How in the world does the club down the street sell so much merchandise? I can't get my members to buy anything!
How many main golf lines are you offering?
Most try to limit the shop to 2-3. You will NEVER do the business the club down the street does with 2-3 lines. You need more like 9-12 or 7-8 golf lines and 2-3 lifestyle lines depending on how excited you get your membership and how well you can cut them off from the local mall. Luckily for you, many golf lines also offer a full line of lifestyle. Have your rep help identify your members needs and start offering them a saved trip to the mall.
Speaking of Lifestyle, my members wont buy it?
Says the pro who brought in 4 button down shirts 2 weeks before Christmas. It is work, hard work, it takes more than a season to train members to adapt to letting the shop handle more than golf needs. The best places do this flawlessly utilizing catalogs, the internet, and shipping. In the North East for example, lifestyle is in heavy demand in the fall. Turn the shop into a boutique and have it fully stocked by late august, so when members come back after aeration they see a fresh shop.
The club down the street has salesmen and women.
You bet they do. Identify your membership, who they are and what they buy. Notify them of orders before they come, get them excited, ask to put stuff on hold for them.
The club down the street gets $85 for a shirt, over $100 for some, I can only get $60 and can't get their prices. If I try my sales will tank.
If you raise the price of a cheap $60 shirt to $100 you bet it will never sell. If you raise the price of that $60 shirt to $65 no one will bat an eye. The next season you go $70 and start adding 1-2 $80 shirt lines. Every season is a new step in pricing and quality. As you get your average shirt up to $75-80 you dump those brands that only warrant a $60 price tag. Raise the value of your shop, your bottom line deserves it!
I don't have enough member activity to carry a lot of inventory.
Incorporate prizes, shop merchandise into tournaments. As you raise the standard of the tournaments you can also raise the price. It is widely proven members will pay for quality. This is why they are members of a private club! They want better tournaments, better shop merchandise, and a better overall experience. The ones that don't just don't know they really do yet, you need to show them the way!
But the logo down the street is a badge of honor, ours is not.
It is true members buy clothing with their logo when they are proud. If your membership is not buying merchandise because they are not proud of the logo you have a whole lot of work to do. Maintaining a happy community is hard enough but that's what the club down the street is doing. You need to establish a happy community which is very difficult but proven at many clubs that don't have the "big name" all over the world.
How many main golf lines are you offering?
Most try to limit the shop to 2-3. You will NEVER do the business the club down the street does with 2-3 lines. You need more like 9-12 or 7-8 golf lines and 2-3 lifestyle lines depending on how excited you get your membership and how well you can cut them off from the local mall. Luckily for you, many golf lines also offer a full line of lifestyle. Have your rep help identify your members needs and start offering them a saved trip to the mall.
Speaking of Lifestyle, my members wont buy it?
Says the pro who brought in 4 button down shirts 2 weeks before Christmas. It is work, hard work, it takes more than a season to train members to adapt to letting the shop handle more than golf needs. The best places do this flawlessly utilizing catalogs, the internet, and shipping. In the North East for example, lifestyle is in heavy demand in the fall. Turn the shop into a boutique and have it fully stocked by late august, so when members come back after aeration they see a fresh shop.
The club down the street has salesmen and women.
You bet they do. Identify your membership, who they are and what they buy. Notify them of orders before they come, get them excited, ask to put stuff on hold for them.
The club down the street gets $85 for a shirt, over $100 for some, I can only get $60 and can't get their prices. If I try my sales will tank.
If you raise the price of a cheap $60 shirt to $100 you bet it will never sell. If you raise the price of that $60 shirt to $65 no one will bat an eye. The next season you go $70 and start adding 1-2 $80 shirt lines. Every season is a new step in pricing and quality. As you get your average shirt up to $75-80 you dump those brands that only warrant a $60 price tag. Raise the value of your shop, your bottom line deserves it!
I don't have enough member activity to carry a lot of inventory.
Incorporate prizes, shop merchandise into tournaments. As you raise the standard of the tournaments you can also raise the price. It is widely proven members will pay for quality. This is why they are members of a private club! They want better tournaments, better shop merchandise, and a better overall experience. The ones that don't just don't know they really do yet, you need to show them the way!
But the logo down the street is a badge of honor, ours is not.
It is true members buy clothing with their logo when they are proud. If your membership is not buying merchandise because they are not proud of the logo you have a whole lot of work to do. Maintaining a happy community is hard enough but that's what the club down the street is doing. You need to establish a happy community which is very difficult but proven at many clubs that don't have the "big name" all over the world.