Last fall a Professional Association hired me to spend 1/2 a day with their members; a Recess to get them re-engaged with their work. During the course of discussions budget came up. Budget always comes up.
I came up with several options; but for the most part it boiled down to two scenarios:
- Pay my full fee
- I will give you a reduced fee but…………………………..I will help you market the event and if your revenue/registrations go above a certain amount we split the revenue.
They chose the second option.
By “helping” to market the event all I did was a short video and posted it to a page on my website for that client; inviting their members to come play and learn with me. This allowed the membership to see who and what they were paying for; to reduce their risk as well. All the client had to do was an email blast with a link to my website.
Registrations for the event were 50% higher than the three years prior. I made more money. The Association made more money. But most importantly; the attendees got to learn, network, laugh and be together; which in these difficult times is so important to any professional group.
Budgets are on the minds of everyone these days. True partners are coming up with solutions that reduce risk and reap the rewards for all. Are these the partners you’re working with? Are these the partnerships you’re creating? Or are you so stuck in the austere budget mentality that it is killing you and your organization?