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Professional associations are a great place for the insurance professional to look for business. Why not join one? Insurance professionals and financial advisors have a comeback: "Sure, doctors, manufacturers, engineers, accountants and other professionals have associations. But I'm not a doctor, manufacturer, engineer or accountant. They won't let me in."

That's not quite true. Many professional organizations have a category for associate members. These are for businesses and people not directly employed in the field, yet providing a service used by those professionals. Accounting services, banking, financial services, temporary employment agencies and (yes) insurance agencies fit into this category.

Here's your exercise: Do an internet search for professional associations in your city or county. Build a list. Next, visit the website for each one, looking at membership categories, Do they have associate memberships or something similar?

If you notice they have sponsors displaying logos on the homepage, that's a good clue. On those with associate memberships, view the membership list, if possible. What kinds of affiliated professions do you see?

Now, click every tab and explore the website. How often do they have meetings? Do they have speakers? Do they have a newsletter? Do they have educational programs or workshops? Do they have an annual conference? Do they have a foundation or scholarship program?

A few words about Chambers of Commerce

Here's another insurance and financial professional comeback: "I already belong to the Chamber of Commerce. I don't get any business."

It's rare for business to come directly to Chamber members. You have competition. An old adage is: "You get out what you put in." Attend a few business card exchanges and you meet people looking for your business, wanting to tell their story. What did you expect? That's your objective too. You need to get involved with committees, plan events to raise your professional visibility.

People often make the mistake of thinking about "The Chamber" as one organization. "Someone else has 'The Chamber' sewn up already." But many communities have multiple chambers. There might be a downtown business association, a west side chamber and one in each suburb. Visit their websites. Look at the membership directory. How many insurance professionals? Financial advisors? How many members? Your opportunity may not be in the "obvious" chamber.

Here's one more thought: Chambers are often geographic, but they can be cultural too. There are Asian-American chambers. Black chambers. Hispanic chambers. Indian-American chambers. If there's a cultural match, this might be your niche market.

How to crack a professional organization

Here are 10 opportunities to consider. Bear in mind, this will take some effort on your part.

1.Is a friend, client or family member involved? Great! You've got an "agent on the inside." They can introduce you around, make the necessary connections.

2.Become a worker bee. There are never enough hands to set up chairs, check people in and do the administrative tasks. Offer to help. They might think "She's looking for business" but they are looking for help.

3.Will the group share the membership list? You need a valid reason. You might have joined, but that doesn't give you permission to mass market. Some organizations might grant permission to e-mail members for a fee. However, you might plan to hold an educational seminar, tailored to their specific needs. You want to get the word out.

4.Can you do a webinar? That might be the reason you want access to the membership list. The SECURE Act has implications for small business owners. Your firm has a compliance-approved talk, complete with slides. That would be a benefit to members, wouldn't it?

5.How about continuing education credits? Accountants and many other professions need them to keep their licenses current. Does your firm (or a marketing partner) have seminar content that qualifies? You might offer it to the organization.

6.Do they have a LinkedIn group? It's good to check. If so, you have a way to put ideas in front of members.

7. What about monthly meetings? Some have dinner meetings. Others have classroom-style meetings. Others have offsite meetings supported by a sponsor who feeds them. Minutes and details of meetings should be posted to their website. Look for speakers. Run through a few years. This is tedious, because it might appear, for example, that all these doctors do is hear from drug companies. But buried back there might be a retirement planning speaker. Maybe it's time for another.

8. Do they have a newsletter? Probably yes, although today it might be an online publication. They need content. But wait, your firm might forbid you from writing articles. Maybe you just aren't good at writing. Perhaps your firm likely has canned, ghostwritten articles, produced with the expectation the agent will attach their name to it. There should be some topics that would be a good fit. Meet the newsletter editor. Get a conversation started. OK, they might be mercenary. A platinum level sponsor might get an article about their firm's offerings in the newsletter.

9.Local events. You've seen how the chamber organizes events with lots of booths. Members can pay for a booth and staff it, telling their story and making connections. Professional organizations do it too. If the medical society has lots of members connected to one major hospital, they might do an on-premises event open to the entire hospital staff.

10.Annual meeting. Local professional associations are often chapters of a statewide and/or national group. There's a really big conference. It resembles a trade show with lots of booths. There's workshop opportunity here. Consider taking a booth. Licensing may be an issue at a national conference, but for state conferences, you are licensed where you do business.

This takes work, but there are lots of ways you can raise your visibility. You'll need to attend meetings, invest time and meet the right people. This will cost some money. On the plus side, that's a barrier to entry for competitors. You are likely to have less competition than at your local Chamber of Commerce.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book, "Captivating the Wealthy Investor" can be found on Amazon.

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10 ways to crack a professional organization

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