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  • Partial Client List

    KY Georgetown Scott County Chamber
    WA NUCA of Washington
    FL Greater Fort Myers Chamber
    MA Associated Builders and Contractors
    FL Greater Sarasota Chamber
    TX El Paso Home Builders Association
    FL Suncoast Utility Contractors Association
    FL Charlotte County Chamber
    TN Tennessee Home Builders Assoc.
    FL Hispanic Chamber of West Palm
    OR Bend Chamber of Commerce
    FL Christian Chamber of SW Florida
    MD Maryland National Capital BIA
    FL North Florida NUCA
    FL Carrollwood Area Business Assn
    FL Hardee County Chamber
    TX Texas Home Builders Assoc.
    NJ ACCA of New Jersey
    NH HBRA of New Hampshire
    OH PHCC of Ohio
    OR Oregon Home Builders Assoc.
    FL Central Pinellas Chamber

  • Recent Comments

    • Michael Sipe, President, CrossPoint Capital

      “Thank you for the Chamber Membership Drive Training with Oliver Group DIRECT. What I saw unfold as Rob and Kate Oliver worked their magic  on the room was one of the finest deliveries of fun, learning and practical marketing tools that I have seen from any platform anywhere in the

    • Anne Hotte, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

      Rob & Kate, No way!  These flowers are just beautiful!  Is this another example of “shock and awe”?  It works!  We are sharing the timeline and new approach to retention at the staff meeting tomorrow!  I am so excited about it!  Thank you for ALL that you did!  You make

    • Maria Patterson, Carrollwood Area Business Association

      Dear Rob & Kate, Thank you many times over for facilitating the most successful Membership Drive in the history of CABA!  We appreciate all you have taught us and all the expert information and advice you have generously shared.  You are both a joy to work with and thank you

    • Patricia Crowley, Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce

      Dear Rob and Kate, On behalf of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, thank you for presenting your “DIRECTDrive” to our membership committee.  The teachings you shared certainly were a result of our successful Membership Drive.  We appreciate your support to the Chamber and look forward

  • Read All Comments

    Read All The Comments Here

    • The Ebb and Flow of Association Life

    What now?
    Membership is sagging. Retention is slipping. The Sky is falling.
    We get to talk to a good cross section of Associations all over the country, many of whom seem to have adopted this attitude as their mantra. 
    So how does an association break out of this rut? By asking themselves some hard, serious and honest questions:
    1. “When is the last time I looked really hard at my current membership?”
    2. “When is the last time I evaluated our mission statement?”
    3. “When is the last time we introduced or even evaluated our member benefits?”
    4. “When is the last time we looked at or changed our event calendar?”
    Believe it or not, many associations have never taken the time to evaluate their Association.  They follow the same event schedule and go about each event the same way they always have – in terms of promotion, sponsorship, agenda, etc.  They continue to do things the way they’ve always done them without considering:
    1) Who started doing things this way?
    2) When were these practices put into place?
    3) (maybe most important) what was the association or “economy” like at that time.
    There is something to be said for the old adage “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” but the feeling of the moment seems to be “despair” and the cry of the day seems to be a desperate need for change. 
    If you don’t know what needs to “change”,
    then it’s pretty hard to make one.
    In Renegade Retention Secrets Vol. II, I state that Associations need to have an Honest Awareness.  This means they need to make an honest assessment of their plans, purposes and goals, a reality check of sorts. 
    Maybe it’s time to introduce a new member benefit. First, look at your current benefits and determine if they are really meeting the current needs of the current members.  There’s an idea in sales for when times are tough that is applicable to membership: “They’re just not buying what I’m selling.” Associations need to ensure that everything they offer – to current or potential members – is a real and perceived benefit.
    In addition to continually evaluating organizational benefits, Associations need to be constantly evaluating and adapting their recruitment and retention programs. They need to determine what is really happening versus what the “staff” says is happening.
    Maybe you’ve heard me say “Every day is a money day.” That means that every day, every decision I make is aimed at moving me closer towards achieving my goals of success. 
    In an Association, before a new program, benefit, system or event is implemented; the staff needs to have a plan of implementation – steps to success. Then they need to evaluate whether or not these steps will move them closer to or further away from their goals.  More importantly, they need to consider if this new plan or program will cause them to reach their overall goals even when it is implemented.
    Having an honest awareness means an association should look at everything it does and offers and analyze whether or not it is for the betterment of the membership as a whole. Are these events really geared towards the betterment of the members, or are they just recycled from an events calendar from 1983?
    Making an Honest Assessment
    Ask yourself these questions:
                “Who are my members?”
                “Why are they Members?”
                “What do they want?”
    The answers you get should be the first steps towards gaining an Honest Awareness.  Associations must never forget why they are here – for the protection and well being of their members. It’s not a Superior/Subordinate, Teacher/Student relationship. The association works for its members and everything it does should be about them. Everything it provides must meet their needs and represent their purpose for being in the Association. Not vice versa.
    Following the Leader?
    Often times, Association’s get their plans (recruitment, retention, non-dues revenue events, plans of action, etc.) from one another. One association shares its “plan” with another who then adopts it as their own, whether it works for and benefits their specific members or not. Associations are as unique as the members within them and what works for one Association doesn’t necessarily work for another.  When they begin copying each other blindly – just because it’s “something” and “we’ve gotta do something” – there is no longer an Honest Awareness and the stage is set for an ineffective, out of touch and sometimes, completely unaware relationships between the advocate (the Association) and its beneficiaries (its members).
    In order to work towards the betterment of the association, an honest assessment of current practices, plans and direction needs to be made. Look at when and why the current plans were implemented.  Was it a “follow the leader” mentality? If so, it may time for a restructure or a new direction.
    Your association is a living, breathing entity. You have the power to adapt. What are you going to do?

  • Recent Blog Posts

  • Recent Comments

    • Michael Sipe, President, CrossPoint Capital

      “Thank you for the Chamber Membership Drive Training with Oliver Group DIRECT. What I saw unfold as Rob and Kate Oliver worked their magic  on the room was one of the finest deliveries of fun, learning and practical marketing tools that I have seen from any platform anywhere in the

    • Anne Hotte, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

      Rob & Kate, No way!  These flowers are just beautiful!  Is this another example of “shock and awe”?  It works!  We are sharing the timeline and new approach to retention at the staff meeting tomorrow!  I am so excited about it!  Thank you for ALL that you did!  You make

    • Maria Patterson, Carrollwood Area Business Association

      Dear Rob & Kate, Thank you many times over for facilitating the most successful Membership Drive in the history of CABA!  We appreciate all you have taught us and all the expert information and advice you have generously shared.  You are both a joy to work with and thank you

    • Patricia Crowley, Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce

      Dear Rob and Kate, On behalf of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, thank you for presenting your “DIRECTDrive” to our membership committee.  The teachings you shared certainly were a result of our successful Membership Drive.  We appreciate your support to the Chamber and look forward

  • Read all comments link

    Read All The Comments Here

  • New Member Companies

    2005 - 2015

    37,997

    New Member Companies
    Recruited Using the
    Oliver Group Direct Drive

    Process as of December 2015

  • phone and email

    p. 941.235.2202
    f. 509.769.0204
    email Rob Oliver
    email Kate Oliver