Business Development
Poll: AI & Business Development
AI is reshaping association business development—tell us where it’s making the biggest impact for your organization.
Winning Member Trust in the Verification Era
Skepticism has become the default — and AI, information overload, and effortless personalization are making it harder for association revenue teams to earn trust. Ahead of her RevUP Summit 2026 keynote, workplace performance expert Henna Pryor explains why polished messaging can hurt more than it can help, how congruence builds credibility, and why showing your thinking may be the most powerful trust signal of all.
Know Who You’re Selling To: Why Ideal Customer Profiles Matter for Association Revenue
Association revenue teams are under pressure to grow sponsorships, exhibits, advertising, and membership without burning out staff or diluting the mission, and many feel stuck in a cycle of chasing any prospect who shows interest. For salespeople and business executives, that scattershot approach can lead to bloated pipelines, complicated one-off deals, and partners who never quite see the value your association delivers.
Intent Signals: How Associations Can Turn Hidden Interest Into Revenue
Intent signals are quickly becoming one of the most important tools association salespeople and business development executives can use to focus on the right accounts at the right time to deliver the right story. These behavioral clues can tell you which prospects, members, and partners are leaning in long before they fill out a form or return your call. Here’s what associations should know about intent signals, why they matter, and how to leverage them to turn hidden interest into revenue.
The AEO Shift: How AI Answers Are Reshaping Association Revenue and Sales
Is your brand visible to AI? Answer engine optimization is reshaping the selling process — and prospects may have their first interaction with your association before a salesperson knows they exist.
4 Revenue Challenges Association Leaders Are Tackling in 2026 — and How RevUP Is Built to Help
The conversations happening across the PAR community point to four common revenue challenges that association leaders — regardless of sector or size — are tackling in 2026. Here’s what we’re hearing and how RevUP 2026 is designed around it.
Poll: Sales Team Structure
Sales team structures vary based on an association’s goals, resources, and strategy. Share how your organization is structured and compare your approach with your peers.
Build Better Conflict, Keep More Revenue
Conflict is not the enemy in associations — a broken conflict system is. When disagreement gets avoided, rerouted into side conversations, or handled by the wrong people, teams lose momentum, opportunities stall, and revenue suffers. Associations that get better at surfacing tension, involving the right voices, and resolving issues fairly are better positioned to make smart decisions, move swiftly, and grow with confidence.
Poll: Revenue Vulnerability
Are your association’s revenue streams highly diversified and resilient, would one miss be a crisis, or are you somewhere in between? Gauge how dependent your organization is on a single program — and how your risk compares to other teams.
August: PAR Summer Social
Jen Smith, Sean Soth, Chris Okenka
Hot Topics & Cool Connections for New Members Join the PARty and continue the conversation with a virtual PAR Summer Social focused on networking, idea-sharing,…
July: PAR Summer Social
Jen Smith, Sean Soth, Chris Okenka
Hot Topics & Cool Connections for New Members Join fellow new PAR members for a casual virtual networking event designed to spark ideas, build connections,…
Meet a Member: Jamila Perry Harley, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Jamila Perry Harley, MEd, CCC-SLP, CAE, is the director of career management services for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She joined PAR in 2024 and is a member of PAR’s 2026 Business Development Leadership Accelerator Group. Here, she shares how her new speaker series will benefit members and sponsors, why innovation must be grounded in relationships, and what has sustained ASHA for over a century.
Conversational Sales: How Associations Can Grow Revenue One Dialogue at a Time
In today’s environment defined by tighter budgets, more informed buyers, and increased skepticism, associations are rethinking how revenue growth happens. Siloed sales teams are no longer serving organizations. What consistently moves revenue forward, leaders say, is the quality of conversations — internally across teams and externally with partners, sponsors, and customers.
Association Business Myth Busters: 5 Revenue Myths Holding Associations Back
During Association Business Week 2026, Professionals for Association Revenue challenged five familiar myths that keep today’s associations from building the business engines their missions deserve.
PAR Invites Association Professionals to April 28 Virtual Workshop on Mission-Driven Sales
Association professionals from across the country will gather online April 28 for a virtual workshop on mission-driven sales hosted by Professionals for Association Revenue.
The free, interactive 90-minute event will take place during PAR’s first-ever Association Business Week, from April 27-May 1 online and in Washington, D.C. “Mission-Driven Sales for Every Association Professional” will run from 2-3:30 p.m. (EDT) April 28 on Zoom, and registration is still open.
Poll: Know Someone? The Power of Referrals
Referrals from existing customers and members are often a key indicator of satisfaction, trust, and perceived value in an association’s offerings. To benchmark current performance and identify growth opportunities, please tell us how many customer or member referrals your sales team typically receives in an average month.
Meet a Member: Trent Nole, Water Environment Federation
Trent Nole is an account executive for new business development at the Water Environment Federation, a technical and educational nonprofit based in Alexandria, Virginia, that represents water quality professionals around the world. He joined PAR in 2025 and is a member of PAR’s 2026 Accelerator Group for Sales Practitioners. Here, Nole shares his highly consultative, client-first approach to driving sustained revenue growth, including the key questions he asks that disrupt the status quo. Plus, get to know him better in our rapid-fire Q&A.
RevUP Summit Pre-Game: Amplify Your LinkedIn Presence
FREE AND OPEN ACCESS Get RevUP-ready before you even step onsite. Join LinkedIn strategist Colleen McKenna for a fast-paced, practical session designed to help you…
Fixing Broken Conflict Systems: The Hidden Revenue Leak in Your Organization
Conflict isn’t just about difficult people—it’s a culture and systems problem that quietly slows decisions, stalls innovation, and drags down revenue. In this lively, practical…
PAR to Host Revenue Symposium for Association Leaders in Washington, D.C.
Professionals for Association Revenue has a packed week of programming planned for its inaugural Association Business Week from April 27-May 1 online and in Washington, D.C. The pinnacle event is “From Mission to Market, Aligning Leadership and Revenue Engines,” a dynamic symposium from 8:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m. April 30 at Convene Hamilton Square.