Leaders Blog

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. 

Monthly Top Recruiter Program for 2024

We are delighted to announce that we have a fun membership program for 2024 called "Top Recruiter". The Top Recruiter each month will win a $100 gift card to thank you for your referral because, as you fully know, there is no greater compliment than your recommendation. The Top Recruiters will be listed on the Member Portal page and recognized throughout NAIFA Nation. 

The program was so successful last year on a quarterly basis, that we are making it a monthly content. Top Recruiters are identified by having the new member list you in the referral field, or a communication to that effect. Only NAIFA members are eligible for the prize and you must be active to receive the prize.

Q4 Top Recruiter

Shout out to Undrea Smith from Arizona who was the recipient of the Q4 Top Recruiter winner which goes to the member who recruits the most members, or provides extraordinary service to the membership of the association. Undrea was announced during the January chapter leaders call, but worth a mention again because there's no such thing as too much love! Shout out to Chris Carothers as well who was the Q4 Hard Hat winner which was awarded at the National Leadership Conference this past December.

Have someone that you want to refer right now? Fill out the Referral Form and bookmark it so you can easily access it and send in names-- we can help do the rest! Know a firm or agency that should be a 100% Agency or Financial Security Champion? Let us know!

We are thrilled to announce that the Young Advisor Team (YAT) program is being expanded in 2024! The first change is to note that the "A" in YAT can now stand for agent, advisor, accountant, or attorney! With our expanded FSP membership, we are looking to welcome in and provide the needed support to our young members so that they can be super successful. 

How do we get everyone to love NAIFA like our leaders that attended December's National Leadership Conference love NAIFA? We get together to problem solve, ideate, share, compare, and most importantly, get pumped about our profession and the good work we do every day! 

This is the flavor we're going for in 2022 in membership! As our President Larry Holzberg said, this is the year to expand the brand! Membership Chair calls are designed to get us connected and off and running in recruitment.

The second week of each month contains a set of three calls for Membership Chairs. We have adopted the IFAPAC model of breaking states into regions and then have created a true sales force so that we can move as one by hand-selecting two Membership Vice-Chairs per region. 

Role of the Vice-Chairs:
-Be a primary point of contact to state membership chairs
-Help state membership chairs work with local chairs
-Work on membership plans and ensure accountability
-Be the advocate for their region to identify who's doing it right to share & compare on Membership Chair Calls

Let's Grow Our NAIFA Nation Membership Team:
Here's where we are and thank you for serving to all the volunteers that stepped up to be part of the newly structured membership team committed to working as one: 

• National Membership Committee
• State Membership Chairs
• Local Membership Chairs

Look how impressive we are! If we are missing your headshot and/or we don't have the right person or you've added a chair, please report send it to your Exec so we can get it updated. 

How Will Membership Chair Calls Work:

Looking for a nice new piece of collateral to show prospective members and event sponsors what NAIFA has accomplished in 2021? 

The 2022 Business Implementation Plan(or "BIP" as we call it) for NAIFA was unanimously approved during the December 2021 Board of Trustees' meeting. The new plan is phase two of the 2025 Strategic Plan that outlines the work of NAIFA Nation. Each quarter, dashboards showing progress towards implementation of that year's BIP is sent to our Leaders as a way to report on progress towards goals in as transparent a manner as possible. To ensure that everyone on the same page, we also hold quarterly State of NAIFA webinars led by our President, CEO, and head of Government Relations. 

The Brand Ambassador Team (BAT) was started in 2020 under the leadership of (now) Immediate Past President Cammie Scott. Bryon Holz, Secretary, was then the inaugural Chair of the committee that focused on finding new ways to amplify NAIFA's brand and get-the-word out on our new programs and products introduced after the vote to restructure NAIFA as part of the Quality Member Experience (QME) movement.

St. Patrick's Day is around the corner, but we don't need to wear green to give us luck when we have the power of NAIFA. The monthly Membership Chairs call is this Friday and we just completed our Committee call today to talk strategy. Here's what we'll cover on Friday: 

We've compiled this list of wins from our states for 2020 and we need you to weigh in. What have we missed? Do you like the format and interested in a version for your own state? 

We are delighted to deliver to our Leaders the 2025 Strategic Plan that was unanimously adopted by the 2021 National Board of Trustees. The press release will go out tomorrow. View the new plan and a replay of the Q1 State of Nation that was held yesterday.