Business development strategies for associations are as varied as the industries they serve. And while there is no 'one-size-fits-all' strategy for associations, teams can gain new insights by learning about the approach of other business development teams. That is why the Professionals for Association Revenue (PAR) is launching Executive Take, a new monthly series that shares revenue strategies, perspectives and experiences from association executives on a revenue topic. Insights about pricing, corporate sponsorship, outreach, training and more will be shared. This month we asked the PAR GOAT Award nominees:

What is the most impactful thing an association can do to make a meaningful revenue improvement in 2023?

"The most impactful thing an association can do in 2023 is to ensure that all team members are empowered to support the organization’s achievement of its financial goals. That support may be defined as either revenue-generation, or expense-management. Either way, each employee should be educated and supported to make a meaningful contribution. This effort will help to organically break down any existing silos, and create an environment of collaboration and shared accomplishment." - Nikole TenBrink, Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), Director of Marketing and Membership

"Build organizational knowledge and capacity around product development. There is a payoff for organizations with a team of leaders who can collaborate on new product concepts along with the related investment, the go to market plan and the revenue plan for success. Everyone is pushing to create new, meaningful solutions that meet a unique market need."
- Carrie Hartin, MCI USA, President, Association Solutions

"Coming together to make sense of our changing industries and our evolving communities has never been more important, and in 2023 associations can wield their superpower of convening—whether online or in person—to help our members better understand the world around them.  A focus on sense-making, allowing your members to co-create solutions together will generate new ideas and intense loyalty."
- Erin Pressley, CAE, NRECA, Senior Vice President, Education, Training and Events

"Many associations don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to legal compliance. Conducting a legal audit can enable you to take a look under the hood and spot gaps in legal compliance, tighten up policies, procedures, Bylaws, contracts, forms, and the like, and otherwise take steps to mitigate your association’s legal risks and vulnerabilities. It will always pay dividends in both the short and long term."
- Jeff Tenenbaum, Managing Partner, Tenenbaum Law Group PLLC

"One path to improvements in association non-dues revenue in 2023 is development of a corporate sponsorship business plan. Start with an analysis of competitors for sponsorship dollars. Goals for the plan should be to increase revenue and member value. Include in the plan sponsor benefits; sponsorship packaging and pricing; go-to-market strategy; roles for staff. Involve current corporate sponsors and partners in the development of your sponsorship business plan."
- Bruce Rosenthal, Partnership Professionals Network (PPN), Corporate Sponsorship Consultant

Join the PAR GOAT Nominees on January 18 at 2pm as they share how association business development teams can evolve and create an organizational-wide revenue culture in 2023 and beyond.

Register for the GOAT AWARDS here