It was a few years back that Talley Management Group, an association management company in Mount Royal, was tasked with creating a major international convention for more than 2,500 people in New Delhi, India.
“We do business globally, so we must find international partners in the countries where our clients want to do business,” Gregg Talley, co-founder, CEO and president of Talley Management Group, said.
Still, in a tight-knit industry not yet well known, Talley said he knew of just one other business he might turn to.
“Plan it! is a perfect partner for TMG, as they have deep relationships with corporate and nonprofit clients in India, great event and meeting planning skills, and are extremely well respected and revered in their country,” Talley said.
The event was a success — so much so that Plan it!, an association management company in Gurugram, India, and TMG worked together on the annual convention for three years afterward.
“We also came to understand that we were similar in terms of our size, scale, ethics and outlooks,” Talley said.
Now, the two companies are permanently connecting New Jersey and New Delhi with a joint association management venture named Vraata.
“We are very excited for this opportunity,” Talley said.
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Talley founded Talley Management Group with his father, Robert Talley, in 1987. It currently works with nearly 40 not-for-profit organizations on their various strategies and initiatives to bring in between $6 million and $8 million annual revenue.
Plan it! — located in Gurugram, a satellite city of New Delhi in the Indian state of Haryana — was founded in 1977 as a division of Creative Travel to specialize in conference and event planning and loyalty and engagement strategies for not-for-profit associations.
The companies announced in May their decision to work together to enhance and expand the association management services available to new or existing global organizations within the Indian market.
“This partnership is one that will change the association management industry here in India,” Anuj Wadhwa, chief operating officer of Plan it!, said. “Sharing ideas and best practices from TMG with the local knowledge provided by Plan it! allows both firms to provide all of their clients, regardless of where in the world they are, with the services and solutions they need to excel in India.”
Vraata (which means “association” in Hindi) will specialize in global experiences and connections for the Indian sub-continent.
“TMG is providing the knowledge, professional experience and expertise, while our partners at Plan it! are providing the right contacts and local knowledge to best address the markets and culture,” Talley said. “We will help global organizations who want to engage in business in India better understand the local markets by having feet on the ground with the ability to execute what they need to accomplish there.”
Though TMG and Plan it! are still “building out the nuts and bolts of the organization,” according to Talley, Vraata already is up and running.
“Now that we are working with real, live clients, we are asking ourselves, how closely are we following our intended model, and, what other best practices are we learning as we get into this together?” Talley said.
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TMG employs 44 in New Jersey and four additional staff members across the U.S. Plan it! employs nearly 200.
The two companies plan to meet at global events at least once a quarter, Talley said.
“The idea of providing professional services to associations in India is relatively new, but India has a lot of existing associations that provide the opportunity to talk about outsourcing, strategic planning and management,” he said. “India also is a quickly developing country where there is opportunity for organic associations to be founded.”
Their first joint venture, Talley added, is meant to inspire others, too.
“As we take our first steps into India, we also are looking at additional opportunities in other developing countries and regions where corporate America currently is investing and the middle class is rapidly growing,” Talley said. “We expect, perhaps even within the next 60 days, that we will have more announcements concerning these efforts.”
Talley said he expects that when the build-out of Vraata is completed within 18 months, his company alone will see nearly 15 percent growth.
“This will allow us to truly talk about how we are globally prepared to service our clients, and to help them be in the markets that they want to be with a level of comfort and trust that they might not have had elsewise,” Talley said. “We are confident that this will be a successful endeavor.”
What is association management?
Association management companies typically are hired to provide management services to not-for-profit organizations to best develop and execute strategies that will help them to achieve the objectives of their programs and initiatives.
“That could mean anything from membership management and marketing to financial investment advice, to volunteer support and professional staffing,” Gregg Talley, co-founder, CEO and president of Talley Management Group in Mount Royal, said. “We basically become an extension of one’s association and handle anything that they may require.”
Conversation Starter
For more info on Talley Management Group, contact Lauren Schoener-Gaynor, marketing and communications manager, at: lschoener-gaynor@talley.com or 856-423-7222, ext. 225.
