The Kitchen Sales Coach Issue #9 - Golf: Metaphor for Business
By Robert Foltz, CKD
This is a business article that even non-golfers will like. Take a look at how you handle various situations that arise in life and business. As I've discussed in a previous newsletter, the way you do anything is the way you do everything.
Having recently taken up golf again after a 20-year hiatus, I find it amusing how people handle the stress and frustration of the game. It's a view into how your golf buddies handle business situations. If you ever get a chance to play a round with your competitors or suppliers, pay attention to how they play the game. It's a wonderful business tool, plus a fun get away for a few hours.
I played so badly last week that it was hard for me to keep going, but I'm not a quitter, so I kept playing. Almost every shot I took was either rushed, sloppy, or a combination of both. Because I'm not a quilter, I also keep calling on prospects until they tell me to stop calling. I never give up on a potential sale. Keep calling those prospects until they tell you to stop calling. There's a professional way to handle these calls, which is why I role play these scenarios this during my coaching sessions.
I was excited when I thought I hit one drive perfectly-until I watched it slice off into the rough. Now how am I going to get out of this spot without taking a penalty drop? I wanted to just give up, but instead I took the drop. If you have a job that's less than profitable because of uncontrollable job situations, do you quit on the customer? No matter how bad the situation, keep playing. Never ever walk off the course.
I made the mistake estimating a job once. What I assumed would be a 35 percent gross profit margin job turned out to be 15 percent because my estimating system was flawed. My project manager and I discussed it and came to the conclusion that we had to earn a referral, which we did. I didn't discuss my error with the customer, I just did the work. Not quitting is an important asset to your business. Of course I fixed the mistake in my system and developed a estimating system that's flawless. One key to success is to always have your proposal typed up or in the computer 24 hours before you present it. Overnight, you can think of issues or items left off the proposal that you never can think of when you're rushing to get it done an hour before the prospect walks in the door.
Back on the golf course, I took a shot through a couple of trees to move farther down the fairway, rather than lay up sideways to get a more clear shot to the green. It was a risky move because if you hit the tree, you can bounce the wrong way. Fortunately, I made the shot (one of my few nice shot that day). While every player has his own strategies, laying up, or giving up on your margin is simply unacceptable. Are you afraid to stick to your price and margin even if you risk losing the sale? The thought of giving up margin repulses me because I've done it in the past, and 100 percent of the time, I've deeply regretted it. The key is to prove your firm's value to the proposal and the prospect. When your perceived value exceeds the price of the proposals, checks are written and prospects turn into clients.
One of my golf buddies was being positive and supportive, always giving me encouragement while I was stinking up the course with my play. He never said a discouraging word or got angry with my attitude, he told me to keep pushing through it. He happens to be a sales manager at a dealership, so he understands sales and the process of self destruction that a negative attitude brings.
How are your support team, representatives, sales partners, and business partners? Do they support you when times are bad? Do they encourage you to keep pushing through the slump? We all go through it, so having a good support team is invaluable.
Having an honor code and a team is vital in today's business climate. I help companies develop this code for all to live up to-even the business owners. Everyone has to be accountable. Teamwork makes a big difference in a company's attractiveness to a potential client and certainly increases profitability.
The game of golf is a metaphor for business. It teaches you a lot about people.
Retool your Showroom and Selling Techniques
Use your brain, not your wallet, to energize your sales staff and your prospects. By making some small, inexpensive showroom changes and rethinking your sales technique, you can get an edge on your competitors for fewer dollars.
It costs next to nothing to put in a cabinet comparison wall and a Storyboard wall, both of which were detailed in my last newsletter, but they will allow you to walk a prospect through your business and tell the story of how you're going to help them with their dream project.
Look at the method you and or your company use to take a prospect from start to finish using your processes. Examine them critically, rethink them, and test them out. Role play the different scenarios that you encounter in your business.
I had no money when I was flying around the country talking to other dealers in my buying group that were doing things differently. I gradually incorporated them into my business and they added to my bottom line. I stopped focusing on what I didn't have and took a leap by trying something new. Why? I asked myself "How's my current thinking working for me?" I knew I could do better, and I did.
About Robert Foltz, CKD
Robert Foltz, CKD is experienced in all areas of the retail kitchen and bath business. As a manufacturers' representative, his experience and expertise can help improve your business. He also works as a sales trainer, consultant, and personal coach.
With 23 years of experience in every area of the kitchen business, he has personally experienced the most common mistakes all business owners and sales people make. He has used that experience to develop a formula that will help you avoid those common mistakes and to dramatically accelerate your success.
Robert can be reached at and his work can be seen on www.KitchenSalesCoach.com.