A professional in your field has expressed interest in joining your association, but there’s a catch: They want their employer to pay for it.

“Consider this your organization’s first opportunity to provide them with value,” says Callie Walker from the MemberClicks blog. Here are some tips you can offer to help potential members set up the conversation for success:

1. Explain why membership will be valuable. Employers want their teams to be productive, so start out by explaining how your association will help employees achieve goals. For example, Walker writes, a professional might say, “The industry is always changing, and this group’s resources can help me stay on top of the latest technology, regulations, and best practices, so that I can do my job to the best of my ability.”

2. Outline who you are and how you will provide that value. “Once the professional has stated the ‘problem’ (potentially falling behind in the industry), it’s then important to present a solution (becoming a member of the organization),” Walker says. This is when details such as what your association does, how much membership costs, and what membership includes should be revealed.

3. Make it about the employer. “The more people this membership will benefit, the more likely the employer is to approve it,” Walker says. The professional might say something such as, “I’d be happy to share what I learn with the entire team. I could send out my notes or host a lunch and learn, if that would be beneficial.”

Vertical Video on Social Media

New research alert! 🚨

Should you be using vertical video? 📱

We spent $6K to find out: https://t.co/YmA7xcVz6s

— Buffer (@buffer) February 19, 2019

Vertical video, square video, landscape video—video is video, right? Wrong.

Buffer teamed up with Animoto to study how vertical video compares. The big takeaway: Vertical video can better drive traffic, engagement, and action, especially on Facebook and Instagram.

“Vertical video used to be seen as a mistake,” says Brian Peters on the Buffer blog. “But since the rise of platforms like Instagram Stories, vertical video has taken over and become an innovative way for individuals and businesses to tell stories.”

Other Links of Note

How do you know if your membership is delivering value? In their latest podcast, the Membership Guys explain how to properly assess and measure its worth.

Trust and transparency are essential qualities in a successful leader. The HubSpot blog explains how leaders can build and reinforce these traits in the workplace.

Raising brand awareness on a budget? It’s tough but doable, says nonprofit digital marketing expert John Haydon.

(runeer/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images Plus)