Have you ever heard that old saying…that you should “under-promise and over-deliver”? On the surface, it makes total sense. If you tell people that something will take two weeks to do and you get it done in one, they’ll be surprised and delighted, right? Or it’s like...

  As many of you know, I'm currently leading a new cohort of leaders through a six-week Member Experience Design Program. Together, they are working through the material to assess the experience currently being delivered by their organizations and deciding where...

This week's article is later than usual. There's a good chance that no one would notice, but I mention it because this leads to a topic that I think membership leaders probably need to talk about more often:     What happens when you run out of energy to lead anyone...

  As I’m writing this, it is absolutely gorgeous here in Central Illinois. The sun is beaming down and the sky is a gorgeous shade of blue. It has been the kind of morning that makes me wish I could go out for a run. Alas, I’ve been nursing a persistent heel...

Last week, I got to enjoy a little down time with my family in the Rocky Mountains. I have always been awestruck by the beauty of the mountains and this trip did not disappoint. However, one of the highlights of the week wasn’t related to the scenery at all.It was the...

In life, I think there are two kinds of people – those who adore the frosting part of the cake, and those who prefer their cake without all that sugary fluff on top. My husband is a just-the-cake kind of guy while I would take a whole plate of frosting, if I could....

A few weeks ago, I ran out of popcorn salt at home, so I ran to the supermarket to buy some. Popcorn salt comes in teeny-tiny grains so that it dusts the popcorn and gets in all the little nooks and crannies, rather than simply falling off and ending up in the bottom...

Congratulations to the Chicago Area Business Aviation Association on their recent transition to the Wild Apricot member management platform. Taking on such a significant project is a big undertaking for any association, but especially one that relies heavily on the...

This week's post was inspired by a recent hotel stay while I was in St. Louis to facilitate a client's strategic planning retreat.  Imagine my surprise to walk into the room and find a bed that looks like the picture on this post. Yes, that's the actual bed from the...

When I was in college, I had a summer job as a server for the local Pizza Hut in North Platte, Nebraska. It was a great summer gig – flexible hours, uncomplicated menu, extra cash from tips. Plus, I worked for a great boss. One morning, as we gathered for our weekly...

Do you remember the old TV commercial for Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pops? A boy wanders about, asking an important question, "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?" If you don’t remember the old commercial, you’ll find it here:...

Years ago, when I was relatively new to my career, I had a mentor who was the most amazing listener I’ve ever encountered. To this day, when I think of what it means to truly *be engaged* with someone, she is the person who comes to mind. As a social worker, active...

I don’t know if there’s ever been a membership in existence that hasn’t struggled, at some point, with at least one piece of the membership-building trifecta.  Want to know what those pieces are? 1. members who pay 2. members who play 3. members who stay Master all...

I’ve always been curious about the strategy of bundling membership with event registration. Over the years, I’ve run into several associations that include their membership fee along with registration for an annual conference. While this strategy could legitimately be...

“We just aren’t sure what to do at this point… it feels like we’ve tried everything.” There was clear frustration in her voice. The association had tried a variety of different learning programs. They did member surveys. They upgraded their website. They spent more...

Perhaps the only thing more frustrating than people NOT knowing about your membership is when the perfect prospect DOES know about it but doesn't take action. One of my favorite things to do is to facilitate live retreats. There’s something powerful about getting away...

Perhaps the only thing more frustrating than people NOT knowing about your membership is when the perfect prospect DOES know about it but doesn't take action. It's as if the prospect gets stuck in the "thinking about it", so instead of joining quickly and starting to...

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to speak to a local gathering for Optimist International, a worldwide volunteer organization with 2500 local clubs working to bring out the best in children, their communities and in themselves. In just my brief time that I...

It happened again yesterday. Someone emailed me potentially starting a membership, but expressed concern that his target audience would likely have ‘budget’ issues. The typical advice that you might hear is that you’re working with the wrong avatar – that you...

Have you ever been around someone who does nothing but talk about themselves?  It's uncomfortable, isn't it?  And definitely gets boring quickly. Unfortunately, a lot of people who talk constantly about themselves don’t really realize that they’re doing it. They think...

Ask nearly anyone who runs a membership what their biggest struggle is, and chances are that they’ll answer one of three things: Signing members Engaging members Getting members to renew These are three very different problems that happen at completely different...

Quite frankly, social media isn’t a tool that I’ve used much in my business. I’m still old school. I do a little Facebook, a bit of Twitter, but beyond that, all the options and how to best leverage the various platforms makes my head spin. BUT I’m seeing a lot more...

Do you know what this is? And how does it relate to a membership site? Read on to find out. Hint: If you’re a bald man, you probably have no use for it. However, if you’re a woman, or you have daughters, or I guess even if you’re a man, who has thick lustrous hair,...

A couple times a year, I give my email list a good pruning. Last week, I dropped 245 people. Some might think this sounds crazy, but bear with me. I have my reasons. 1) A big email list means nothing if people aren’t engaged. The size of your email list is nothing...

My husband has always liked Jeeps, but a few years ago, he went “all in” and became an avid member of a local Jeep Club. One thing that I’ve noticed from hanging out around the Jeep Community is that they share a passion for overcoming a challenge.  Show them a...

I facilitated a group in April for people who are in the very early stages of planning their membership communities. They want to build and maintain a thriving community. This is one of my FAVORITE things to do because I love, love, love when people are excited and...

One of my clients recently shared that she has more than 500 business cards from people she’s recently met just sitting in a pile.  She was planning to send them off to a transcription service to have them added to her contact database. For me, a natural question...