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Boosting Revenues From Existing Products and Services

Improving Sales and Member Service

Times are tight in all organizations these days, and associations are certainly no exception. If you're responsible for non-dues revenue sales for your association products, you've no doubt encountered your share of challenges this past year. We know we need to think creatively as well as strategically about how to generate new revenue. But, how do you actually put an action plan into place that will uncover new monies for your organization? How do you create marketing and sales plans that will be meaningful and valuable to your staff as well as your members?

First, you and your staff create a list of all the member benefits, the products and services and the education events that your association offers.

Now create a working notebook for you and each of your staff that is tabbed by subject with all your products services and benefits.  Now you offer all your staff easy access to answer any member (including associate member’s question) and to promote any association-related product and service during the telephone call, email message or fax request. Also create a section for FAQ (frequently asked questions). This information will create more association wide interest, makes training/cross training staff easier and now creates a checklist for how are you doing in the whole picture particularly if you are recording date of the member’s questions and responses in your database.

Tips for Improving Staff Sales Performance

• Coach your staff to ask the questions, listen to each member’s answers and record the data in the appropriate fields in your database for future use, ie. Cross sell your members from your annual conference, who preregistered for certain workshops, into other workshops, books, and services that relate to those interest areas. Also record their history of buying all year with database fields you can sort so you can determine their patterns for future offerings of products. Now you can make the appropriate revenue forecasts by product category.

• You can create “canned responses for fax or email” that you can copy and paste on the message or select as one of the messages for your fax covers sheet.

• Be sure to update the information as it changes to include current and last year board member and legislative phone numbers, update both the workshop selections and e-commerce discounts at the start of a new month.

• Hold weekly staff meetings to discuss not only the changes but also the new opportunities for your staff when they talk with your member by email, fax and phone. Create a skit and role-play to make the selling part of the member relationship more fun for those who are not used to selling.

• Create revenue goals, use a white board with each department and find ways to celebrate and/or compensate the team when goals are not only met but also exceeded by line item, by event and by the team.

Taking Advantage of Member Calls

Let’s start with the typical member call inquiring about their dues billing. While on the phone:

• The member services rep can update the member’s information, email address, fax number and ask leading questions about their areas of interest in types of workshops and enter all data into the association database.

• Now offer the workshops or member benefit or member services that relate to this specific member’s interests with “should I pencil you in for either of these workshops or why don’t I put you on the list for a remember the date email or is it Ok to email or fax you more details about these or you can find what I am referring to on our web site, the web address is_______

• Offer a discount coupon for future use for purchases over X amount of dollars that might include workshops, books, forms, etc. 

• Conduct a mini survey about the question for the week or ask permission to email them a detailed survey. 

• Consider doing a sponsored survey with 3 questions by a sponsor (more revenue), the remaining questions are your association’s questions.

• Always Sell up – workshops, books, forms, registrations, member directory ads, affinity programs

• Offer a special discount now available for those who register for this workshop to also purchase these related books and other conferences at a reduced cost, can I email or fax you the details?

• Offer a workshop that will help with this part of the member's job or business.

• Web Site - Don’t forget to mention your web site. "Did you know that we now have a Webster, the web address is_______. Be sure to check out the convention page and marketplace sections for other services that will help you in your business, that link address is….."  

• Group products together according to subject

• Cross Sell Your products – member signs up for seminar; confirm order with flyer on related seminars and books by email, mail or fax; maybe include a discount coupon

• Create a flyer that relates to the workshops and distribute at related workshops.

• Bring your ancillary products to your larger meetings (at least have a mini catalog or web site address card to give out to increase sales)

• Create special of month, event, subject area, etc.

• Offer Reprints of your articles by subject that members can use for their customers – another revenue source.

• Provide Marketing Templates and "how to" resources

• Use an e-special at the end of your e-news to indicate what specials are going on or include a coupon for future purchases at the association or a prize, enter into a raffle, etc. 

• Offer a directory sales opportunity (if applicable) – "are you interested in more visibility for your business, if so why don’t we email or fax you more information about the directory or you can use the link to our web site which I will email you."

• Increase awareness of your affinity and member benefit programs – what a great way to draw attention to a new benefit of the affinity program that is in place or to talk about how a new Member Benefit Program might save them dollars on their office supplies purchase.

• Use sales messages for members on hold – have a voice mail tape which talks about upcoming programs, always mentions your Webster and member benefit programs and for more revenue maybe has a sponsor on it.

• Fax out a list of related purchase opportunities when you confirm a workshop by fax or same as true with an email – use an email attachment or include as part of the complete message.

• Develop several templates for fax cover sheets that change with product selection criteria - your web site can also have similar prompting that will generate same information based on the usage and “the cookies”.

With practice, the opportunities for your staff will grow as they question, listen to and process the information to better serve your member’s needs. The member’s perception is better customer service, improved response more value to membership and most importantly to your bottom line; you are driving more revenues because

You have now coached your staff:

• to be more member driven

• to act more as a consultant to the member

• to drive more revenues by selling your many products and services from the numerous daily phone conversations or emails to your staff. 

• to come to understand more about your members' needs

• to continue to develop more products and services for the member’s professional and personal growth.

Nancy Frede is the Principal of MarketSense (www.nonduesrevenue.com and www.boothcamp.com).  Nancy can be contacted at 508/872-6830 or by e-mail at nfrede@aol.com.

 

Association Xpertise Inc. (AXI) is a full-service company providing consulting and other services to associations and non-profits.    Details

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