid-size associations often lacks the time, the tools, and the creative process to nurture exciting new ideas. I recently brought together a few small and medium sized associations to innovate their communications process.  As our “Partners in Innovation” process gets started, we’ve discovered ways to jump-start innovation.

1.  Set side the time to get creative. The participants all said the biggest creativity boost was simply allocating the time to looking for new ideas. Taylor Oldroyd, CEO of the Utah County Association of REALTORS®, said, “We all get into ruts. Setting aside time specifically for this project allows me to focus for a minute, to ignore the staff members that are poking their head in, and instead actually take the time required to do some creative thinking.” 

2.  Bring together diverse participants. All of the associations in the project have strategic plans and are constantly discussing how to communicate, but have had trouble coming up with new ideas. What’s different in this project, according to Diane Streichert, CEO of the Burlington Camden County (New Jersey) Association of REALTORS®, “is the integration of people from different sized associations and interaction with people from all parts of the country. It’s lead to more innovative ideas.” Her Communications Director Liz Peters agrees. ”You toss around ideas daily in your office, but its even better to hear ideas from other people that we would never have thought of,” she said.

3.  Designate a facilitator to keep the creativity flowing. My role in this process is to guide the conversation and push the participants to keep digging deeper. The participants all agree having one person whose focus it is to facilitate makes a huge difference. “It gives me a purpose, a reason to stop and think and engage,” said Rob Hulse, Executive Officer of the Lawrence (Kansas) Association of REALTORS®.

4.  Give yourself license to think crazy thoughts. After their initial meeting, the group was given an usual homework assignment. Before our second phone call, I asked them to come up with the craziest idea for improving their communications they could imagine.  “It was helpful to have that direction, that push to come up with something that isn’t traditional,” Hulse said. And it lead to some very useful ideas we can refine as we move ahead.

We are determined to show that process like this can lead to positive change that your members will see right away. Please stay tuned, I will share the fruits of their labor as we progress!

Jump Start Innovation by Following a Few Ground Rules

Strategic Planning Tips

For those of you who have, or will conduct strategic planning sessions on an ongoing basis with your leadership teams, this entry is for you. I made an installment in my own continuing education yesterday by attending a seminar on strategic planning. I wanted to hone my own skills and learn a new promising approach to an old concept.

ASAE never disappoints its members. The presentation gave me an entirely new approach to consider. Including:

1) The strategic radar screen - where to place strategic issues that come out of scanning the industry for issues that either effect your members' profession (or the industry). 

2) Asking for insight (not feedback) from members-at-large along the way, as to not plan in a vacuum. Insight asks for answers to questions like "Why is there a lack of readership to our communications?" or "Why are members not interested in our legislative activities?" Ask these  questions before and during the process. Feedback, on the other hand, asks member to evaluate something you have already decided to do.

3) The importance of putting staff and elected leaders at the same table (and place them strategically next to each other) with placards and assigned seating.

4) Always ask a committee chair to make presentations along with their staff counterpart.

5) Measure everything - even if the measurement is "excitement and momentum", or better-yet, as specific as "the # of large brokers and brokerage companies who have re engaged in the association". Same goes for any other industry!

6) Top way to build consensus with members and the Board? Communicate, communicate, communicate! Isn't that the key to any successful initiative?

Jim Dalton puts it this way: "Members don't join the association so that they can solve the association's problems. Members join the association expecting that the association will help solve THEIR problems."

Good luck, good planning, and then great execution!

Strategic Planning Tips

Why You Need a Marketing Plan

I know what you are thinking. "Why do I need a marketing plan? My people know just what they need to do to get things done. My board (and I) come up with new ideas all the time, and having a plan would be pointless."

Does this ring a bell with you? It does with a lot of business owners and CEOs. A plan reminds you of the key themes you will always talk about to members so they will hear a consistent messages. And the new projects you decide to undertake. And changes you decide to make in the way you do business.

When it comes to pest control at my house, Gunter Exterminators sends me a postcard. When it's time to rake the leaves, the piles make themselves bigger in the yard, and the weather changes to ring the alarm. When prescriptions run out, that's an indicator it's time to re-order. As April 15th approaches, I know my taxes are due.

When it comes to connecting with members, and sticking to the priorities, and being clear and concise with your audience, there's nothing to remind you if not for a plan.

A plan requires you to sit down and scribble or type what you already know.  Along with deadlines and measurements. How many members opened the mail?  Attended the event? Answered the call to action? When done right, the plan begins with your association's immediate goals. What do you want to accomplish in the coming year? The marketing plan outlines how you will "sell" the ideas and programs and tools, in order to reach your goals. Each and every one of your goals that effects your members.

Marketing is everything you have to do to come up with your products and services, making members aware of it, getting them to want it, and then selling it to them.

