I had the pleasure of presenting a Whale Hunters workshop for the Academy Plus attendees at the annual training seminar hosted by the Western Alliance of Chamber Executives, headquartered in Sacramento, CA. These are experienced CEOs of local and regional Chambers of Commerce, dedicating time and energy to better serving their members and their communities.
There’s a lot going on in their world that is relevant to business owners and executives. Here are a few of the key issues that they presented:
- The economy. Members are paying closer attention to their dues and the value received. Cost cutting is everywhere, and Chamber membership can be perceived as “nice to have but not mission critical.”
- The customer benefit equation. Chamber execs are continually striving to deliver extra and extraordinary benefits to their members and sponsors.
- The sponsor hunt. Many Chambers host community events for which they seek high-level sponsorship. This process is truly a whale hunt. Matching the potential sponsor with the event and benefits package most attractive to a sponsor is all about Target Filter, Scouting, and developing a Whale Chart.
- The community. Chamber executives are not in total agreement about what is their role in economic development, job creation and retention, representing business interests in legislation, community-backed joint ventures, and other ventures that they are often asked to participate in and sometimes to lead.
What were the best ideas I heard?
- Be creative in new membership packages for current members who cannot renew because of costs. Chamber execs have been very creative in packaging and offering virtual memberships, email memberships, interim memberships, and others.
- Involve past board chairs and other past leaders in a consistent, significant way, empowering them to lend their influence to others in the community.
- Reach out to Gen Y leaders and employees through social media, including texting key messages, and embrace the ways in which they prefer to receive, send, and process information.
- Take a broad view of sponsorship, beyond members. Some organizations who have no interest in membership nevertheless have a strong interest to position in front of the Chamber members and their affiliates for a specific, relevant event. One example cited was an event with a clear ethnic focus, which attracted sponsors who did not value the membership per se but wanted to have their name and logo in front of participants.
Key lessons here are relevant to the community of for-profit entrepreneurs and executives.
- If you are not actively engaged with your local or regional or state Chamber of Commerce, seek out the leadership and let them know exactly why you have not chosen to sign on. Help them understand what value they could add to your enterprise and what would attract you to engage.
- If you are a member, step up to leadership so that your company and your community are powerfully positioned for economic development, job creation/retention, and reputation for business innovation and success.
- Encourage your local or regional Chamber to get involved in strategic alliances and joint ventures with related entities that have similar economic and business development goals.
How does your local or regional Chamber benefit you? If you are not an active member, what would attract you to join?
I quickly tweeted Shawn he could write about what’s more interesting than writing a blog post. He was skeptical about it being a real idea, but he rose to the challenge and wrote a nice blog post on 4 things more compelling right then than blogging.
It’s something we all face – distractions which get in the way of what we’re supposed to be doing. Because of its universality, it makes a great topic, even if it springs from something mundane.
What to do when you’re facing a similar creative block while writing for your own blog or trying to write a guest blog you’ve promised someone? (Hint, hint to a few of you who’ve said you’d do guest Brainzooming posts.)
My advice is follow the “George Costanza Blogging Strategy.” I named it after an exchange in a Seinfeld episode called “The Pitch.” Jerry and George were trying to sell an NBC executive on their idea for a show about nothing. In explaining the concept, George asked the exec what he had done that morning. When the executive said he’d gotten up and gone to work, George exclaimed, “That’s a show!”
Adopt the same attitude toward blogging when you’re grasping for a topic to address. Especially if it’s a personally-oriented blog, anything that happens to you can be transformed into a blog topic:
- You’re stuck for ideas? That’s a blog post!
- You’re bored with what’s on TV? That’s a blog post!
- Your favorite restaurant raised its prices? That’s a blog post!
Of course, you still have to make the topic tie back to the underlying direction and purpose for your blog. But that’s often a lesser issue than simply finding an idea to get started.
