As a Career Consultant, I don’t have to do inventory or budget reporting like other PGA professionals do at golf facilities. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything on my “end of month” to do list. I do, and my main “to do” item is ensuring that all of my interactions are entered into our CRM tool.
The Sr. Director of PGA Career Services, Scott Kmiec, believes that our team of Career Consultants and Recruiting Specialists for the PGA of America play crucial roles in our efforts with the PGA members, associates, employers, and other industry stakeholders we serve. The nature of the interactions can span a range of categories:
Job search discussions
Document reviews (resumes, cover letters, business plans, marketing plans, etc.)
Coaching sessions (negotiations, interview prep and coaching, career planning, etc.)
Tools/Resources development (comp reports, job descriptions, team education, presentations, articles, etc.)
Search consultations for employers
Fee-based Executive Search leadership for management level positionsComplimentary search leadership for management level positions
Search assistance for employers to fill non-management level positions
Most often these services are made available at Section and Chapter events, intentionally visible to “build contacts that move to trust-based relationships.” It is the relationships that make all of the above possible and meaningful.
These interactions are completed by in-person, video chat, phone or email, but as you might imagine, some interactions hold more value. Each method can create value and be meaningful, but face-to-face or video chat engagements are considered the most valuable (and that makes sense.) Next, phone interactions are very valuable too, but as they are more convenient for those involved, they aren’t given the same weight or meaning as those conducted in person or via video. Emails also play a vital role, often serving as follow-ups from one-on-one interactions. The 1:1 brief in-person interactions where trust can be established are most important and, frankly, crucial to my success in this role.
Why Document Interactions Matter for You as a PGA Professional
Documentation of interactions isn’t just about data collection. By recording your member/customer engagement activities and the subsequent outcomes, you’re equipping yourself with a powerful tool that can demonstrate and leverage the tangible difference you or your staff make. It’s applicable throughout the golf operation, from the Lead PGA Professional (such as Head Professional, Director of Golf, etc.) to Assistant Professionals, and similar roles.
Verifying Your Influence, Leadership at Your Club as a PGA Professional
Show Your Value: Much like my role at the PGA of America, it’s crucial to track and then illustrate your value. It helps you demonstrate that you and your position are not expenses; instead, you and every engaged PGA professional represent worthy investments for marketing, activating, and engaging the customer/member. Your role enhances customer spend, bolsters facility support, and fuels customer loyalty (and its growth).
Verify Your Impact: In short, tracking and recording your interactions verifies your impact.
Share your results in the recent past for growing participation in events (inside events)
If you’re at a public access facility, share how you grew “group event rounds” revenue by number of rounds, by average fee, by average spend and/or by any combination of these metrics
Show how you have grown specific revenues, year over year especially if you’ve sold more memberships, golf passes, if you’ve grown the junior program
Show how you and your team (if applicable) have “gotten into the game, the golf bag or similar” of your core customers/members. Their support for the facility, (overall golf spend, number of rounds played, F&B spend, etc.) will be positively impacted when you:
Help them play better (and hit more good shots, fewer bad shots and shoot lower scores)
Help them make friends at the course/club
Play golf with them AND other core golfers, including at a pro-am, or you take them on a group trip
The PGA, led by the PGA Player Engagement team, has multiple tools available for you including the Value Tracker for PGA Junior League. Connect with Patrick Oropallo, our Section’s Player Engagement Consultant (PEC) to learn more about this tool and others.
Verifying Your Influence, Leadership Within Your Community as a PGA Professional
Keeping records of your engagements within your community provides a tangible measure of influence and leadership as a PGA professional. The countless hours spent organizing community events, coordinating youth outreach programs, or providing leadership in local golf organizations contribute to the fabric of your community. Documenting these activities underscores your commitment to community development and growth through golf, not to mention enhancing your facility’s “brand” in tangible and intangible ways throughout the community/town.
Sharing Your Value to Get More Value for Yourself
As this season comes to a close, let me take a moment to thank each one of you for your immense contributions as PGA Professionals. Your dedication, hard work and commitment to the high standards of the PGA have not gone unnoticed. You have made a remarkable difference within your clubs, communities, and to golf as a whole.
If you’re on the lookout for resources or tools to better track your value, and subsequently showcase it effectively, I encourage you to get in touch with me or Patrick Oropallo as previously mentioned. Together, we can find effective ways to document your interactions, measure your impact, and highlight your invaluable contributions. And, along with a relevant (and recent) compensation report that applies to your role/your facility/your facility’s market, we can help you tell your story so you can get the value out of your efforts beyond this current pay period or year.
Remember that showcasing your efforts is a crucial part of your role. By documenting your engagement activities/interactions and their outcomes (and revenues driven), we can demonstrate the remarkable difference you make to the game of golf and its stakeholders. Individually and collectively, it is our PGA passion that fuels the success of golf, and I am here to assist you in making your efforts visible and acknowledged.
Reach out to me anytime. I look forward to hearing from you, and once again, thank you for your commendable work this season as a PGA Professional.
Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional, CEIP
PGA of America | Career Coach & Consultant/Certified Interview Coach
Certified Predictive Index Practitioner
mkoch@pgahq.com
206.335.5260
Based in South King County, WA
Source: Pacific Northwest Section PGA.
Original content:
https://www.pnwpga.com/2023/the-importance-of-tracking-interactions-has-never-mattered-more/
