Are You Asking Your Member Prospect the Right Question?

The Moery team gets together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning for a “pep rally” during which we share updates about business, sales, and our communications efforts. A big topic that came up today is an excellent tip for anyone who’s involved in membership sales. When engaging a prospect, one of the first things you must ask is, “What problem are you attempting to solve with this membership, or what opportunity are you attempting to address?”
As a membership sales person, it’s hard to be specific about the value proposition. Here’s where I’m going. Often our sales team will have discussions about the pipeline or membership prospects, and it’s like, “Hey, they’re interested in membership.”
Well, no. Actually, the prospect is likely not interested in membership. These folks are interested in something they can gain through affiliation with your organization, such as solving a major problem, addressing an opportunity in the marketplace by developing new business, or whatever that “one” thing is.
My advice today, (which, I’ll be working on as well) is asking the prospect specifically what they want to solve or address by joining. This approach is critical, and sometimes we just ease over it. So, get on top of it. If you don’t ask the question, don’t be surprised if that member prospect doesn’t join. Some of the reason could have been we didn’t explicitly address what was wanted through the relationship. Just a quick tip. Hope it’s helpful. Have a great week!
Listen in to one of our most popular podcasts on membership – JP Moery’s Association Playbook – Episode 83: Technical Experts are an Association’s Secret Sales Weapon