Creating a True Selling and Marketing Environment

If you’re like me, you believe everyone in your club is a salesperson.  The bartender, the shop attendant and the receptionist are in the business of selling your club. 

Is your team selling GOLF?  No, they are selling entertainment.  We have moved from the Golf Industry into the Entertainment Industry.  Let me confirm by providing several specific examples.

The Seaview Marriott Resort, located in New Jersey, recently unveiled its Seaview Family Golf Program.  The program includes Family Friendly tee boxes, Kids Golf4 Free, Family Golf Packages and a new twist, the QOLF course at Seaview.  No, it is not a typo.  See this link for more details.   

Industry leader, the PGA of America, promotes July as Family Golf Month through their popular PlayGolfAmerica promotion. This month-long initiative includes Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, Kids Play Free, Family Play Days, etc.  Now, if this isn’t entertainment, you are still operating in the 1990’s!

How do you combat a changing environment and changing customer needs?  You must create a sales and marketing environment at your golf property.  This can be achieved through the following steps:

1. Know your core client
   This is the 20% of your clients that use your club 80% of the time.  These are the individuals that eat in your grille room, purchase your merchandise and spend HOURS on your golf course.  You should be able to identify their specific zip codes, marital status and spending habits.  If you do not know your CORE customer, contact Kim Wade to assist you in determining this VIP client.  Armed with this information, you can build your menus, your merchandise and your entire club around your CORE customer AND INCREASE YOUR REVENUES!  Educate your entire staff on the concept of your CORE Client.  You will be surprised at their responses and enthusiasm to participate.
   
   
2. Provide innovative products
   You are thinking, "We are not Apple computers!"  Well, yes, you must begin to think outside your golf box.  Have you thought of your club as a product?  How can you provide more innovation through your club?  Many companies are creating innovation through their own products. For example, hybrid golf clubs are extremely innovative! It is time for you to think of how you can be more innovative through your club. Is this providing a unique piece of merchandise that is geared toward a specific group that visits your club? 

   What about creating a unique tournament package that is different from your competitors?  If you offer membership, prepare a unique membership that is different from your competitors but yet very appealing to your client (i.e. include unlimited carts with an annual membership).  By becoming more innovative, you will set yourself apart from your competitors and begin to increase in your various revenue streams.

3. Identify the value of your customer
   Do you know the VALUE of your member?  The average tenure of a private club member is five to seven years.  The value of a member is critical for your staff to understand how important it is to provide excellent customer service and decreasing attrition.  One such club in the Southeast valued each new member at $81,366.00.  This value includes a five year tenure, average spending of ten percent and an initiation fee.  Regardless, this $81,366.00 is very impactful to the bottom line.
   
   
4. Hire a sales person
   I believe having a dedicated sales person is critical to your revenue stream; whether you are a daily fee or private country club.  A sales person’s sole objective is to increase revenue whether it is tournament sales or membership sales.  If your sales person costs approximately $60,000 in total compensation and they are responsible for $400 to $500k in revenue, you will have a gain of $340k.  A risk I believe is worth taking!

   Sales people definitely have challenging personalities and the hiring of a sales person may seem daunting.  You must provide the individual with specific monthly goals and identifiable parameters for them to be successful.  It will create more work for you, but with specific parameters in place, your club will generate a great deal of revenue by year-end.

5. Establish a sales funnel
   Membership and tournament sales are about lead generation.  How are you ensuring your club is continually generating leads for new sales?  If you have a full sales funnel, the result is achievement of your revenue generation goals.  You can fill your funnel through:
   • Realtor initiatives
   • Corporate programs
   • Real Estate Developer programs
   • Partnerships with the local chamber
   • Event marketing
   • Networking relationships


6. Know the local and national trends
   One of the most notable trends is that the golf club is becoming more family-friendly.  Many clubs are providing on-site child care, impressive junior camps and child care during nine and dine evenings.  One such VGM Club member, The Hawthorns Country Club, is providing extensive recreation for the family including kids’ camps, swim team, tennis lessons, golf programming and much more.

   Why is this trend so important?  The parents, whether the father or the mother is the primary golfer, want to enjoy a guilt-free round of golf.  However you can make this happen, it will entice your customers to increase their use of your club.

Kim Wade is an owner of Wade & Co., LLC and a member of the VGM Club Professional Services Team (PST).  Visit her Web site or contact her at kjw@bellsouth.net. 

Customer Service - Who said it’s Okay To Be Rude?

