Golf isn’t only for spending your weekend playing with friends, it’s also great for nurturing business relationships with your clients.
Here are 5 interesting facts about the impact of golf on business:
- 97 percent of executives view golf with a business associate as a way to establish a close relationship.
- 92 percent use golf as a way to make business contacts.
- 92 percent say people stress at work would get more relief if they golfed.
- 59 percent believe that the way a person plays golf is the way he or she behaves in business.
- 57 percent say a hothead on the golf course is probably bad-tempered at work.
With that in mind, let’s dive into how you can use golf to nurture business relationships.
Learn more about potential clients
You can learn a lot about how someone behaves in certain situations by spending time with them on the course. Next time you’re on the course with a potential client, notice what happens the next time they land in the sand bunker.
Watch their reaction closely.
Golf is a great way to find out how someone handles adversity.
Sell without selling
Instead of aggressive sales tactics, playing a round of golf with a client for hours with few interruptions can help land the deal.
You’ll discover what you have in common and create a space where your client feels comfortable.
When prospects are relaxed they are more likely to make a purchase.
It’s not you bombarding them.
It’s not you hard-selling them.
It’s you bonding, developing a relationship, and creating a natural opportunity to work together.
Relieve stress and frustration
Chatting and laughing with clients as you make your way to the first tee is a great way to destress and relieve frustration.
That familiar sound of clubs rattling in the bag reminds you that you are a world away from buzzing cell phones and email notifications.
The only thing that’s calling you is the driver. Golf is one of those sports that gets you totally immersed. When you’re immersed, all that matters is hitting the ball.
It’s a great way to bond with clients or colleagues
Golf is a great opportunity to build relationships and turn clients into lifelong friendships. People do business with people they trust and like. On the course, it’s competitive. But it’s also a chance to help each other get better.
When you push each other to get better, you make yourself better. When you spend hours struggling together and trying to improve, it creates a bond hard to find anywhere else.
4 Golf Lessons You Can Apply to Business
Playing golf can open all kinds of opportunities. If you cross paths with the right person, it can expand your professional network.
You can secure an investor. Or you could land new referrals. Forbes Magazine even cites lessons learned on the course – all of which can be applied to business.
1. Visibility is everything
Knowing your audience before launching a new product means you can stack the chips in your favor.
By inviting your prospects to the course, you can learn everything you can about your market and audience to increase your chances of success.
2. Have a strategy, but stay ready to learn
When playing a particular hole, it’s a good strategy to take into account things like hazards, bunkers, ponds, trees, and so on.
Then execute your plan accordingly.
Running a business also requires a strategy.
After you’ve identified competitors and their strategy, you need to identify what path you will take so you can succeed in that industry.
This requires you to look at your strengths.
3. Think long term
In golf, one bad or good hole will not make or break your round. Focus on playing consistently for 18 holes.
Another way to think of it is don’t get ahead of yourself.
Similarly, one good day or bad day is not going to define your business.
What you do over the course of a year day in, day out is a much more accurate indicator of success.
4. Work hard and smart
As humans, we get better through repetition.
Hitting the range on a daily basis will pay off ten-fold versus going for a game every couple of weeks. If your goal is to get your business off the ground, you have to put yourself in situations to succeed on a regular basis.
In golf, that means going to the range when you don’t feel like it.
In business, that means showing up to those meetings with clients when you’ve had a bad day.
Show up, stay consistent and you will succeed.
5 Tips for Building Business Relationships With Golf
1. Learn the rules
The quickest way to feel comfortable on the course as a beginner? Read up on the rules and etiquette of playing golf. Or even better yet, find a friend who can show you the ropes or sign up for a lesson.
2. Bond with other golfers on the course
Golf is not only a sport, it’s an informal setting where business deals get done. Professionals should play golf because they enjoy it, but also to develop relationships.
Use it to build trust and camaraderie. But don’t overdo the business chat as you’ll likely throw your associates focus off.
3. Take advantage of special deals
Contrary to popular belief, golf does not have to be expensive. Most clubs offer special deals to play on the greens.
In most clubs, memberships are not mandatory so professionals have many options for getting started.
4. Create Connections
Not only are there team building advantages on and off the golf course. Uniting over a common bond encourages conversation.
5. Make it part of your marketing plan
Golf can be used as a marketing tool to obtain new clients, create a relationship with them and getting insight into the mind of your buyer.
At The Bear’s Den Resort Orlando, you can find the latest deals here. Our most popular golf package starts at $148 per adult, per night.
For our golf enthusiasts, we offer an ‘Unlimited Golf’ package starting at $199 per golfer per night.
As states reopen, we know that interpersonal meetings have been absent from office environments. More professionals are turning to golf as a safe way to maintain socially distanced outdoor meetings. We are taking extra measures to ensure our courses are safe.
