In my previous blog post, I set the stage of sharing of our accomplishments.  In this post, I will discuss Increasing Value and Growing Membership.  

Of paramount importance is increasing the Value Proposition and well-being of our organization and, in this regard we:  

• Earned ISO 17024 certification for our CMC^® certification process, thus getting global recognition through meeting ISO standards
  
• Focused on federal procurement officers for CMC^® recognition for contracts / preferential treatment as a way to raise the visibility of certification 
  
• We’ve had some success – there are four government agencies from whom we have seen CMC preferred / only RFPs, but more needs to be done
  
• Created an affinity program for preferential insurance rates through Aon Insurance which gives "Best in Class” rates for CMC certification for E&O insurance. 
  
• A member received a quote which was $1,200 as compared to $3,500 for a quote from another insurer - this would pay for six years of CMC certification fees!!!
  
• Whereas this may not be typical for all as it is based on the experience of the consultant, we certainly are seeing that there is a financial benefit to being certified.
• Conducted focus groups with clients of consulting services and have purchasing authority for consulting projects.  They told us:
  
• The CMC® is a differentiator for consultants
• Many expected the CMC® to help streamline their procurement process
• Said they would give it preference in hiring CMC® consultants
• CMCs can charge more for their services

We have also done much in the way of growing membership, and set the stage for continued growth.  We:

• Created the Certified Management Consulting Firm™ (CMC Firm™) certification for medium and large firms based on the Accredited Consulting Practice scheme from Europe
  
• Attended multiple programs from Kennedy and AMCF, and have spoken with a number of leaders of firms to educate them on who IMC is and how our consultants can help their businesses
  
• Contacted many of the top 10 of the consulting industry to discuss with them about membership in IMC and their getting themselves / their consultants certified. 
  
• Many firms have expressed interest, and we are moving those discussions to the next level.
  

As I trust you can see, we have improved the Value Proposition and better positioned IMC for future growth.   Stay tuned, more to follow in a couple days.  

Yours in consulting,

Drumm McNaughton, Ph.D., CMC^®
Chair and CEO