Capital Competition

       Recently at Turf Equipment University, Steve Keating, the Manager of Selling Skills for the Toro Company, gave a presentation called, "Selling Your Needs to Your Members". It really was a great talk about how you compete for capital dollars at your club. The reality is at most clubs there are capital dollars available, but the big question is how you get more of them? I can't tell you how many times I have spoken to a Superintendent or Technician, who was voicing his frustration about not being able to replace a piece of equipment that was long overdue to be retired, but the clubhouse was getting new carpeting, painting and their kitchen redone.
       To steal a line from one of our other presenters, Sabrina Bladon from AdFarm, "You talk agronomics and they want economics"! So how do you speak their language? I know the Superintendents, who have been the most successful, have long term facts and figures about their repair and maintenance expenses. Sometimes people forget how many man hours get tied into that figure. In addition, what tracking system do you use for your fleet and the big white board in the shop does not count. From the Toro side, we have myTurf to track your fleet. I have multiple clubs using the wireless hour meters on their mixed fleet to keep records current. I also have some using Trims and a few others an old school notebook.
       Well, talking numbers is one part of the equation, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words; Even better a walk through meeting at the shop! One of my favorite stats to make a comparison is that a non-turf person can relate to hours on a machine to miles on their car. One of the stats I have learned throughout the years is that 75 miles equates to 1 hour on a piece of equipment (Believe I got this from Jim Nedin). So, if you think about running a car at full throttle with multiple operators and extreme conditions, it is a little easier to relate to. Helping the decision makers to fully understand the age and condition of your equipment is so key.
       Sadly, just talking about the improved ability to be better at providing a quality product, is not  always the best approach. One of the other angles that hits home is safety. The reality of today is you need to protect your club and yourself legally. While everyone wants to provide a safe work place, the fact is sometimes your equipment is not helping in that effort.
        To come back to Steve Keating's presentation, know who you are selling to. Is your greens chairman a financial planner (numbers guy) or a lawyer (safety and legal impact). Hopefully, you have a professional salesperson who you trust and can help you to put together a plan for success.
In the end, the more preparation you put into your sales presentation to you owner or board members, the odds go up to win the battle of the capital dollars.



WJC