There's one and only one secret to sales---consistent, ruthless activity. We all know it, heck--that's how we built our businesses, but somehow, when it comes to growing membership at NAIFA, we find ourselves freezing, not knowing the value proposition, being hesitant to put ourselves out there to ask others to join even though we clearly see and have experienced the value. I get it--believe me, I totally get it. If I had a dollar for every person that told me I should be in sales, I would be a millionaire, but the issue I always had was for me to sell a product, I had to really believe in it. The problem with me is that I have a hard time in believing in most products, but I am a diehard in believing in concepts or philosophical truths. 

I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. in Maryland, an original colony state. When you grow up in an original colony state, history is just embedded into your education. You are taught the Paul Revere story by first grade and know the entire American Revolution, minutemen, and writing of the Declaration of Independence before you ever leave elementary school. You understand states rights and the power of states coming together--and moreover, the force that we can be as a democracy when we come together to fight. 

So what's this got to do with declining membership at NAIFA? Well, everything, quite frankly. What I've studied in the last two months of being in the membership seat is that we have largely, lost the culture of belonging, and our society has degraded and devalued (or ignored- I don't think it was intentional), the importance of industry institutions such as professional associations. We've all heard the story of "when I signed into the business, my manager had me sign into NAIFA" and yet, sadly, we all agree those days have gone by the wayside.

We somehow have all accepted the fact that companies aren't going to pay for memberships for their producers, but it has hit me lately--did we also falsely accept the idea that just because they aren't paying, that there isn't value in belonging? Of course not because we still have 20,000 members that pay their membership fees, but something has changed. What is it? It's the culture of belonging. The companies--and managers--stopped pushing the culture of belonging to your professional association. Just because the companies stopped paying, the managers stopped paying attention to their agents and advisors--they no longer pushed the benefits of belonging to your professional association. 

I've never met a NAIFA member over the age of 50 that can't laud the benefits of NAIFA--being able to come together and exchange ideas and sales techniques. So, what happened? My real question is what happened that we stopped pushing the culture of belonging and the benefit of being part of something bigger than yourself? 

Let's return to a few facts about NAIFA's membership: 1) it's an unbelievable group of people, 2) the majority of people that join NAIFA have been referred in by another NAIFA member, and 3) it's an unbelievable group of people that take care of one another--not just over time, but instantly and at the drop of a hat. As a leader, you know that we are enough--we have so much within NAIFA--some would argue too much--that for those that "get it" , the ROI of the membership fees are never in question. And yet, we struggle to grow. Why?

One reason is we see membership as a task or chore to do. Nothing is further than the truth. We need to see talking about your NAIFA membership as a civic duty ---you are enlightened and just need to tell the next person about this amazing resource that you've found very helpful. Think of talking about NAIFA as doing your fellow financial services professional colleague an act of kindness. You don't need to go for the hard sell--we're not desperate, we have nothing to be ashamed of, and everything to be proud of in our history and our advocacy wins. In fact, this air of desperation, of begging people to be members, is done--we will not follow this path or approach because we are worth it. The financial service professionals out there are just wholly unaware as to who we are and what we do.

So how do we change this? Activity. You know that activity begets opportunity. The harder I work, the luckier I get and all that. What we have lacked is consistent, ruthless activity in telling everyone that we love our profession and the professional association that keeps us in business. We've lacked telling people that we love being an American citizen that votes, owns a business, and is living the American dream in helping individuals, families, and business owners create their own futures. 

There's no trick to sales or magic pill or slick trick that will propel NAIFA into the next level of growth. The formula is simple: you telling your story + as many people as you can tell your story to = growth. The conversation to your attorney, accountant, wholesalers, agents, advisors, loan officers, administrators, home office people is as simple as this: "you know, I probably have never told you this, but one of the reasons I'm successful is my membership in NAIFA. I'd like to tell you about it so that we can pay it forward and make others successful. Are you open to a conversation?".

All you need to do is tell your story and explain that NAIFA is a critical element of your professional success and you just wanted to let others know. The days of managers telling you to join might be over (we still note that good managers tell their advisors to join and we wish more would do the same), but the days of sharing what works for you in terms of your personal and professional growth is right in style. Think of yourself as the Yelp or Amazon Review person of NAIFA--your endorsement as a NAIFA member and leader --and the more of it that you can do---is the activity we need to open up new opportunities of growth. 

Know a home office, RVP, manager, or organization that would benefit from hearing about NAIFA and the work we do? Contact me and we will happily provide the education as to what the expanded NAIFA delivers back to the producer and the American economy.