Draft for review
Technology Royalty Program
Executive Briefing for Chapter Leaders and Board Members
Executive summary
The SPEND Advantage (Spend Placement Earns Network Dividends) Technology Royalty Program turns technology spending that Association member companies are already making into new, recurring support for the Association community. When a member company names a certified advisor of record for its technology services, the supplier commissions already built into its pricing are recovered and run through a program waterfall that shares them with the Association as a royalty. The member's pricing does not change and no vendor relationships need to move. The Association receives recurring royalty funding, paid in dollars, and directs it to chapters, programs, and events as it sees fit. Member companies receive their own royalty, also in dollars, on the same spend. The program is additive to the Association's existing funding base; it replaces nothing.
How the program works
- The value already exists. Technology suppliers build an advisor commission into their standard pricing. When no advisor of record is named, that commission stays with the supplier as overhead. The member pays the same price either way.
- Naming an advisor redirects it. When a member company names a certified advisor of record, that commission is recovered and shared with the Association community through the program waterfall. Under the standard Association program, the commission the program receives is shared in equal 7.5% tiers to the Association royalty, the member royalty, and the SpearPoint platform; the 77.5% residual stays with the advisor of record. Every share is paid in dollars.
- Nothing changes for the member. Pricing follows the smartest price standard: best value, full transparency, and no premium for program participation.
- Administration is handled. SpearPoint Technology Advisors, the program operator, manages advisor certification, reporting, and distributions, with support from Association support staff and resources. Royalty is reported to the Association at the aggregate program level, never per deal.
What each part of the Association gains
- Members: the smartest price on technology services they already buy, plus a royalty paid to their company in dollars.
- Local chapters: funding directed by the Association from its royalty, in proportion to what their member companies contribute.
- The Association: a recurring royalty stream that grows with enrollment.
How the royalty is paid
Both royalties are real dollars. The Association's royalty is paid at the aggregate program level on a regular cadence, with a statement that reconciles every placement; the Association decides what it funds: chapter programming, leadership development, events, or operations. The member company's royalty is paid to the company on placement and on renewal, per contract, and reported next to the spend so its finance team can see it. SpearPoint handles calculation, reconciliation, and distribution through SHELBY; no chapter or member handles a supplier, a contract, or a commission.
Illustrative levels under the standard Association program, at typical member technology spend: a chapter whose 12 member companies participate generates about $49,600 a year in Association royalty and the same again in member royalties, roughly $4,100 per participating company on each side. A chapter that reaches full participation across 50 eligible companies generates about $206,500 a year. The single growth lever is enrollment: every additional company that names an advisor of record adds directly to both figures.
What this means at scale
At 25 participating companies per chapter across 12 chapters, at typical member technology spend, the Association's royalty is about $1.24 million a year, and member companies collectively receive the same again, since each is the same 7.5% tier of the program waterfall. None of it comes from dues increases, sponsorship asks, or member fees. It comes from commission value that today disappears into supplier overhead. Spend-based dollar projections from earlier drafts are being re-modeled and are not repeated here.
Protecting the practitioner community
Association chapters are practitioner communities first, and this program is built to keep them that way. Participation grants no supplier any access to a chapter. Certified advisors receive controlled access only: every advisor signs a program code of conduct, access to chapter events is earned through the program and approved by the local chapter board, and certification carries an expectation of bringing new practitioner members into the chapter. Advisors who do not follow the rules lose their certification. Chapters keep full control of who is in the room.
What we are asking
- Board members: endorse the royalty model, decide how the Association's royalty is directed to chapters and programs, and confirm the launch timeline.
- Chapter leaders: identify the eligible member companies in your chapter, invite them to name a certified advisor of record, and set a participation goal.
- Members: one action only. Name a certified advisor of record. It costs nothing and changes no pricing.
SPEND Advantage is operated by SpearPoint Technology Advisors. The program is additive to the Association's existing funding and replaces no current revenue stream. All figures in this briefing are illustrative estimates based on typical participation and spend under the standard Association program, pending final earn and menu policies. Interactive views of the member experience and the royalty estimator are available for demonstration.