The new business year will be here before you know it. Hopefully, you have got your calendar filled with a large number of rounds of Business Golf.
Here are three points of business golf that will ensure your rounds are effective.
Have a Plan
Unlike just going out and playing golf with someone in hopes the round of golf turns into some sort of business, a round of business golf starts off with a plan. The plan answers the questions..What realistically is it you need to accomplish from the round of golf?
Naturally, everyone is going to answer this question with..”To make a million Dollars..”, and in some cases that may be realistic if the round of golf is the first step of the plan to accomplish that goal. However, on the most part, you thinking you need to close a sale from the round of golf is not a realistic plan.
Most plans for a round of business golf consist of accomplishing a better understanding of business needs or wants. Once this is accomplished it makes taking the next step easier. Making a solid plan on what your mission is will help keep the focus of the round.
The plan should never consist of planning on talking business during the round of golf. This one mistake is common and results in the round becoming anti-productive. Have all business talks planned for after the round of golf. Have in your mind the questions you would like to ask that will accomplish your mission.
Create an Opportunity
Sometimes the busy work schedule makes it hard to schedule a round of golf. Taking the opportunity to combine a round of business golf with other functions is the most effective way to get the round of business golf into the agenda.
For example: Your company has plans on attending throughout the year a number of business development learning seminars and workshops. Planning a round of business golf with potential and existing clients before and after the programs should fit nicely into the program. Utilizing the extra time before and after these programs allows you to use business expenses more effective and build long lasting business relationships.
Golf schools make for a great multitasking function. Attending a golf school with clients or employees does a number of things. It helps broaden the number of business associates a business has to play business golf with by bringing non-golfers into learning to play golf. Golf schools are already programmed making a business meeting afterward a great opportunity to build business relationships.
Create an opportunity to play a round of business golf whenever you can.
Make the Follow-UP
The biggest prize a business golfer has from playing an effective round of business golf with someone over a non-golfer, who uses other means of connecting with business people, is the privilege of making a follow-up call. When it comes time for a potential client to choose between what email to read or phone call to return, the decision they make will be to respond to the person they played golf with more so than the person they spent an hour in a coffee shop with.
If the round of business golf was played correctly the prospective client will be twice as likely to want to chat with you again which draws you closer to doing business with them than if other means of making a business connection was used.
This one aspect of playing business golf is why so many people are learning to play golf.
These are just three of a large number of points a business golfer should make note of when learning to play business golf. Let me know how I can help.
