598 - Breaking Into Trade Associations: A Tech Consultant's Guide with Chris Vaughan
Why you should listen
- Chris Vaughan reveals the untapped potential of industry associations as a lead generation channel for tech consultants, including a game-changing resource that helps you instantly find the right associations for your niche.
- Learn who to approach within associations, what marketing assets to leverage, and how to position yourself to gain access to their member directories and events—complete with practical strategies for building trust.
- Discover why associations are actively seeking technology partners like you and how their post-COVID growth creates perfect timing for tech consultants to forge these valuable relationships.
As a tech consultant who's picked a niche and maxed out your network contacts, you're likely wondering how to tap into those perfect industry associations filled with your ideal clients. In this episode, I talk with Chris Vaughan from Sequence Consulting who brings his unique background in both tech consulting and association management to solve this exact challenge. We dive into how to find the right associations, who to approach, and what marketing assets to leverage for maximum impact. Chris reveals that most tech consultants make the mistake of leaving association partnerships as their last growth strategy when it should be one of their first—especially since associations are experiencing unprecedented growth and are actively seeking technology expertise to modernize their operations.
Key Highlights
Finding Your Perfect Association: Chris shares, a powerful database that lets you filter through thousands of associations by industry, size, and keywords to find your ideal partners in minutes.
Who to Approach First: Learn why the Director of Membership or Director of Partners/Sponsors should be your first point of contact, and how they're eager to connect with tech consultants who can add value to their members.
Event Strategy: Discover how association events provide access to pre-event attendee lists, networking opportunities, and platforms for sharing your expertise without making a sales pitch.
Content Opportunities: Understand how to leverage association publications, member directories, and presentation slots to establish credibility and generate leads.
The Give-Before-You-Get Rule: Chris explains why the biggest mistake tech consultants make is trying to get business before contributing value to the association and its members.
About Chris Vaughan
Chris Vaughan is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Sequence Consulting, where he helps associations grow membership, engagement, and revenue in ways they never thought possible. With over two decades of experience and a background in Big Strategy consulting, he has worked with some of the world’s most influential associations—AARP, American Medical Association, National Association of Realtors and many more—to drive record-breaking growth and sustainable impact. He is an expert on industry trade associations and how vendors can partner with them to grow their business.
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