A great way to conduct business is on the golf course. And learning golf for business is a must in this day and age. Golf is more popular than you think and for most of us there is no place we would rather be than on the course. It beats the heck out of a stuffy office conference room and lightens the mood. Many CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies know this fact already because up to 90% of these folks do business on the course. Golf is also a great place to network and make connections to help grow your business. Here are just a few reasons why you should have your next meeting or sales call with that important client on the course.
1. Want to learn more about a person than you ever could in a meeting. Take them on the course and within an average four hour round you will learn more about who they are and how they handle problems and diversity. Do they lose their cool on a bad shot. Are they playing by the rules or just breaking them to fit their own needs. The fact is that they are more than likely the same way in how they act at their jobs. Or how they conduct their business.
2. There is plenty of down time in between shots to talk and find common interests along with covering topics that you would face in a normal meeting at the office.
This can give you time to build a relationship with a client in a causal setting.
3. Being in a casual setting encourages individuals to let their guard down. This can be a good or bad thing but it does give you insight to someone or somebody who represents the company you will be in contact with on a continual basis. This can let you know what to expect from this person or company over a long period. Does this person fly off the handle at little things or do the forge ahead and not let minor mistakes slow them down. We will see this example when a person makes a poor shot and their reaction to that poor shot. How do they handle it?
4. How are they under pressure. When playing a round you can put a little pressure by playing for some stakes. This puts some pressure on the person you are with and let’s you see how they handle it. This is best in a hiring situation. Let’s say you need to hire a manager position for your company. Take that person on the course and see how they are under pressure. This will give you good insight as to how they will deal with it on the job.
5. Team building is another great vehicle that can be forged in golf. Have teams that work towards a goal at the office be a team out on the course. This helps them get to know each other better and work on bonding with one another. You will find the team that plays together stays together and it will translate back into the office helping that same group work together on a project as a team.
6. Knowing how many CEO’s play this is a great place to start forging friendships and connections for woman in business. Many men are impressed when a woman has knowledge about the game and can talk about the sport in conversations. This gives you a go to when meeting with the top notch brass in your company.
7. Networking out on the course is great for your business when you are playing with folks you just met. You can chat about what you do and who know the person you are playing with just might be in the market for services that you offer. If not today then in the future or they might have a friend or business acquaintance that may need your service.
So golf is not only fun but a great way to find out more about people and build new friendships and bond with fellow coworkers. Give it a try and I know that you will not only have more fun than being in the office but you might just find that perfect business relationship that can last a lifetime.
