The best time to discuss business on the golf course is at the 19th hole – meaning after the game.
A fun golf outing should be about getting to know your guest better in a relaxed setting. Trust me, you can find out a lot about a person’s character by the way they play this sport. What other situation guarantees a minimum of four hours with a prospect or client? The bottom line is people do business with people they like. It’s more important to set the tone before the outing. Find out if your guest is a serious golfer up for some serious competiton or if they just want to get to know you. Then, make sure you get to the course early to take care of registration, balls, tees, water and towels. Make your intentions clear, so they won’t worry about being held captive. They probably just want to enjoy the day. But by all means, let your guest lead. If they want to talk business while they’re playing, go for it.
Then again, some guests may need a little coaching. Andy Birol, a small business consultant based in Cleveland, recently shared a story about taking out a 29-year-old business-owner who showed up in cargo pants and a t-shirt. The guy parred eight holes in a row. Each time he returned to the golf cart he texted throughout the round. After the 18th hole his guest thanked him for the round. But the other two guests, a CFO of a local bank, and his guest, a 50-something tycoon, were appalled. “I just chuckled, sensing how much the world is changing and with it our need to adapt to generations ahead of us,” Birol said. Leave it to Andy to see the positive side of any situation. Now he’s put together a list of what not to do when you’re trying to sell to a twenty-something.
To the question of when to talk business…the 19th hole seems right. However, I find it is helpful though to prepare the client for what you want to talk about ahead of time. I typically find a lull in the action around the 10 or 11th hole. You may even find that when you bring up the business idea, that the client wants to talk about it right then…which of course, if fine too.
The best time is based on the expectations that are set when the initial date is made. Before we take clients out we make an effort to determine if their intent is to focus on playing the game or if they are just looking for an environment in which we can relax and build a better relationship. It is important to be sensitive to the client’s needs. At a recent golf outing one of the players repeatedly tried to engage another one in a business conversation. Finally I had to step in and refocus everyone’s attention on the game. Later my VP told me that my actions made the client feel more comfortable and he expressed an interest in working with us and not the other guy’s company. The comment was “your guy is not such a great golfer but he knew why I attended the outing.”