So next time you think you don't need a plan, think about how for-profit business runs business. It's just like you. Plan, organize, implement and measure. Then recycle as needed.

Why You Need a Marketing Plan

Never Mistake Motion for Action

I had a conversation with an Association Executive last week at the AE Institute. After a one-hour session about Being Relevant, she came up to me and said "It's hard to create more relevance when we don't sell a product or a service. I'm a small association and I don't have staff, or new tools. I feel like I am spinning my wheels trying to show value for the dues my members pay."

In a for-profit business, improving shareholder value happens by increasing revenues - either selling more, or spending less. In a not-for-profit buisness like yours, members are your shareholders, and your value comes from helping them do their job better, so they can be more successful. And what it takes to be successful changes with market conditions, with changing laws and regulations, and based on the tenure and knowledge of your members. Step into their shoes and understand what they need, and you will begin to turn relevance into member value.

You will improve relevance (and build value) when you keep up with change. Every association can find areas for change, no matter the size of your membership. AE Institute and other conferences offer tens of hundreds of possible ideas to make change in a mere four-day meeting. Back at home, you can make small change in the professional image of your members by contributing positive stories to the media (social and traditional media). Instead of reporting the news, change the way you communicate by learning to translating the benefit of national industry news to what it means to your member locally.

Create value by keeping pace with change - and your member will begin to see, and then understand your value. The art of being a successful leader is to chose the right areas to change. If you are not careful, you could spin your wheels with too many ideas of how to make the most effective change. As Ernest Hemmingway said "Never mistake motion for action".

Never Mistake Motion for Action

What My Dentist Taught Me About Being Relevant

Lynne, my dentist, is also my client. I have spent the past six months helping position and promote Lynne and Abbie’s practice to their patients. The goal for their marketing is more referrals. They so some of the common things that all dentists do. But they do it much differently than any dentist I have ever seen.

While helping Lynne and Abbie express the promise of their practice I began to think about how I feel about my current dentist’s office - and the differences. There are three things that differentiate Lynne:

1.  Schutte & McKnight’s promise is a personal and satisfying dental experience. They communicate how the health of your teeth is connected with your overall health. They explain how health problems show up in your mouth, and how something wrong with your teeth can affect other parts of the body. What an attention-grabbing concept I had never thought about. This made dental health relevant to my life.

2.  First impressions matter. My appointment began in the dentist’s personal office with she and my new hygienist (Stacey), just talking for 15 minutes. We talked about why I decided to come to the office, what I expected, and  if there was anything about a dental office that bothers me so she could make sure to avoid that concern. Unique. Really thoughtful and engaging.

3.  When your level of service is authentic and very consistent, it’s easy to live your brand. What Lynne showed me had heart, and expertise. She tactfully showed me, at 50 years old how to properly brush my teeth. She taught me something.

Needless to say they deliver on the other little things too: Lynne’s handwritten thank-you note, the iPod that distracted me from the drill, and the late afternoon phone call “just because”.

Lynne and Abbie did not start off thinking I would be their patient, and neither did I. Like any other service business, you can gain great advantage “…doing common things in an uncommon way.” (George Washington Carver. That, to me is the best definition of relevance.

If you can say “wow” about a dentist, I just did.

To learn more about Drs. Schutte & McKnight's practice, please visit www.schutteandmcknightdds.com.

What My Dentist Taught Me About Being Relevant

Be a Good Listener to Find Out What Members Need

Go ahead, ask your members why they belong to the your association? Ask open-ended questions, and I’ll bet your members will free flow with ideas.

If you ask them, members will probably answer with many of the same reasons associations were formed as early as the 1830’s: education, networking and referrals, information (in the form of research and statistics), forums to discuss common problems, and standards (or codes of ethics) to keep the industry strong. How about this: a sense of community.

In a challenging economy, the answers will be more specific and tactical.
                  
From surveys from associations across the country, I find that members really want three things:

1. Teach me something I can use to keep me relevant with my customers,

2. Communicate with me about the market, new trends, and what you to advocate on behalf of the industry and my business, and

3. Help me make more money.

Let’s just suppose for a minute that every member wants some or all of these three things. Are these needs specific enough that you can answer them with your services, products, and programs? YOU BET YOU CAN. If you deliver on your members’ biggest needs, will you become more valuable to your members? YOU BET YOU WILL. Are these three member needs universal across industries? YOU BET THEY ARE.

If you haven’t recently asked these kind of questions, now is the time to start. Here are three tips to make your survey worthwhile:

1. Ask filtering questions so you can look at the responses by category (new members, or age groups, or full time v. part time members)

2. Be specific in the questions you ask so that you get specific, actionable input and ideas

3. Do something with the results!

Is it smart to trust (what you think your members think) but verify that it’s still true? Is today a good time to survey your members? YOU BET.

Be a Good Listener to Find Out What Members Need