Episode 404 · October 20, 2026
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Lauri Lyerla shares how Neosho packages sponsorships in a printed guide, opens online sales, uses AI tools, and grows non-dues revenue.
About This Episode
Lauri Lyerla, CEO of the Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce, shares how her chamber moved away from making repeated, event-by-event sponsorship requests. By assembling the following year’s opportunities into a polished printed guide and releasing it during members’ budgeting season, the chamber gives businesses time to plan their investments while reducing pressure on staff.
The guide serves more than one purpose. In addition to presenting sponsorship inventory, it tells the chamber’s story, introduces members to its programs, and gives staff a year-round sales and membership-development tool. Lauri explains how the chamber creates urgency with a public opening date, uses sponsor demand and wait-list information to refine future packages, and offsets printing costs through advertising tied to a valuable member benefit.
The chamber recently added a custom online reservation experience built with SOLO LINK and supported by tools such as Claude and ChatGPT. The new process allowed sponsors to prepare selections in advance, submit reservations when sales opened, and receive immediate confirmation. Lauri closes by encouraging chambers of every size to begin with the opportunities they already have, align sales with members’ budget cycles, and continually evaluate whether their programs remain relevant and valuable.
What You’ll Learn
- Package annual sponsorship opportunities together so members can evaluate and budget for them at one time.
- Release the guide before members finalize their budgets and establish a clear opening date to create urgency.
- Use a polished printed guide as both a sponsorship catalog and a year-round chamber storytelling tool.
- Track wait lists and unmet demand to identify events that could support additional sponsorship tiers.
- Use online reservations and automation to reduce staff administration and make purchasing easier for sponsors.
- Seek an advertiser whose target audience includes chamber members to offset the guide’s printing costs.
- Knowing sponsors early improves event planning and gives the chamber more time to deliver meaningful value.
Champion Sponsor
Chaymber is reimagining the chamber experience with technology built specifically for chambers of commerce and trade associations. Its fully branded platform brings member connections, events, exclusive offers, business visibility, news, networking, and engagement tools into one place—helping chambers create a more modern member experience, demonstrate tangible membership value, and strengthen member ROI.
About Lauri Lyerla
Lauri Lyerla is CEO of the Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce in Neosho, Missouri. A lifelong Neosho resident with extensive family small-business experience, she has led the chamber since 2014. Under her leadership, the organization grew from approximately 300 members to more than 500 and was selected as the 2025 Missouri Chamber of the Year.
Connect with Lauri:
lauri@neoshocc.com
Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce
Episode Chapters
00:00 — Introducing Lauri Lyerla and the Neosho Chamber
00:59 — A Small-Business Background and Connector Mindset
03:38 — Neosho Chamber Membership, Staff, and Budget
05:25 — Why the Chamber Developed an Annual Sponsorship Guide
08:18 — Turning the Guide into a Year-Round Sales Tool
10:41 — Timing the Sale and Creating Urgency
11:41 — Adding Online Sponsorship Reservations
13:09 — Using Demand and Wait Lists to Improve Packages
15:35 — Keeping Opportunities Available Throughout the Year
17:25 — Why Printed Materials Still Add Value
18:47 — Covering the Guide's Printing Costs
20:20 — Existing Sponsor Relationships and Major Investors
22:58 — Filling Sponsorships as Events Approach
25:02 — The Technology Behind the Online Process
28:04 — Make the Ask During Members' Budget Season
29:14 — Question Programs That No Longer Deliver Value
30:27 — The Future of Chambers and Emerging Technology
31:45 — From Relevant to Impact
32:14 — Contact Information and Chamber Collaboration
Supported by Our Catalyst Sponsors
App My Community helps chambers strengthen connections with members and their communities through a branded mobile app. The platform gives chambers a convenient way to keep local businesses, events, news, resources, and community information accessible in one place while creating additional opportunities for engagement and visibility.
Resource Development Group helps chambers of commerce strengthen non-dues revenue and build more sustainable organizations through strategic resource-development campaigns. Their team works alongside chamber leaders to identify opportunities, engage investors, and secure financial support for important initiatives, helping chambers turn ambitious community and organizational goals into achievable results.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce Sponsorship Guide
The chamber's public sponsorship page provides access to its annual printed guide. At verification, the indexed page displayed the 2026 guide rather than the new 2027 reservation interface discussed in the interview.
Lauri identifies SOLO LINK as the platform used for custom member communications and the chamber's online sponsorship workflow.
The chamber used Canva to complete the sponsorship publication's layout in-house.
The chamber uses ChamberMaster for member management and invoicing but has added other tools for workflows it wants to automate.
The Neosho Chamber sells advertising related to the benefit plan and participating insurance providers to offset the sponsorship guide's production cost.
A regional conference for chamber professionals from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Lauri credits her first MAKO experience with exposing her to non-dues revenue ideas.
Matt Appenzeller's book is mentioned by Brandon in connection with Lauri's comments about moving beyond relevance to measurable community impact.
An Idea Worth Borrowing
Hold an Annual Sponsorship Opening Day
Compile the next year's sponsorship inventory before members enter budget season, publish the opportunities in one clear guide, and announce a specific date and time when reservations open. Give sponsors time to review the guide internally, then use the opening-day response, wait lists, and unfulfilled requests to improve future packages. Even a small chamber can begin with a simple document covering ten events rather than building a complex campaign.
• When do your largest members establish their marketing and community-investment budgets?
• Which sponsorships regularly attract more interest than the available inventory can accommodate?
• Could one advertiser or industry partner cover the cost of producing your annual guide?
Read the Full Transcript
Read the Full Transcript
Supported by Our Convener Sponsor
Mike Conn equips chambers and their members with practical strategies for stronger communication, leadership, talent retention, workplace culture, and sustainable growth.
Continue Exploring
Explore more Chamber Chat conversations related to this episode.
Episode 402: Bring Additional Economic Development to Your Community with Maree Forbes Gaughan →
Related topics: Marketing and Communications
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