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The Complete A-Z Manual on How to Sell More Banquets & Weddings at your Club

Are you getting a big enough share of the wedding cake at your club? Weddings offer some of the most lucrative business for clubs today yet many are missing the boat by not have a systematic marketing effort to capture their share. 
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Article Archive

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Market or Die!

   Yes the title is extreme. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say market or stagnate. But the truth is that if you don’t have a plan and a system for generating more golfers, you’re at the mercy of the economy, your competitors, and chance. Not the best plan!

   It’s easy to drift in the same channels you’ve used for years. And your experience actually can actually work against you! The greater your "experience," the more likely you are to tend to stay in a rut, whereas people just starting out have to try new things because they don’t have old standbys.
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Don't Treat Your Players Like This

  There are many sites (as well as individual blogs) where individuals can talk about their experiences at restaurants, hotels, resorts, and, yes, golf clubs. Many people search out these informal reviews to make decisions about where to play. What are players saying about your club?
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Improve Your Club with Employee Suggestions

Listen to your employees...

Employees are on the front lines with customers. They’re the ones who hear what your players love and what they hate. They know what systems are efficient and which are inefficient. If you don’t have an employee suggestion system to capture employee’s ideas, your club isn’t as good as it can be. For instance, only about 5% of golfer complaints get passed on to management.

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Making Every Employee a Salesperson Through Suggestive Selling

   One of the fastest ways to generate more incremental income quickly is to upsell customers during a transaction, especially a face-to-face one. Upselling is something that is easy and natural to do and should be done by every employee who comes into contact with players or members either in person or over the phone.  This includes the behind-the-scenes employees such as the golf course maintenance crew as they too interact with members, their guests, and other players on occasion. (For the sake of brevity, the word member will be used from here on out to include anyone who is using the club for their enjoyment.)

   Upselling is nothing more than suggestive selling. The employee will do nothing more than suggest something that is offered by the club. Quite often, upselling will be viewed as a help to the member as it creates awareness of what the club has available and what events are coming up in the future.  


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Member Connection Program for New Members

One of the least talked about parts of membership marketing is member retention. Members get old, members get sick, members move jobs, get divorced and suffer financial setbacks these are all facts of life over which you have no control. But there is plenty you DO have control over--little things that when added together can have a significant impact on member retention. After all, it took time and effort (and money) to get them in the door. Little things can keep them from going out the back door. Put a lock on the back door by getting members involved -- and keeping them involved -- and using the club.
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Boost Your Income with Father's Day Promotions

Each spring, plan your Mother’s and Father’s Day promotions. Don’t neglect online sales. They can add to your bottom line with relatively little effort.
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501(C)(7) Clubs Advertising for New Members

Can a 501(c)(7) tax-exempt Club advertise that they are looking for prospective new members? I believe the tax answer is yes, but;...........should Clubs advertise due to consequences other than tax? Can a Club advertise for new members?" is one of the more often asked tax questions by 501(c)(7) tax-exempt Clubs. The answer to this tax question is one of the more misunderstood within the Club industry...
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How to Ensure a Healthy Membership

If you do NOT have a short waiting list, or at least a strong list of 50 plus people that are currently interested in membership, then you already have a problem with declining membership, whether anyone wants to admit it or not! Membership sales take time to cultivate and close.  Yet, every year, you know a few more people are going to drop off your roster. (Most clubs close between 1 in 15 and 1 in 20 inquires.) 

Private clubs are facing three huge challenges:

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How to Get Your Club Out of The Hole

What Should You Do When Your Club Is Doing Poorly?

     Sometimes doing exactly the opposite of what you have been doing up until now can turn out to be the perfect solution. The natural tendency for a person, when they find themselves in a hole, is to dig deeper. In many cases, the solution is to go and dig somewhere else. Remember, the first law of holes is, "When you find yourself in one, stop digging."

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How To Triple Your Word of Mouth Advertising

Two things I learned about word of mouth advertising, you can put to immediate use at your club.

1. Have Something to Shout About

When first-time visitors to Disneyland and Disney World are surveyed and asked what sticks most in their minds about their visit, the overwhelming Number One answer is the cleanliness of the parks.
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The 7 Deadly Mistakes of Web Design

You’re spending a lot of money on your web site. Avoid these 7 deadly mistakes of web design to make your web site more effective.
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Check List for Setting Up Special Events

Use this list as a starting point to develop an event check list ("punch list") - not all items will pertain to each event. Create a separate check list for each type of event you run (for example, wedding, retirement dinner, charity golf event, corporate golf tournament) to make sure your events run smoothly each and every time.
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A Checklist of Possible Psychographic Characteristics of Your Target Markets

In order to effectively market to your existing customers and prospects, you need to undcerstand who they are. Demographics are external qualities like age, income, where they live, and how much money they make. Psychographics are internal qualities. Use the checklist below to stimulate your thinking about what the psychographics of your prime target market are.
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How to Get Members Interested in Your Autoresponder Message


If you are using your autoresponder to sell a product or service, you must be very careful as to how you approach your potential customer. Few people like a hard sale, and marketers have known for years that in most cases, a prospect must hear your message an average of seven times before they will make a purchase. Use autoresponders to do this.
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Use Email Technology to Boost Referrals

With Internet technology, businesses can use email to grow referral business by stimulating and tracking word of mouth. The right tools and incentives make all the difference in turning customers into referral advocates through compelling messages that can be easily forwarded on to others.
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Golf Courses: Should We Encourage Wildlife on Them?

