5 ways to use your internal community to grow business

Growing the business of golf as well as overall property sales is a never-ending challenge. There are weather issues, challenges with course conditions, and competitive situations, where the local business community seems to drive hard after the party circuit: i.e. birthdays, anniversary events, and of course, wedding receptions. The landscape is littered with battles at every turn, every fairway. Although I cannot promise you the competitive nature of your business will shrink, I can suggest the idea of looking inside for new ideas, new solutions.

As you continue to plan for additional sales in each department, begin to look at the community you have inside your circle.  Look at your staff, your suppliers, and even local business leaders who play at the club. These people might help you unlock new business, as well as ideas that will build a bigger, better future. Here are 5 thoughts about your internal community.

1) Work with your team, discussing the challenges the club is having. Be open, looking for new thoughts, ideas, and answers. The past experiences and talents of your team just might help you uncover new directions from which to grow sales.  Working through challenges together can only help build your organization

2) Meet with your suppliers, looking for ideas, for best practices from their territories.  These folks are constant witnesses to smart ideas in all areas of the business.  Begin to tap into what these people have seen and also what they know

3) Teach your entire team to play the game.  When the non-golfers on the team truly understand what the game is all about, you will create an empathy that competitors will not duplicate.  Whether these new golfers play or not is unimportant.  They will bring a new level of hospitality to their role which they will share with the members & guests.  Watch golf revenue as well as restaurant sales grow

4) Cross train members of your team.  When you move staff around, have them work in others’ shoes, you will not only have backup support when extra busy, you will create a team more understanding of the efforts all put forth each day

5) Meet with golfers who not only play your course, but own or manage a business nearby.  Ask to meet with several business leaders, asking them how they would create new sales and build a larger hospitality story at the club.  My experience tells me most will jump at the chance to offer their expertise and ideas.

We all tend to look outside for every fix, every cure.  This post asks you to tap into your team, your vendors, your entire personal community to find very new, different answers. Once you enlarge the questions, you will have new, different ideas coming to you.  Look inside to grow all departments.  At the same time, give your team the chance to contribute in new, meaningful ways.  When you do, you will not only be growing your sales, you will be growing your people too.

Jack Dillon writes the highfives post.  Jack has been in the golf industry for 46 years.  He is an expert on service, on operations, on merchandise.  Jack is a coach, a speaker, a consultant.  Contact Jack at 407-973-6136.