Business Development
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AI is reshaping association business development—tell us where it’s making the biggest impact for your organization.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, and relationship building with fellow new members and association revenue…