Several weeks ago, I sent out an offer on a new CPS Consulting service that reviews your data via the new Executive Reports Dashboard. The offer was great - we increase your bottom line income and if you don't think the first review is worth the $500 we are charging, you name the price, even if it is FREE! The response was horrible! So I sent out a follow up to ask why those who opened the email did not take me up on the offer.

     The response was great. One clear message is that the time I spend writing these newsletters is worth the effort.

     So I will continue to publish these weekly newsletters on a very random schedule as time permits.

     Let's take a look at the reasons I got for not replying to the offer - I grouped them into general topics: (side note to those of you doing email marketing: surveying your customers as I did here provides valuable insight to help you fine tune for better response.)

• Would be great to do this but I am not the decision maker.
• We don't collect the data properly so the analysis would not work for us.
• The course is not currently open or is under renovation.
• We only use the Tee Sheet.
• We are short on staff and too busy to focus on anything other than current operations.
• Would like to do this but cash flow is tight.
• Opened the email but didn't have time to read it.
• Don't understand how this service would apply to our club.
• We are doing a good job of analyzing the data already.

     Of all the replies, the most common theme (in my own sarcastic interpretation) is "I can't afford (and/or do not have the time) to make more money." As a business owner myself, I can tell you that it is very difficult to grow your business by doing exactly the same thing every day. You have to carve out time for growth. New services, new products and new offerings to retain current customers and attract new ones. I get the time crunch thing. I also understand what it takes to grow (rather than just maintain) a business. CPS has had back to back great years and did so in an economic downturn. We have our highest level of staffing ever and spun off two new corporations that we run. I may not have time to write the weekly newsletter every week, but I always have time to make more money and can't afford to make less!

     The replies that surprised me the most where the ones where the club already recognized that they do not do a good job of collecting data - therefore the analysis would be a waste of time. There were several of these and I can tell you of the consulting reviews we did - this is usually the first recommendation. Clean up your data. The fact that several clubs already know this puts them ahead of the game. The frustrating thing (for them and me) is that they can't or won't do anything about it. What is very obvious to me, yet catches many others off guard is... regardless of what you spend on computers and software, it pales in comparison to the value of the data you collect. Your data is the real pot of gold sitting in your shop. Once you start digging into that pot, you will be surprised by how much money you can get out of it. Of course, if you're filling that pot with something other than gold...well you get out what you put into it.

     One other item that came up a few times - the consulting service is done remotely. We do not travel onsite, so there are no traveling costs involved. We do the entire review from our office here by retrieving a copy of your database and we provide you with a comprehensive report via email.

     The offer still stands - While we are asking for $500 per review and that we perform this review once per quarter (with the ultimate goal being that you add the Executive Reports module to your site and do this on your own), I will do the first one for you and let you name your own price for the report (this is limited to 10 clubs, I don't have time to make more money than that!). If you don't think this is worth at least $500, you keep the first report, you name the price to pay for it (even if that is FREE), and there is no further obligation. The last report I did was 28 pages long (this takes up to 15 reports from the Executive Reports Dashboard and analyzes each and consolidates them into one report for you) and took me 4 days to do it. I typically charge well over $200 per hour for my time. Do the math.

     Get started now... Call Mike Stanovich at 800-793-1872 or email him at Mike@ClubProphetSystems.com to get on board today. I can only do this for 10 clubs. I'm not making enough money on it (and risking making $0 on it) to spend more time doing so prior to the PGA show.

Until Next time,

Enjoy :)