Often we come across new ways of thinking, some exceptionally brilliant and others fairly pedestrian by comparison. However, it is always worth looking at new ideas but one thing stands out with most golf courses and that is how you tend to feel a little closer to nature when you are playing a few rounds. With the help of a professional biologist, the golf course manager can identify strategies that will lead to creating a more naturalistic landscape.
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The Particulars of Golf Course Management

A common dream for golfers is to be able to manage their own golf course. Imagine having the freedom of being surrounded by your favorite sport 365 days a year and also being in complete charge of an entire golf course. . Having knowledge about golf course management is a must. Owning a golf course isn’t something that you should jump into without first considering all of the possible angles and difficulties that you may face along the way.
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Benchmarketing Your Club’s Website

Here Are Some Key Benchmarks You Should Monitor to Judge Your Club’s Online Success:

Sure you have a website that looks good but how effective is it at communicating with your members and attracting new business for your club? What’s more just how do you define if you really have a site that is keeping you ahead of the technologhy curve? This nine point benchmark will help you answer that question!

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Marketing Your Golf Club in the Snow!

Smart operators know that the winter months are an excellent time to build their databases for spring. They also know that both internet use and direct mail response increases dramatically in the winter! Winter is the time to STRIKE with contests, free downloads, fantasy golf games, surveys, tips, in fact anything you can do to continue a dialog with your customers and potential customers.
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Understanding the Basics of Advertising

Advertising is like an investment that you hope to get a great return on. However, most people treat it like they’re playing Roulette in Vegas and bet all their money "on black." The basics of good copy is to think in terms of words that sell. Following are some basics in advertising that should help you make your advertising more effective.

 

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Timeless Marketing Truth: The Secret Of Killer Sales Letters

The difference between a great sales letter and an average one can be the difference between success and failure. Here are some tried-and-true tips for writing killer sales letters.
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Video Marketing for Free Traffic

Using video marketing to drive traffic to your web site is an online marketing strategy many small business owners and internet marketers are beginning to embrace, with much success. Having a traditional website only allows you to reach those people who first find your website. However, combining video, social networking and some simple video marketing techniques can drive hordes of qualified visitors to your website.
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Deadly Membership Marketing Mistakes

Most clubs sabotage their efforts to sell memberships. Avoid these 10 common mistakes and see your membership sales rise.
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The First Steps in Marketing

You may already know enough to get started with your marketing. For instance, you probably know how your product or service is generally purchased. [Most people don’t market well. You’re the exception because you’re going to a session on how to market!]

WARNING. Before you start marketing, do the basics. You’ll only have one shot at parts of it. It’s less expensive in the long run to do it right in the short run.

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Step-by-Step New Marketing

11 ideas to get your marketing going.
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Niche Marketing

Your niche is the culmination of your research, strategy, and decisions terms. In particular, you use your research and develop your strategy to create a niche for yourself. When done right, research and strategy result in you having a protected niche where you will flourish.
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12 Secrets to Building Relationships

Here are 12 tips for building strong relationships with customers and contacts.
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Boost Sales by Using Birthdays

Use these ideas to make your customers’ birthdays a branding, loyalty and revenue-generating event.
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Back to School ... Marketing 101

If you’re not email marketing to students, perhaps you should be. Today’s high school and college students are digital experts.  Additionally, most are parent-supported, with plenty of discretionary income, which makes this group very attractive for email marketing.
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Tips for League Play and Increased Food and Beverage Service

Here are 6 great ideas that you can implement this season to increase your food and beverage sales and league play.
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Tips to Differentiate Your Facility Today!

Why should I do business with you instead of your competitor? That’s the toughest question in business and one that businesses are constantly working to answer concisely and with unwavering clarity. It’s vital that we all differentiate our businesses based on our services and not just our products. Don’t get me wrong, we all have to have products that people want - golf courses that people want to play - but that’s like "jacks or better to open" in poker, not a winning hand.

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Developing Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) To Boost Your Wedding Business!

Every product and every business (in fact everything that’s for sale) must have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). It’s more than your brand. It’s the reason people should write you a check or hand over a credit card.
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Dennis Smith’s Daughter Just Got Engaged....Now What?

Perhaps you have a Dennis Smith at your club. He’s been a member for years. He runs a successful company. He’s quietly one of the wealthiest people around. You would never know. Wedding receptions are the closest thing to free money in the golf business. Make sure your members think of your club for weddings.
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10 Ways to Boost Wedding Revenue

Many clubs are benefiting from their wedding business. Good news. However, even clubs with a full book of business can find new revenue. And clubs that have a decent amount of wedding business should find ways to get the revenue up from receptions, rehearsal dinners, bridesmaids lunches, etc. Here are ten sure-fire ways to boost wedding revenue.
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What Makes Your Club So Special?

So your area is saturated with decent, daily fee courses, or for that matter private clubs, all-fighting for survival. You all have 18 holes, a clubhouse and a bar. You all cut the greens everyday and you all at least claim, to have good service (I mean have you ever been to a club where someone tells you service is bad?) So why should I pick YOUR Club?
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What Do When Your Membership Drive is Failing?

The answer is simple, provided that you have followed a logical path of targeted direct marketing to people within 30 miles of your club, who are at least by golf interest and income qualified for your offer!
 
Do nothing, nothing that is, except change the price!
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