It’s not very surprising that we spend a lot of time at Fox Associates on the road. It’s where we meet our customers to compare notes, review performance, and catch up on strategies, and do business, sometimes at social occasions like dinners. But in-person events are also idea engines. They’re the lifeblood of active, vibrant, growing businesses. You hear and meet speakers with fresh perspectives and new approaches, frequently applicable in your own career.
Last month’s RevUP Summit, produced by PAR (Professionals for Association Revenue), was one such event. Among the speakers was John Bacon, v
Fox Tales: How do you define the functions in your title—sales and partner experiences—at ASAE? Presumably, partnerships run the gamut from events to other forms of media, thought leadership, and the like.
John Bacon: For me, I think about sales and partner experience as almost two sides of the same coin. One is about creating the value around products, services, and experiences to earn revenue, but the other is about earning the right to keep that revenue based on the experience that our clients have with us.
Fox Tales: What would you say is the most significant sales challenge in events and media today? I should qualify the question by emphasizing the association context, though it can be the broader media world too.
John Bacon.
Bacon: The biggest sales challenge that I’m seeing in events and media, especially for associations, is the disconnect between what companies want to buy versus what we’ve sold historically. Companies are being very strategic about how they are spending their dollars and they are being asked more questions around the value of the things they are purchasing. They want measurable outcomes, pipeline boosts, and access to your audience throughout the year, and we need to be able to provide that. With associations, there is a very unique opportunity because our strength is industry credibility and a very targeted audience. Many of our partners are asking for impact and intentionality—they aren’t just spending money, they want to be involved. So as associations, this should be music to our ears. So how do we turn “return on involvement” into a good “return on investment” for these companies?
Fox Tales: Give us a sense of ASAE’s scale in sales and partnerships.
Bacon: At ASAE, I oversee a multi-million-dollar portfolio including expo and sponsorships for our signature events, print and digital media, a-la-carte sponsorships, and our alliance partnership program, which helps to bring together the association community and the industry partners that serve it. We represent around 52,000 association professionals and industry partners, so when we do build a program, we’re doing it in a way that has an impact at scale.
Fox Tales: By all accounts, in-person events have come charging back post pandemic. Is that your experience at ASAE?
Bacon: Yes, with a caveat. We have seen a strong demand for being back in-person. Our annual meeting and other signature events have rebounded in attendance, and in many cases, sponsorship demand is as strong or stronger than pre-pandemic levels. The biggest change is how intentional we need to be: Attendees are more selective, partners are under more pressure to justify spend, and we’ve had to shift to thinking more about year-round engagement versus points-in-time engagement. So again, in-person events are back, but it comes with higher expectations and a hyper focus on value for both the attendees and sponsors/partners/exhibitors.
Fox Tales: Bill mentioned your public speaking, and on LinkedIn you emphasize your commitment to coaching and training. Tell us about these things, and how they might interact.
Bacon: The public speaking and coaching speak to the same thing for me: I want to help people see what’s possible and give them practical and digestible ways to get there. My team will tell you I really enjoy storytelling. Whether I’m speaking at a conference or working with my team, I’m always sharing stories or lessons from my experience or from others’ experiences, and I’m turning those lessons into daily habits, feedback, and skill building. Speaking also keeps me accountable as well, because I can’t preach what I’m not willing to practice. Coaching ensures that the ideas don’t just sound great in a session or in a team meeting, but should also show in how we sell, serve partners, and lead at ASAE.
[BONUS QUESTION] Fox Tales: What kinds of marketing-campaign elements are your customers looking for right now?
Bacon: Right now, our clients are looking for more multi-prong approaches to marketing campaigns. They are not doing one-off placements. They want a year-round engagement plan. We are seeing an increase in thought leadership (podcasts, articles, white papers, research), lead-generation opportunities (webinars, demand gen, demo days, sponsored programs), and segmented outreach using ASAE channels (sponsored emails, retargeting, social).