Association management the total package

Association Management: The Total Package

Andy Freed, Vice PresidentVirtual, Inc.

About Virtual

• Evolved from PR company founded in 1989• Full management services

– Range from startups to multi national associations• Outsourced technology solutions • Consulting and strategic services

Today’s Approach

• Shared learning

• Parking lot

• Who invented PowerPoint anyway?

10 Things Association Executive Needs to Know

1. Mission Control2. Build the right foundation with the right tools3. No margin, no mission4. Membership rules!5. Database Database Database6. Stay out of jail7. Get heard!8. Be an effective advocate9. Non-dues income rocks!10. Listen and learn

“Who am I? Why am I here?”

--Admiral James Stockdale

1. Mission Control

• Mission• Strategy• Tactics

1. Mission Control

• Mission– Why do we exist?

• Strategy– What do we do?

• Individual vs. Trade • Global vs. local• Advocacy vs. Standards

• Tactics– Staff’s job

Guiding thinkers for today

• Colin Powell– Mission—Why?– Strategy—What?– Tactics—How?

Seven Deadly Sins of Ineffective Governance

1. Representational Governance2. Lack of Mission Focus3. Tendency to resist change rather than to lead it4. Bad governance information5. Reluctance to drop the deadwood from the board6. Cumbersome, outmoded governance structures7. No job descriptions

“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them toward a certain goal.”

--Walt Disney

2. Build the right foundation with the right tools

• Structure and departments• People• Facilities

Typical Association Structures

• Executive• Member Relations• Communications/Publications• Finance and Administration• Education• IT• Government Relations• Content Specific Areas

“The leaders of great groups love talent and know where to find it. They revel in the talent of others.”

--Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius

Volunteers vs. Staff

• Pros and cons• Managing volunteers effectively

Facilities

• Leverage every asset• Remember the wisdom of F.G.

“Don’t own nothing if you can rent it. If you can, rent your shoes.”

--F.G.

3. No Margin, No Mission

• Budgeting and revenue recognition• Maximizing revenue• Avoiding budget black holes

Maximizing revenue: Set your value1940: Cake from flour, sugar (raw materials economy): $1.001955: Cake from Cake mix (goods economy): $2.001970: Bakery-made cake (service economy): $10.002002: Party @ Chuck E. Cheese (experience economy) $250.00

Is your membership raw eggs or a party?

Maximizing revenue

• Put a price on it• What’s the price for non-members• Over communicate on all price/dues

issues• Show them the value

Avoiding budget black holes

• Do what you’re good at!• Be creative on resources• Limit or sell idle capacity• Non profit is a tax status, not a business

strategy

Membership Rules!

“You know what makes this bird go up? Funding makes this bird go up. No bucks, no Buck Rogers.”

--Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff

Membership makes this bird go up!

Managing the Membership Function

• Create an organization wide membership effort

• Communicate & congratulate• Build the bandwagon• Expand the pie

“I’m in [insert department here], not membership, so I don’t have to do that”

--Any number of people I’ve worked with

“That’s right, I forgot—your salary doesn’t come from dues or revenues from products or services we provide the members…”

--My typical response*

*Not what I really wanted to say!

Create an organization wide membership effort

• Set goals• Measure performance• Engage key players in recruitment and

retention strategy– Calls, visits and letters– Customer Advocacy Team

• Walk the talk

“The two most powerful things in existence: a kind word and a thoughtful gesture.”

Ken Langone, CEO, Invemed Associates [from Ronna Lichtenberg, It’s Not Business,

It’s Personal]

Put their name up in lights!

• Awards programs• Ad hoc correspondence• Newsletters• Don’t forget “formers”

Build the Bandwagon

• Mark membership milestones• Mark association milestones• Give members the tools to promote you

Expand the Pie

• Who is serving your members?• What sectors of membership are

growing?• What business are your members in?

“The watchwords used to be location, location, location. Today it is database, database, database.”

--Tom Peters

“As a general rule, the most successful person in life is the one with the best information.”

--Benjamin Disraeli

Have an information strategy

• What are you tracking?• How are you using the data?• Mine, mine, mine

– Advocacy benefit of good membership data

Track membership trends

• Who has become disengaged?• Who is paying later than in previous

years?• What programs and services are people

using most?• What are people calling about?

The Nuts and Bolts

• Choosing a system• Surviving the conversion process

Key Questions

• Can you support the system internally?• Do you know how to manage an IT

implementation?• Does it have capacity to grow with you?• Who are you relying on for support?

Kicking the Tires…

• Industry standard tools such as Microsoft

• Open architecture for flexible offering• Rapid development web toolkit• Consistent R&D resources

Stay out of Jail

• Antitrust issues• Unrelated business income• Human resource issues

Getting your message out

• Public relations– Proactive press relations– News bureau

• Member communications– Newsletters– Web site

Effective advocacy

• Set the agenda right• Inside vs. outside advocacy• Technology is your secret weapon

Non dues income

• Benchmark all you want, but the bottom line is this:

Reliance on dues ain’t much fun!

Typical Non-Dues Income Sources

• Education• Affinity programs• Insurance• Publications

“Breakthroughs come from an instinctive judgment of what your customers might want if they knew to think about it.”

--Andy Grove, CEO, Intel

Know your customers

• CEO visits• Telephone outreach• Formal surveys• Ubiquitous feedback mechanisms

Know your industry

• Eat your dog food• Read what your members read• Go to the programs they go to• Know the rate of change OUTSIDE your

association

“When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.”

--Jack Welch, Former CEO, GE

Know your competition

• The internet changes everything• The Lexus and the Olive Tree• Elance.com

Know your business

• ASAE• Peers• Get out and learn!

Andy FreedVirtual, Inc.781 876-6205Afreed@virtualmgmt.comwww.virtualmgmt.com

Association management the total package

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