Association Field Report (April 20, 2020)

Hi friends, a little bit of encouragement for you today in our field report.
We had a great conversation with our team this morning. We touched on interesting information we read regarding great organizations that have fantastic government relations operations. I tell you what, they are showing their worth in a big-time way right now! I can tell you specifically that the US Chamber of Commerce, where I used to work, is doing unbelievable things for small businesses. They are connecting and providing more value for small businesses than maybe ever in the history of their organization. We also got great information from our friends over at NFIB. Great government relations organizations can do a lot of good work for their members right now and your association should be communicating those things with your prospects and the members in your industry.
My challenge to association executives this week is this: can you directly communicate with twice as many of your members as you would, say, a year ago? I’ll give you an example. I just ran the numbers on our business development work. As you know, we’re out there selling memberships, sponsorships, and creating membership relationships for our association clients. We were up 10% in contacts for our clients last week over the same week last year. Up 10% in an environment that undoubtedly had fewer revenue opportunities than a year ago. That doesn’t mean you’re not out there talking with people, telling them about what’s happening and providing them with pertinent information. The question is if you can do more.
By the way, your partners may have gotten some additional resources, such as the PPP. They may not be looking backwards because now they know that, for a certain number of weeks, they’ve got payroll taken care of and they may be loosening up their ability to do business.
Don’t get caught flat footed on this deal. All right?
Thanks.