The following is a true story that truly amazes me, though I guess it shouldn't.

     I have belonged to a local golf club for the past 5 years. I travel the world and this club remains one of my favorite tracks. It was designed by one of the top architects, has a superintendant at the top of his game, a membership that includes PGA tour players, a Pro staff that actually enjoys getting out playing golf with the club members, good food, good friends, etc. It is a 40-minute drive from my house yet it is so appealing that I passed up joining one of the many clubs much closer to my home.

     Each year I have received my renewal notice for membership in late December or early January and paid my dues in advance for the full upcoming year. This year nothing. Not a letter, not an email, not a phone call, nothing. Those of you that know me may not be surprised... I'm not that great of a golfer (this is a club where over 50% of the members are single digit handicap players and I limp along at a 16), and as Groucho said, "I would never join a club that would have me as member!"; but as it turns out Tom (who is a single digit handicap and much more politically correct than I am) is also a member and received (or in this case.. Not) the same non-communications as I did.

     Now, here we are in an environment where every member counts. I can tell you that no matter what the condition of a given club, people love their club! If they are a member, there is a reason. It may be the best or worst piece of real estate in the world, but people get attached to their club and they love it. Truth of the matter - the reason is typically much more about the friends they have at the club than the club itself. I have already heard that many of the members of my club, based on the rumors flying, have joined other clubs. Already, we are looking at losing 20% of the membership simply due to the lack of a simple letter that at least could explain what is going on and what the options are. Sadly, "my club" will either go under or if they are lucky will make it as a public facility. While hindsight is 20/20, it is a classic case study in how not to run a club.

     So now that we are mere weeks away from the grass starting to grow, we started calling around for options at other area clubs. We called 4 private mid to upscale clubs in a 20-mile area. The following is recap of how the conversation went at every single one of the clubs we called.

     Club: Hello and thank you for calling Cypress Hills Audubon Osprey Sanctuary and Golf Club, how can I help you?

     Rick: Hi, My name is Rick Robshaw, what is yours? (Side Note: Pet Peeve of mine... always tell the caller your name!)

     Club: Hi Rick. My name is Jody.

     Rick: Hi Jody. The reason I am calling you today is that my club, where I have been a member for the past 5 years,
     looks like it may be closing down.

     Club: Yes, that seems to be happening to a lot of clubs in the industry. It's such a shame. I bet it happens here at
     CHAOS GC soon!

     Rick: Oh really, well umm uhh..., so I was calling to inquire about membership at your club since I live close by.

     Club: Oh? You want to join here? Ummm... Gee... I don't know... let me ask... ([Screaming over the phone:] Hey I got
     some guy here looking for membership information! What do I tell him? Does anybody know what a membership
     costs?)

     Club: Hi Rick, I'm sorry but nobody seems to know anything about joining the club here. Can you call back tomorrow,
     my boss will be in and maybe he knows?

     Rick: Umm, well, umm, ok, I guess. Maybe you can call me back when you get the information?

     Club: Oh, Ok, well... Ok. Let me have your number.

     Rick: 724-274-0380.

     Club: Got it.

     Rick: Great, thanks!

     Club: Ok, thanks for calling. Bye.

     Now, if I didn't experience this myself, I would think the above is typical marketing BS to sell you some consulting. I'm telling you, this is almost verbatim of how each of the 4 calls went. All 100% of the clubs I talked to as a live hot lead (who by the way will most likely bring at least 4, and possibly as many as 8 to 10, new members with me!) was willing to let me off the hook without so much as asking for my phone number to call me back! I had to offer it to them. (Update: One week later and not a single club has called back - unbelievable! Being in the business, I know for a fact that each of these clubs is desperate for members, even if it is me!).

     Let me tell you something: If you expect to be in the golf business much longer, you better learn how to sell. Further, you better teach anyone that touches that phone or interacts with any member or guest, how to sell; and you better do it now and be damn good at it! We are well past the days of "Build it and they will come..." (besides, that was baseball, not golf).