We’ve all heard it ourselves, the “customer service representative” who is rude to us, does not care or is poorly trained.  Consider the following incidents…

1. We request a year-end printed summary from one of our credit card companies because our first one never arrived.  We are told six weeks for delivery.  At some point after six weeks it has not arrived and is holding up filing our taxes.  We call again and are told they will order another one. We are not willing to wait another six months. We request it be faxed and are told, “I am sorry but we do not have access to that type of equipment.”  No access to a fax?  OK, how about sending it via FedEx? Of course we learn the person we are speaking with is in another part of the world.  We request a supervisor.  After 45 minutes of arguing, she reluctantly agrees to email it to us.  So we received it after hours of wasted time.
2. Fast Food – I admit it, I do not eat at many fast food restaurants, rarely in fact, but I like the fries at one chain in particular.  So when my kids were young we would take them to a local drive through. This particular property is not their newest but is always clean.  The staff?  Not nearly that good… During a two year period, they would make mistakes at least quarterly.  At a certain point we began calling the corporate “customer service” department.  Each time we received a form letter from the franchisee and a few coupons. When did we stop calling and going there?  One night when we received a hamburger which had a bite taken out of it.  This time I called and told them I did not want a form letter or coupons, I wanted to speak with a representative of the franchise company.  Needless to say, no one called us back and we followed up with a call a week later... still no call and therefore no business from us.
3. A friend who worked in the hospitality industry as a General Manager for years, trained the “old school” way, wrote me recently to discuss the demise of “customer service”.  He noticed at his local supermarket (a well respected national chain) how no one uses the phrase "you're welcome" to customers' most frequent comment to staff (“thank you”).  The current answer the staff favors seems to be: "no problem". Amazing how no line or district managers seem to have a problem with the answer.

It’s time … time to put the service back into customer service, time to stop accepting mediocrity from our staff and our managers and to begin to show our customers why our establishments are better than the rest.

It’s time … time to review those training programs, policies and procedures and make sure your staff has the resources needed to be the best they can be.

It’s time … time to look at how your operation does things, asking if there is a better way to do them. Does your competition do them better than you?  Steal their ideas; find better ways to get the job done.

It’s time … time to re-evaluate your core competencies and make sure everything you are doing is what you do best.

What are you waiting for?  Every day you delay, you may be losing customers, alienating employees and as a result losing opportunities to make money…. Now is the time!

To learn more about what you can do now, please contact Charles D. Dorn, CCM at charles@thedorngroup.com or via phone at 914-921-3150.  Dorn believes growth and change are a necessity.  See how he can help you and your business move to the next level.

VGM Financial Services - Experts at Delivering Equipment Finance Solutions

VGM Financial Services (VGMFS) has been providing financing solutions to the golf industry and to VGM Club members for years.  VGMFS offers competitive finance programs for anything at your golf course, with the exception of the real estate.  Golf cars, course maintenance equipment and utility vehicles are the first items that come to mind in terms of course financing, but finance programs are offered for nearly all of your capital equipment purchases, including GPS units, Point of Sale computer systems, kitchen and restaurant equipment as well as furniture. 

Many clubs seek financing for cash management purposes and because, for some equipment, it is the more feasible thing to do.  For example, many clubs swap out their inventory of maintenance equipment and golf cars every three or four years, so leasing makes the most sense.  If you are buying a long-term asset, it makes most sense to match the useful life with the cost or payment.  VGMFS creates programs that make purchasing equipment fit into your capital budget. 

VGMFS is an affiliate of TCF Financial (NYSE: TCB), a finance holding company with over $14 billion in assets.  This direct source of funds gives VGMFS the financial strength to compete with the captive finance companies and banks out there by providing competitive rate and residual programs. 

What sets VGMFS apart from the competition?  Headquartered in Waterloo, IA, VGMFS knows the importance of providing outstanding small town feel customer service. That is why when you call, an account representative answers the phone ready to assist you and we provide same-day responses to your credit requests. Our commitment does not end after the sale and it is our goal to establish long-term successful relationships with our customers. “We take pride in this legendary service,” states Tom Barber, Business Development Officer for VGMFS.

To learn more about VGMFS or to request a quote, contact Matt Stangl - 866-258-1129.  Be sure to ask about the special benefits provided to VGM Club members!

Menu Inspirations and Barry Callebaut - a Partnership in Great Taste!

Menu Inspirations, VGM Club’s supplier partner and the parent company to Appetizers And, Inc., Kabobs, Alden Merrell and Dianne’s Desserts, proudly announces a licensing agreement with the European chocolate manufacturer, Barry Callebaut.  Barry Callebaut is the worldwide leader in chocolate with over 150 years in the chocolate manufacturing industry.

Noted for its European heritage and recognized the world over for its brands, Barry Callebaut is headquartered in Switzerland.  From its new head office for North America located in Chicago, Barry Callebaut draws upon its global network of more than 7,500 employees to bring creativity, innovation and cost leadership to customers like Menu Inspirations.  Its product portfolio stands alone in the chocolate industry, and the company is the ingredient supplier of choice for customers that demand superior taste, consistent performance and unique visual experiences to differentiate their products.

Barry Callebaut is Menu Inspirations’ choice to deliver a premium product assortment that delivers to their high standards.  Today, Menu Inspirations’ exceptional desserts, including Crispy S’mores Rolls, Chocolate Lava Divine, Chocolate Beyond Reason, Chocolate Decadence and the Grand Finale, are elevated to a new level of indulgence with the high quality chocolate ingredients from Barry Callebaut.  Every bite proves it!  With this new partnership, Menu Inspirations is pleased to offer new innovations, gourmet taste and a distinctive style to every customer. They look forward to even more indulgent new products ahead!

You must be enrolled with VGM Club’s Cash Back Advantage program to receive special rebates on any of Menu Inspirations’ tasty treats!