{"id":9669,"date":"2020-07-17T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/?p=9669"},"modified":"2020-07-17T20:37:12","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T20:37:12","slug":"discerning-hunters-from-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/discerning-hunters-from-managers\/","title":{"rendered":"Discerning Hunters from Managers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When trying to change your association\u2019s financial model to focus on non-dues revenue, it\u2019s vital to assess the habits of your sales staff. People are inclined to take the easiest route in their jobs, which can lead them to focus on maintaining old advertising accounts instead of attracting new advertisers. Naylor Association Solutions Chief Marketing Officer, Dave Bornmann said, \u201cIt is human nature to gravitate toward what is easier, so people tend to spend more time on renewals and less on new customer acquisition.\u201d When doing so, the sales representative acts more as an account manager, and the association will find itself unable to meet its revenue quotas without relying on dues.<\/p>\n

Larger sales companies acknowledge the value of maintaining old advertisers and attracting new ones, so they\u2019ll frequently have teams to work on both. However, this is unsustainable for associations that have to allocate money elsewhere, which forces the sales team to have both responsibilities.<\/p>\n

While a member of the sales team may be required to hold both of these responsibilities, they require a different skillset and mentality. Sales representatives are often compared to \u201chunters\u201d who have to hunt down new leads, and an account manager is often compared to a \u201cfarmer\u201d because they are focused on nurturing current clients. According to the Brooks Group<\/a><\/strong>, a sales training company based in North Carolina, a sales representative should have the following skills and qualities:<\/p>\n