What if the biggest thing holding your membership organisation back… is how you think?
Image generated by AI
You’ve been operating steadily for a number of years. You have a good, hard-working team—but lately, you’ve noticed a gradual decline in your membership.
When that happens, it's easy to blame tools or difficult economic conditions.
But what if the real barrier isn't external at all?
What if the way your organisation thinks about challenges is what's really getting in the way?
The invisible blocker: fixed mindset thinking
At sheepCRM, we work with a wide range of ambitious membership-based organisations — associations, charities, clubs, and networks. And one thing we've noticed? The most successful teams have something in common that goes far beyond budget or team size.
They have a growth mindset.
Coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, a growth mindset is the belief that capabilities and outcomes aren't fixed — they can evolve through effort, strategy, and feedback.
The opposite? A fixed mindset. That's the idea that things are the way they are, and there's little point trying to change them.
It's not hard to see how this plays out in membership organisations. Perhaps you've come across some of these before:
"We've always done it this way".
"We don't have the time to look at data — we just need to get this messaging out".
"This Membership CRM system is difficult to use, but switching could be even worse".
"Our members wouldn't sign up and make payment online, they prefer us to do it for them".
"If I do it myself, at least I know it's done".
Sound familiar?
It's this kind of thinking — repeating the same actions and hoping for different results —that keep organisations stuck. Not because they aren't working hard, but because their mindset is fixed on surviving, not growing.
How a growth mindset transforms membership success
A growth mindset doesn’t mean throwing everything out and starting over. It means being ambitious, open to change and having a desire to improve..
Instead of fearing failure, you treat each challenge as an opportunity to learn. Instead of assuming your members aren’t interested, you explore what might be missing from their experience. And rather than guessing what your members want or need, you engage with them directly—gathering insights that shape your messaging and guide your next steps.
A good example of this is our work with the Ferrari Owners' Club. This club serves over 4,000 members across the UK, offering events, regional groups, and a bi-monthly magazine. They initially faced challenges familiar to many membership organisations:
Outdated systems that couldn't meet modern needs.
Manual processes leading to inefficiencies.
Limited member engagement due to lack of digital tools.
Recognising the need for change, the club adopted a growth mindset and partnered with sheepCRM to drive their membership operations forward. This led to significant improvements:
Operational efficiency: Automated processes reduced manual data entry, allowing the same team to focus on enhancing member services.
Enhanced member experience: The introduction of a members only 'self service' portal enabled members to sign up, renew online and manage their own details, reducing administrative tasks and improving satisfaction.
Data-driven decisions: Access to reliable data allowed the club to identify areas with large numbers of members that hadn't hosted major events recently, leading to better event planning and member engagement.
By embracing a growth mindset and leveraging the right tools, the Ferrari Owners' Club transformed their operations, leading to increased member satisfaction and organisational growth.
How sheepCRM encourages a growth mindset
We built sheepCRM for ambitious membership organisations that believe in better. Organisations that want to know and understand their members, increase engagement and grow their membership.
Using sheepCRM, our customers can:
Spend more time engaging with members and less time on admin.
Know and understand their members better with valuable data insights.
Increase membership engagement with personalised, targeted communications and self service tools.
Make smarter decisions with built-in segmentation and reporting tools that highlight what’s really working.
Deliver better value for increased retention and membership growth.
If this sounds appealing but you don't know where to start that is ok, the important thing is this: the journey is simpler than you think. You just need the mindset—and the right partner—to make it.
Is your mindset holding you back?
It’s easy to keep doing what you’ve always done. But in a world where member expectations, technology, and capacity are constantly shifting, standing still is one of the riskiest things you can do.
So here’s your challenge: take a moment to reflect.
Do you have the ambition to grow — or are you clinging to what feels comfortable?
Are your efforts focused on long-term growth — or short-term survival?
Are you open to meaningful change — or instinctively resisting it?
Are your decisions guided by opportunity — or shaped by fear?
Are you investing in the future—or holding on to the past?
You don’t have to have it all figured out. But you do have to start thinking differently. Let’s talk about what that could look like for your organisation.
Book a demo today to discuss how sheepCRM can help your organisation grow.
