Carla Dane, CEO of the Prescott Area Association of Realtors, has run associations for a long time. Before the Prescott Area Association of Realtors, she spent nearly a decade as CEO of the Pasadena Foothills Association, and before that, worked with a different AMS platform going all the way back to 2001. So, when she can identify good support from bad, she's leaning on a skill that's been finely tuned after decades of experience.
"The one thing that I know I did really enjoy with my previous AMS is that you got to know people, you had a relationship, you were talking to usually the same person, and there was a ticketing system and a follow up."
That relationship-driven support experience became the exact thing she worried the association might be missing when she arrived at PAAR.
The Challenge: A Contract Nobody Had Fully Activated
PAAR had signed its contract to convert to GrowthZone before Carla arrived, and she inherited a rockier starting point than expected. Key features the association was already paying for, including fundraising modules and analytics tracking, had never actually been activated.
"I think that the product that we got was very bare bones, and I think that was the concern that the staff had."
On top of that, standard support wasn't delivering the continuity Carla knew really mattered. Staff would submit tickets and hear nothing back.
"The previous staff complaints were, ‘Well, I leave a message and no one calls me back. We have a problem; it's not being resolved.’"
One specific issue stuck with her: the inventory module was generating negative inventory counts, a bug that took real pushing to get resolved.
The Turning Point: Contract Renewal
When PAAR's contract came up for renewal, Carla used it as an opporutnity to audit what the association was actually paying for versus what was active. The team activated the modules that had been dormant, and added Premium Support at the same time, with a price break from the contract team that made the decision easier.
"When you look at the price point versus what we had with our previous AMS, it's comparable. It's not like you're paying for this, and then you have to pay on top. It's basically the same amount. So, it's a smart thing to do."
What Changed: A Name, Not a Queue
The single biggest shift Carla describes hasn’t been speed, but continuity. With Premium Support, PAAR has one dedicated point of contact who owns an issue from start to finish, rather than staff re-explaining a problem to a new person every time they call in.
"It's one person who will say, okay, this is my responsibility to follow up. Honestly, it's the follow-up. There is never a concern now that something's not going to get resolved, because I know who to go to."
That follow-up habit, someone checking back the next day to confirm a fix held, has become the clearest marker of the change for her staff.
"Not only was the problem solved, but a follow-up the next day of, ‘Hey, is everything still good?
Proof in Practice: The NAR Data Feed
The clearest recent example came from Carla's operations director, Nichole Ervin.
. Membership data wasn't feeding over correctly to NAR's M1 system, a real operational risk for a realtor association. Carla's Premium Support contact was on top of it immediately.
"There was a situation where items were not feeding over correctly to M1 for NAR, and you guys were on top of it."
Proof in Practice: Finding a Feature No One Could Unlock Before
PAAR's communications manager, ran into a question a previous staff member had never gotten a clear answer to: whether the association's Google Analytics code was tracking page views, information PAAR needed if it ever decided to sell website ads. "She was able to figure that out right away with the help of GrowZone. I think the support environment has definitely improved."
The Results
Staff complaints have essentially disappeared. Carla, who no longer handles day-to-day support herself, says she's out of the loop for a reason: there's nothing to escalate anymore.
"I cannot remember the last time I had a conversation with any of them having an issue with getting what they need."
A single relationship now. Even with a couple of contact changes over PAAR's tenure with GrowthZone, the model of one accountable person, rather than a new rep each time, has held.
Improved morale. Carla directly credits the shift to Premium Support with a noticeable lift in how her team feels about the tools they use every day.
Word-of-mouth among peers. Many association executives Carla knows through the Arizona association executive community don’t realize Premium Support is an option , so she’s started recommending it to everyone who will listen.
Advice to Other Associations
Carla frames the decision around staff efficiency and organizational risk, not just convenience.
"If you're looking at the efficiency of your staff, you want to make sure that they're not waiting, spending time trying to go back. There's nothing more challenging than a problem that won't be resolved."
She compares her experience with another vendor one where she doesn't have a dedicated contact.
"I have a problem with our payroll provider, and it's a matter of, I have to get online and chat. I don't have a dedicated person to talk to anymore the way I used to at my previous association. Having that personal relationship, I know I can go to that same person who gets to know me, gets to know the way my company is set up. That's really important.
She's specific about who it's built for: “It's important if you have the resources to do it, and especially if you have a staff of five or more, there really needs to be that level of support.” PAAR operates with seven staff serving 2,500 members.
.png?width=5000&height=3000&name=Untitled%20design%20(54).png "Untitled design (54)")
.png?width=5000&height=3000&name=Untitled%20design%20(38).png "Untitled design (38)")
