One of the biggest challenges for golf course operators is ensuring they are converting the leads that are generated by membership, wedding, or event marketing campaigns. In many cases, the person in charge of following up on event or membership inquiries is the same person who is running the operations. Even facilities that have dedicated event managers and membership directors find it challenging to follow up quickly because the same team members also have to run the events and ensure great member experiences.

A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review noted that companies qualified 7x more leads if they responded inside of an hour. They were also 60x more likely to qualify the lead compared to companies that waited 24 hours or more.

What are some of the steps you can take to maximize these opportunities? Here are a few strategies employed by top sales teams:

The Process

Do you have a good sales lead workflow in place? When a new inquiry comes in, does it get routed quickly to the right person? Does the inquiry come with enough info to give your sales team a better chance of being prepared for the follow-up call?

The two most important items to consider in your process includes:

1. Speed of Lead Routing: How quickly does the sales rep get the information? Even if the sales rep receives a notification, how quickly are they able to respond? Is there a backup person in place to respond just in case your sales rep is unavailable?
2. Data Collection: What did your data capture form collect on the website? If it was an inbound call, what did the person answering the phone find out about your prospect? More information enables a more successful follow up by your sales rep.

Automation with Personalization

We all know how busy it gets during the season, and especially now with the increased demand for golf in 2020 and 2021. It’s common to get a new inquiry from the website while you’re in the middle of running a big event or you’re right in the middle of a slammed Saturday morning. Set up a good email autoresponder as a stopgap measure for times when the person responsible for sales at your facility is unavailable.

It’s also important to make sure the message they receive is tailored to the page they visited on your website. You can even make sure that they are added to specific segments based on form fields they completed.

Organized Data

Email database segmentation is critical for organizing leads correctly and retargeting these prospects if they don’t initially convert. Your website should always include custom data capture forms for your membership, events, and wedding information pages. These custom data capture forms should include fields that capture more information about your prospect so your sales rep will be better informed about the prospect’s needs prior to responding. Your email marketing software should also be connected to all of your custom data forms, giving you the ability to AUTOMATICALLY create and maintain customized lists/segments based on the info collected in these forms. The software should also give you the ability to trigger automated messages based on the specific information collected.

 Follow Up – Stay Connected

A study by Brevet revealed that 80% of sales require at least 5 follow-ups after the initial conversation or meeting. It’s critical to be persistent and stay connected with your prospect after the first conversation, and most salespeople give up too soon. Brevet’s study also noted that 44% of sales reps give up after only 1 follow-up.

Recap

Having a solid sales workflow can ensure that you maximize the ROI from your marketing efforts. Creating a great process for lead routing, response, and follow up are critical. Having the right technology can also make the workflow a breeze.

If you’d like us to look at your sales funnel or process, please reach out anytime and we can have a quick chat. You can reach me at (407) 395-4705 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..