Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Improvement is never linear

By Wes Trochlil | June 10, 2026

Improvement is never linear One of the many lessons one learns over a lifetime is that improvement, regardless of what you’re trying to improve, is never linear. That is, you’ll always have days where you’re better, and days where you don’t improve, or maybe even fall back. And so it is with data management. Even if you […]

Don’t forget to take a “before” picture!

By Wes Trochlil | June 3, 2026

Don’t forget to take a “before” picture! Whenever I start on a big home clean up or renovation project, I like to take a “before” picture, so that I can see the progress that was made when the project is complete. (Ironically, even though I’m the son of an award-winning amateur photographer, I often forget […]

Are you being penny wise and pound foolish?

By Wes Trochlil | May 27, 2026

Are you being penny wise and pound foolish? Two quick customer service stories to illustrate a point: First story: I’ve used the same email provider for more than 20 years. But for technical reasons, recently I needed to switch providers, so I canceled my service with them a few weeks in advance of my renewal. […]

AMS Products are getting better – and what that means for you

By Wes Trochlil | May 20, 2026

AMS Products are getting better – and what that means for you I’ve been working in and with AMS products for 36 years (27 years of consulting, nine years as an association staffer). And I can say with great confidence that the systems available today are much better than they were 36 years ago! (Shocking, I know.) But […]

Using AI beyond content generation

By Wes Trochlil | May 13, 2026

Using AI beyond content generation Recent surveys by ASAE and others suggest nearly 90% of associations are using AI for some type of content generation (e.g., creating blog posts, newsletter articles, “canned” responses to inquiries, etc.). That is great, but when it comes to data management, there are so many more opportunities for leveraging AI. Here are some ideas […]

Older Posts

Is your database holding you back on growing membership?

September 21, 2011

Apparently, a lot of associations feel this way. In Marketing General’s recently released 2011 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report (available here), […]

New Article Posted – Three Keys to a Successful System Implementation

September 16, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. I’ve got several clients going through the process of implementing a new association […]

From listservers to forums/communities

September 1, 2011

I’m seeing a growing trend among my clients, moving from listservers (the old-style Lyris-type lists that are completely email-driven, and […]

In case you've missed it…

August 30, 2011

There’s a great discussion going on here about the pros and cons of Salesforce.com in the association market. Scroll down […]

I've said it before, but it bears repeating…

August 29, 2011

Working in a homegrown system is malpractice. (Click here to read why.) I continue to marvel at the number of […]

"They ask, we deliver."

August 26, 2011

I was meeting with an association executive recently to discuss how I might help them with the selection of a […]

$15K of research for a $30K project

August 24, 2011

An association recently contacted me to help them review some proposals they’ve received from some AMS vendors. The association is […]

Trust is EVERYTHING

August 22, 2011

I was reminded of this again recently while shopping for a new car. Working with a local car dealer, I […]

Should your customers be able to cancel online?

August 18, 2011

Working with a client recently, I was surprised to learn that the association allows individuals who are currently registered for […]

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