Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Why bother with a consultant when I have AI?

By Wes Trochlil | October 14, 2026

Why bother with a consultant when I have AI? As AI becomes increasingly powerful, the value of using an AMS selection consultant (and many other types of consultants!) starts to come into question. After all, with very well-constructed prompts and responses, an association could develop a very solid needs analysis and RFP that could be used to […]

Guardrails can be helpful!

By Wes Trochlil | October 7, 2026

Guardrails can be helpful! When selecting a new AMS, I find my clients are often very tempted by custom software or “platform” systems (e.g., built on Salesforce or MS Dynamics) because these systems are infinitely configurable. After all, if I can make the system do anything I want, that’s a good thing, right? Well, maybe. In […]

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?”

By Wes Trochlil | September 30, 2026

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?” I had a conversation with a client recently about developing KPIs, reports, and queries from their forthcoming data warehouse. My client said: “We have a ton of requests for KPIs and reports. How do we determine which to focus on first?” My response: “When someone requests a dashboard […]

Showing is not teaching

By Wes Trochlil | September 23, 2026

Showing is not teaching In my experience, when new staff members are taught how to use their AMS (or LMS, CMS, FMS, etc.) they aren’t really taught how to use the system, they are shown how to use it. So what’s the difference? In a nutshell, showing only covers the “how” and “what.” But teaching […]

Data management is improvisation

By Wes Trochlil | September 16, 2026

Data management is improvisation I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob Long. During the podcast he said (I’m paraphrasing) that, in order to be successful, one needs to learn to improvise, because nothing in life ever goes as planned. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want to make God […]

Older Posts

What are your database success metrics?

October 25, 2011

How do you know if you’re being successful with your existing data management system? For most organizations, the primary metric […]

SaaS CRM Market Set to Triple according to AMI

October 18, 2011

A recent article at destinationCRM.com discusses research from AMI-Partners that suggests that the software-as-a-service (SaaS) CRM market is set to undergo […]

New Article Posted – Five Significant Trends in Association Management Software

October 17, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. The world of technology never stops changing, and certainly the same is true […]

25 Most Important Lessons in Membership Marketing

October 12, 2011

Tony Rossell at the Membership Marketing blog has listed the “25 Most Important Lessons in Membership Marketing” based on their […]

Business Intelligence Matters

October 11, 2011

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the desperate need businesses have for workers skilled at analyzing data. […]

Little things can make a big impact

October 7, 2011

I was recently helping a client of mine with an AMS system selection. After a thorough review of needs and […]

Great article in Associations Now

October 6, 2011

David J. Martin, CAE, is CEO of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He has written a great article for […]

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 […]

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