From Mission to Market, Aligning Leadership and Revenue Engines

What if your mission were so clear that industry partners, exhibitors, and members were eager to invest? PAR Leadership Advisory Board Chair Sean Soth shares the story of a conversation that helped transform an association’s business outlook—and what it reveals about courageous partnership. You’ll walk away with quick ideas to make the most of your day and start revving up your revenue engine.

Led by Sean Soth. Founder + Chair, Professionals for Association Revenue

Sales is the disciplined expression of strategy — not a tactical afterthought or a necessary evil. But in many associations, the Executive Director and the Sales Lead are operating on different definitions of success, different assumptions about priorities, and different ideas about whose job it is to close the gap between them.

This session invites Executive Directors and Sales Leads to examine that gap directly. Drawing on PAR BD Association BD Landscape research, participants complete a structured diagnostic — the same questions answered independently, then compared with their counterpart. The gaps between their answers surface the hidden costs of misalignment: confused staff, conflicting KPIs, and underpowered association relationships.

Participants leave with a clear picture of where their alignment breaks down, shared language to start addressing it, and a single, specific starting point: the place their diagnostic reveals they need to go first.

Led by Amy Mallia, Mallia Advisory

Take a breather, catch up on messages, and visit with association PARtners who prioritize revenue growth. Use this time to recharge and build new connections.

CEOs and senior sales leaders often speak different—but equally important—languages: one in strategy decks and board priorities, the other in objections, budgets, and day‑to‑day member realities. This session builds the bridge between them. Together, CEOs and sales leads will identify top business development priorities for the year ahead and translate each into clear, compelling, member‑facing narratives that frontline staff can use in calls, emails, and event conversations. Working in mixed CEO/sales teams, you’ll pressure-test these stories against real-world criteria and leave with a short set of field‑ready messages and a repeatable process for keeping strategy and sales in sync.

Led by Dr. Michael Tatonetti, CAE, CPP

PAR is building the house for association business development—and this lunch celebrates the learned association stars helping shape it. Enjoy a relaxed meal, connect with peers, and continue the conversations sparked throughout the morning.

This capstone session shows how to turn big strategic ideas and compelling narratives into a focused, shared way of running business development across your association. Building on earlier conversations about misalignment and field‑ready stories, CEOs and sales leaders will design how strategy, messaging, metrics, and meetings reinforce each other instead of pulling in different directions. Working in mixed teams, you’ll identify the few priorities that matter most, the core narratives you want members and sponsors to hear, and the indicators that show whether those stories are driving results. You’ll sketch how CEO, board, and sales roles fit together, when and how to review progress, and the visible behaviors that signal true alignment.

Led by Sean Soth, Founder and Chair, Professionals for Association Revenue.

Refuel with coffee and treats while connecting with the industry’s best PARtners. This is your chance to compare notes and spark new ideas before the final sessions.

Turn insight into immediate action. In this closing working session, participants will share key takeaways, highlight small wins already in motion, and commit to one clear step in the week ahead. You’ll leave with a simple, integrated operating picture for growth—so strategy, story, and sales execution stay aligned long after the workshop.

Led by Sean Soth, Founder and Chair, Professionals for Association Revenue, and Lewis Flax, Flax Associates. 

Close the day with great tunes, cold refreshments, and new friends. Keep the energy going as you deepen relationships and celebrate the work of building healthier revenue engines for your associations.