Branding yourself through association

[James]

I stand corrected...my wife says that I do have a designation...

CMI

Certified Male ***

That is okay, CFB still stands for something!

 

[arnguy]

CIA stands for Central Intelligence Agency.
FLMI, i think, stands for Felloe of the Life Management Institute (sounds plausible, anway).

 

[David C]

Value of associations will vary greatly depending on leadership at the local level.

Just got back from our local NAIFA meeting.
I got 1 hour C.E. credit.
Learned about a product that I needed to learn about from a company rep.
Made a connection with an agent I did not know.
Saw two friends I haven't seen in 5 years.
The board decided to run the photos of our membership in the local paper along with an ad from NAIFA explaining who NAIFA is and why agents should be a member.

I've gotten more than a few leads from other local members.

New agents who lack a strong training environment would be well served by joining NAIFA and taking the LUTC Sales Training class.

 

[djs]

Value of associations will vary greatly depending on leadership at the local level.

Just got back from our local NAIFA meeting.
I got 1 hour C.E. credit.
Learned about a product that I needed to learn about from a company rep.
Made a connection with an agent I did not know.
Saw two friends I haven't seen in 5 years.
The board decided to run the photos of our membership in the local paper along with an ad from NAIFA explaining who NAIFA is and why agents should be a member.

I've gotten more than a few leads from other local members.

New agents who lack a strong training environment would be well served by joining NAIFA and taking the LUTC Sales Training class.

The original question had to do with whether associations help your "brand". I took this a step further and brought up designations.
Your reply, if I'm understanding correctly, pretty much agrees with mine, that associations are for you as an agent, and don't help much with client perspective. NAIFA is a decent organization, but I have yet had a client come to me or leave me because I did or did not belong to them.

I'm personally curious if anyone has had much luck with designations, if they help the credibility upfront, or are meaningless. I've been thinking of getting my ChFC designation, but I wonder how much of that is for me, and how much it will make my clients feel better.

Dan