How can my Chamber of Commerce membership lead to business?
10 ways to make the most of your membership in this business organization.
You sell benefit plans. Everyone says you should join the Chamber of Commerce. You do. You don’t see any business. Renewal times comes around. You wonder if this is a good use of money. How can your Chamber membership lead to business?
A Chamber executive remarked: “Like many things in life, you get out what you put in.” Here are a few ways your membership can lead to business.
1. Show up. You need to raise your visibility. Business won’t simply come to you. Start with the new member orientation. The Chamber needs to make the case how membership leads to business. Attend business card exchanges. Get to know people. Unlike other organizations that might frown on pitching for business among its members, that’s the purpose of the Chamber!
2. Serve on a committee. You know the Chamber draws the movers and shakers in the community, but you never see them. They may be behind the scenes, organizing. You should do the same. It’s a good idea to get on the revenue side of the equation at any nonprofit. Become an ambassador for the Chamber. It should get you in front of business owners, letting you make the case for Chamber membership. Be on the membership committee. You will get to meet new members at the point when they don’t know many people yet.
3. Write for the newsletter. They have one, either online or in print. They need content. You have a specialist subject, benefit plans. Insurance too. If they don’t have a column yet, become the columnist. Your Compliance folks will need to be involved. The firm may even have ready-to-go content.
4. Present workshops. The Chamber has a calendar. Look at what they offer in training classes. Health insurance is complicated. Good benefit plans attract good employees. Plan on doing a series. People attending likely have an interest or need. They make great prospects.
5. Market to fellow Chamber members. You have the membership list. Put it to good use. This should be within the rules. When I’ve done it, the first sentence in my email or letter is: “I’m one Chamber member writing to another Chamber member.”
6. Get a tradeshow booth. Some Chambers hold events where fellow members can set up a booth and promote their products. This is an opportunity to put your logo and marketing materials on display.
7. Sponsor something. Ideally you want something that puts your name on a banner or tee shirts without too many other names being present. It might be the golf outing or the 5K race. Ideally it gets lots of publicity in the Chamber magazine, local business journal and weekly newspaper.
8. Does the Chamber offer insurance? Many do, since the membership is a pool of small to medium-sized businesses. If they don’t offer benefit plans, talk to them about your idea. It’s likely they already offer insurance products. There must be a time when the contract is up and they entertain presentations from other providers. Get your firm into consideration.
9. Golf with fellow members. One agency owner built up his firm by taking three Chamber members at a time to play golf at his exclusive club. Over lunch afterwards he would ask: “Can I call next week and setup an appointment? I have some ideas I would like to share. I think I can save you money.”
10. Ask for help. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Get to know the Chamber officers and professional staff. Let them know you would like to raise your visibility among fellow Chamber members. “How do I do that?” The answers you get should be best practices.
The Chamber relies on membership renewals. They need to make it worth your while to keep renewing your membership.
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