The Terrible Cost of “Not Knowing” Part II

In my article for the July 2015 Foreword Press, I wrote about the importance of our customers and members knowing what we as golf professionals truly do as our core business activity, to drive revenue through more rounds and activity. In that article, I asked these two questions:

  1. CAN A GOLFER WALK THROUGH YOUR FACILITY/CLUB AND NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO?
  2. CAN YOUR EMPLOYER WALK THROUGH YOUR FACILITY/CLUB AND NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO? (AND WHY?)

The key in question 1 is about “intentional salesmanship”. By intentional, I mean active. Whether it’s a “Guys n Gals Social Learning Club” for adults or a “PGA Sports Academy Junior Camp”, you’re actively talking about it, teaching the entire staff to sell it or bring it up when the opportunity arises. It’s certainly not passive marketing or just putting up a flyer on message board or above the urinals in the restroom, which basically rely on luck to work.

For question 2, I’d like to go deeper than I did last month, but I’d like to discuss it in reverse. For your employer, you need to be sure they KNOW YOUR WHY in what you are doing in player development to drive revenue to THEIR BOTTOM LINE. It’s in their enlightened self-interest to be concerned with the why and how it applies to their cash flow, their rounds and revenue. In that frame of reference, I would again strongly encourage you to START WITH WHY and be able to share it your employer, or anyone who interacts with them. They have “skin in the game” or they represent the group/person/entity who does, and they will tend to act accordingly.

In terms of knowing, there is huge difference between AWARENESS and UNDERSTANDING.

Example 1: If your employer is AWARE that you/your team have two PGA Junior League (PGAJLG) teams, that is good. But not good enough! They must UNDERSTAND why you engaged with 22 kids and their parents via PGAJLG and why that is great for their bottom line.

Example 2: If your employer is AWARE that you/your team have started a Social Learning Club model for your recreational adult golfers, that is good. But not good enough! They must UNDERSTAND why you chose to create this social learning model and how it will likely lead to:

  • 20% more rounds in the next 12 months
  • 79% more merchandise sold
  • 65% more food and beverage sales, etc.

Sharing these stats and even proving them with real examples from your operation will be valuable to help them (your employer) understand your why and how it benefits their bottom line.

LEADING THEM DOWN THE PATH FROM AWARENESS TO UNDERSTANDING

Going further, I am starting to see some of our most savvy PGA colleagues starting to actively report their “player development engagement” activities to their employer on a monthly basis. I’ve helped some of these create a template like the picture shown below.

koch-graphic-2015-08

Like a scorecard, you can see how Bryan Tunstill, PGA (BT) and his staff at Columbia-Edgewater (CECC) are INTENTIONALLY ENGAGING with their membership. In this educated sample version, BTs staff has had 345 “member touches” or engagement contacts for the month of July. This doesn’t show the number of unique members BT and staff have engaged with, but it could. The red/italicized numbers are to show what BT and staff have projected as goals for engagement with their membership.

If you were a member of CECCs Board of Directors, I am virtually certain you would value this reporting and you would have a new, deeper understanding for what BT and his staff are focusing on in the golf department, including their why for the programming they choose to offer. You would also be likely to have a greater level of respect for what BT and staff do for your Club in active, intentional ways.

As stated in most of my articles, my role is not to tell you what you need to offer. Rather, I am here to help you identify opportunities where you can succeed and meet the needs of your customers, your employer and the like. To that end, it’s my hope to assist you in maximizing these opportunities. Please let me know how I can help you with your own template for reporting engagement with your customers so you can avoid the terrible costs of your employer NOT FULLY KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING what you want to do for them and their bottom line through your efforts as a PGA golf professional.

Monte Koch, Certified PGA Professional/Player Development
Player Development Regional Mgr/Mentor**
PGA of America (Greater Seattle/PacNW PGA Section)
Email: Mkoch@pgahq.com  Cell: 206/335-5260

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