Are Individual NAIFA Members Committed To Membership Growth?

 

The financial services profession has been facing significant challenges from unbridled government regulators trying to eliminate the rights of individuals from receiving independent financial advice along with their nontaxable financial benefits. 

This is veiled by the government’s belief that financial advisors need to be held to a higher fiduciary standard, when the standards have been in place all along.

On both sides of the border, Advocis and NAIFA has been working around the clock to make sure consumer rights don’t disappear like they have done for the most part in the UK.

Defending this unbridled government regulation is taking an enormous amount of attention and resources taking financial advisor association member’s attention from growing membership on a one-on-one basis.

These are my personal reflections after presenting membership workshops in addition to speaking at June 2017 State Conferences for NAIFA Florida, Indiana and Illinois. 

The membership workshops;

• Help focus NAIFA State and Local Board Members with a one-on-one approach to their well-known non-member associates, friends and peers about becoming a NAIFA member.
• Focus on membership success – 90% of membership success is about WHY and 10% of membership success is about HOW and WHAT to do.
• Are to support the new NAIFA Membership Sales System that I co-authored.
• Include some of the key strategies from my Leading Advisor Coaching Program.

Click the following links for attendee feedback from; NAIFA Florida, NAIFA Illinois, NAIFA Indiana

In May 2017, NAIFA National Trustee Dave Beaty introduced me as a speaker at NAIFA Wyoming saying that I was not there to entertain, but to help to understand and implement change to both the association and the businesses of association members.

Is change entertaining? Change can be entertaining; most of the time change is far more challenging than entertaining. At the same time, sustainable change requires working with an experienced person from the outside to offer tough love, perspective, and solutions.

This article is not entertaining, it asks a tough love question and offers tough love outside perspective.

NAIFA is about both Advocacy and Membership Advocacy and less about Entertainment.

NAIFA and NAIFA members’ commitments to Advocacy, are second to none.

Is NAIFA Membership Advocacy commitment at the same level as the members’ commitments to Advocacy?

Over the past month, with a focus on Membership Advocacy, I have asked the following question of NAIFA Board Members; 

• On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being low and 10 being high, what number do you rank on average NAIFA State and Local Board Members, on a one-on-one basis, approaching their well-known non-member associates, friends and peers about becoming a NAIFA member?

The average answer to the above question that I have received is 4 out of 10, again, 1 being low and 10 being high.

Hallelujah! That means there are a large amount of non-member well-known associates, friends and peers that can be approached on a one-on-one basis by NAIFA State and Local Board Members about becoming a NAIFA member using the New NAIFA Membership Sales System.

In days gone by, there was a NAIFA Membership Program called “Each One, Reach One”. This is still true today.

WHY isn’t this happening? 

To answer the question, consider my MDRT Inspirational Tipping Point Presentation in conjunction with the following explanation and Elements of Value Pyramid from Bain and Company.

The Elements of Value Pyramid from Bain and Company – Products and services deliver fundamental elements of value that address four kinds of needs: functional, emotional, life-changing, and social impact. In general, the more elements provided, the greater customers’ loyalty and the higher the company’s sustained revenue growth.

In order for NAIFA and NAIFA membership to Transcend, NAIFA members must be about both Advocacy and Membership Advocacy. 

NAIFA membership includes quite a number of Transcended Leaders and more are required in earnest. 

Many NAIFA members must Transcend beyond the needs that they are meeting that include Entertainment, Nostalgia, Rewards, Connects and Variety. NAIFA Members must Transcend to a new level.

“So much value can be provided that value is diminished.” – Simon Reilly 

During the delivery of the membership workshops at NAIFA Florida, Indiana and Illinois, I asked the audience; 

• Why are you a NAIFA member?

I transposed their answers onto the Elements of Value Pyramid from Bain and Company on the right hand side with Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs on the left. You can draw your own conclusions from what I have transposed.

The NAIFA logo includes a pyramid and I am sure the Visionary NAIFA Founders had every intention for members to Transcend above and beyond Entertainment, Nostalgia, Rewards, Connects and Variety.

There is an expression; 

• “If it is going to be, it is up to me”.

Taking a liberty from John F. Kennedy; Don’t ask what your association can do for you, ask what you can do for your association.

Each One, Transcend To Enroll One!

People who focus only on “what is” will create more of “what is.” People who focus mostly on “what could be” will begin to create “what could be.” – Laurie Beth Jones

If you are a member of NAIFA, consider asking yourself; why you are a member of NAIFA and what are your commitments to NAIFA to help NAIFA grow membership?