State Conservation Association - Meeting Sponsor or strategic partner?

What is your treatment paradigm?

Some organizations treat their members like lepers provider, while others consider their associate members to be potential strategic partners. As you approach this dilemma? The paradigm of associations is to always figure out how to squeeze every last penny possible from their suppliers, while others seek long-term partnership.

In the meetings industry publications you can read about how to generate more profits from your meetings, especially with the sale of more opportunities for exposure to members of your provider. This incidentally is a good thing as long as you keep two value proposition so in mind.

Two Way Value

The topic I rarely see in the meetings industry publications is to provide value to your associate members. Of course, there is a quotation of passage here and there for the guidance value for sponsors. But, how do you do?

When considering the value of your sponsors are looking for, keep in mind rule number one. Understand that their greatest desire is to increase their sales volume. Why else should be there? To build a better industry, okay, if you say so. Please, get real, while each vendor would like to see higher levels of professionalism and effectiveness of supply chain and industry in general, their number one desire is to increase sales.

What can associations do differently?

If you want your suppliers to hand over their money willingly to your speakers' Association, you must treat as a strategic partner and not lepers. Like the look with the eyes of your mind, if your paid staff and volunteer leaders treated the suppliers with the respect they deserve?

[] Give them a seat at the table, which means that a board member position must always be reserved for an associate member.

[] Make groups of providers focus for the sole purpose of better understanding the specific items of value that they want instead of squeezing more money.

[] Offer year-long strategic sponsorship opportunities, perhaps at different levels of investment so that all suppliers have the opportunity to play.

[] Increase your conference / expo functional member attendance. I will never forget the trip to the Pacific Northwest to speak at a meeting Chapter meetings industry association. While I was paid to present at this meeting, I could not help feeling sorry for those vendors. In this particular meeting, there were 4 members planners and 25 suppliers and there is something wrong with this picture? Suppliers want to network with people who can buy from them, not their competitors.

[] Keep your suppliers, union members or not, informed. I am intimately familiar with an association that recently demonstrated in deeds, not words, that the suppliers were on the lowest rung of the ladder of importance. This convention of the Association to be held in a large market town were able to reach an incredible deal on the price of the room for the convention hotel, but were not able to guarantee a large block of space to accommodate everyone. This association has informed their members, but not when their suppliers open room. The result, then the suppliers had to seek the most expensive rooms in a hotel near one of them wanted to expose to the convention.

Why is it important?

Business is about results, not excuses. If your association wants to suppliers and associate members to play at the highest level sponsors, and who is not? You better play to win. Winning means developing long term relationships strategic sponsors. The better your suppliers do business, the more money you must give your association sponsorship dollars. And the way to help them do better is to pay attention to their needs and treat them with the respect they deserve.

Ultimately, the official members of an association or corporation must pay one way or another. The members or to pay the actual cost, without subsidies, sponsors, or pay in shares, creating the correct environment for participating sponsors. The choice is on the table ....