MEMBERSHIP SELLING AND
SALES MANAGEMENT INSIGHTS

Ditch The "What You Get" Pitch. Instead, Try This...

Looking for a surefire way to enhance your recruiting results? Ditch the chamber features pitch and start focusing on prospective members’ needs.

Long-term recruiting success hinges on embracing a prospective member-focused approach. The aim is to first discover each prospective member’s pain points and then share how your chamber can help. This means that your recruiting conversations should focus on asking strategic questions designed to uncover or distinguish the challenges each prospective member faces. Only then can you identify and confidently share the specific chamber services and resources that can help them overcome their individual problems and challenges.

Problem-Solution Fundamentals:

• PREPARE – Research your prospects and determine their likely challenges and pain points that chamber membership can help resolve. 
• DISCOVER – Encourage prospects to shed light on the challenges they are facing.  Ask strategic questions to help them articulate their own needs and identify their own pain points.
• ASSESS – After you clearly understand their challenges, needs and goals, it’s time to determine whether each prospect is a fit for your chamber. In other words, can your chamber’s services and resources help your prospect resolve their problems and/or achieve their goals?
• ADVISE – When a prospect qualifies for membership, clarify how your chamber can help. Highlight how the most relevant membership resources and services will enable your prospect to successfully address their problems.
• RECOMMEND – Recommend the appropriate membership solution based on each prospective member’s individual needs.
• ONBOARD – Help each new member navigate the nuances and processes of your chamber –– and set them up to get the most out of their membership experience.

When you take the time to first discover and understand prospective members’ pain points, they feel heard when it comes to their needs. And, you can share how specific resources and services relate to the real-world challenges they are experiencing.  This helps each prospective member understand why the membership solution you ultimately recommend is right for them.

The problem-solution approach to recruiting enables membership professionals to really connect with members because they have a deep understanding of their needs. As a result, chambers build member loyalty and relationships for the long term.

Give it a shot, and let us know how it goes. As always, if you have questions about this technique or other membership recruitment and retention issues, get in touch. We’re easy to talk to, and we want to help.

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