     Ideally, the person who answered the phone should have been trained in sales. However, even without formal training or knowing the answers I was seeking, here is the bare minimum of how this call should have gone:

     Club: Hello and thank you for calling CHAOS GC. My name is Jody. How can I help you?

     Rick: Hi Jody. My name is Rick. The reason I am calling you today is that my club where I have been a member for
     the past 5 years looks like it may be closing down.

     Club: Yes, that seems to be happening to a lot of clubs in the industry. It's such a shame. However, here at CHAOS GC
     we have a thriving membership and many ongoing activities. CHAOS seems to be the perfect escape from all of the
     doom and gloom out there.

     Rick: That's good to know. So I was calling to inquire about membership at your club since I live close by.

     Club: That's great Rick, let me get your full name, phone number and email address. [Note: get the prospect's contact
     info before saying you can't help him!]

     Rick: Sure. My name is Rick Robshaw. Phone is 724-274-0380, and my email is Rick@ClubProphetSystems.com.

     Club: Got it! Were you interested in a family membership, a single membership, a company, or maybe something else?

     Rick: Actually, I am interested in a single membership, but now that you mention it I do have a company so I would
     like to know what that is all about. Oh, and the friends I play with at my current club may be interested in joining me
     if the price is right.

     Club: Oh that's great! I have all of your information here, but unfortunately Jack, my boss who knows all the ins and
     outs of the membership options, is out for the day. I will give him all of your info so he can provide you with all of your
     options. What would be the best time tomorrow to have him follow up with you?

     Rick: Oh, I see. Well I will be in all morning. If he could call me any time after 9 am that would work.

     Club: Perfect. I will have Jack call you tomorrow and look forward to seeing you here at the club for a tour with Jack.

     Rick: Great, thanks!

     Club: Ok, thanks for calling. Bye.

     Hopefully, my name, phone, and email go into a contact list database (which puts me on their automated email blasts list) and Jody does indeed make sure that Jack follows up with a phone call prepared with the different membership plans in which I have expressed an interest. Bonus Marketing Tip: After Jack does follow up, have Jody call me back to ask if Jack did indeed place the follow up call. Something like (a couple of days later):

     Jody: Hi Rick. As it turns out, I missed seeing Jack yesterday and just wanted to make sure he got back to you.

     Rick: Hi Jody. Yes he did call and go over the options with me yesterday.

     Jody: Great, I was afraid he did not get my message. So what did you think? Are you going to come in for a tour?

     etc.,... [the point here is use this as a tool to gauge the interest of the prospect]

     Want to test your club? Call (or if the club house staff will recognize your voice, have a friend call) and see how this conversation goes for you at your very own club. It will either give you peace of mind or scare the hell out of you, but at least you will know where you stand. Don't be fooled -- there will be many clubs that fail, but many more will thrive. You must know how to adapt to the current economic environment. Here at CPS, we just had the best year ever and so far this year, we are doing twice the business we did last year. It is in economic times like this where fortunes are made. Adapt, rise to the challenge, and prosper.

     Want me to give you a sales pitch? I will offer a rare onsite consultation that will include me and fellow industry consultant, the Legendary Andrew Wood. The cost for both industry-leading consultants is $20K per day and we will tailor the experience to make sure you are one of the survivors in this market. Due to our respective schedules, we will only entertain offering this combined force for one client per quarter. OR ...

     ...for $39.95, you can get a start on your own by reading Cunningly Clever Marketing by, my buddy, Andrew Wood. Apparently, I have been around Andrew for too long because I just finished reading this book and now it all seems so obvious to me. However, as 4 out of 4 clubs have shown, a lot of you are in desperate need of serious help. This book will have you saying time and again, "Well of course! Why didn't I think of that?" It is easy to read (i.e., it doesn't put you to sleep like most business books will) and if you follow the advice you will be well on the way to improving your bottom line.

     Now that I got that off my chest, next week I will go back to writing lessons. In the meantime, I am "Club-Less" if you want to adopt me!

Until next time,

Enjoy :)

If you need anything, let us know.

Also, if you would like something specific covered in one of these Lessons, send the request my way.
See all the great tips in our prior newsletters posted on our website under the Lessons from the Pro link.