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

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 […]

ASAE Annual Re-Cap

August 10, 2011

I just returned from the ASAE Annual Meeting in St. Louis, and wanted to share some quick thoughts on the […]

DC Budgets and Sacred Zombie Cows (R)

July 26, 2011

The current debt ceiling debate going on in Washington right now has me thinking about how associations manage their budgets. […]

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