Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

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 […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

By Wes Trochlil | September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to find a new AMS, one of the most common questions I get is: “Is the software company owned by private equity or is it privately owned?” While I think this is a legitimate question to ask and have answered, it […]

“As good or better than me.”

By Wes Trochlil | September 2, 2026

“As good or better than me.” I was recently speaking with a software developer working on AI and we were discussing using natural language querying in an AMS. I told him, “The biggest challenge you face is that the first time the AI is wrong, staff will never use it again.” He agreed but then added: “The […]

Documentation is insurance

By Wes Trochlil | August 26, 2026

Documentation is insurance In a conversation with a client about their data management needs, the client pointed out that if they lost one or two key staff members, so much institutional knowledge would go with them that the association would have real difficulty managing their AMS. I recommended that they should document all of their key processes so […]

It all comes down to fundamentals

By Wes Trochlil | August 12, 2026

It all comes down to fundamentals I’m preparing for a webinar that I’m presenting in a couple of weeks, on using data to improve marketing and communications. This is a presentation (in one form or another) that I’ve made for nearly 20 years, and it includes an excellent case study of one association that dramatically improved their […]

Older Posts

Using your data to increase sales

October 14, 2010

A good friend of mine, Vinay Kumar, once owned a printing company that he grew from under $200,000 in annual […]

Have you ever actually MET your members?

October 13, 2010

I was recently reading about a speech that Emily Yellin, author of Your Call is (Not That) Important to Us, […]

More Requests Means Staff is USING the Database

October 12, 2010

There is an old aphorism in sales that objections are a sign of interest. In other words, whether a sales […]

Fewer Leads, Higher Sales

October 9, 2010

In a recent issue of CRM magazine, an article outlined how Beazer Homes was able to use their database (salesforce.com) […]

Success, not perfection, with your database

October 7, 2010

A colleague of mine asked me, at what point do you say: “Our database is good enough? We don’t need […]

Avectra Acquires NFI Studios

October 6, 2010

Avectra is one of the major players in the AMS market, and a company with which I’ve been associated for […]

New AMS Vendor Enters the Market

October 6, 2010

The latest product to be added to the large list of companies serving the association market is Membersuite. Membersuite is […]

Single Parenting and Data Management

October 5, 2010

For the past four days I’ve been a single parent. My wife has been on a well-deserved trip (to the […]

New Article Posted – Sometimes You HAVE to Customize

October 4, 2010

I’ve posted a new article to my website. Customizing your database is always an option, but it should be the […]

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