It is the time of year that your inbox is filled with tournament emails. It would be great If you could attend every event and enjoy your summer but that will have to wait until you retire. Getting out a few times a month done right can be a good networking strategy. How do you identify the best bang for your buck and more importantly your time?
Some key ideas include:
- Budgeting what you are willing to spend during the season on tournaments.
- Select your tournaments. This can be a mix of organizations you support, missions to donate to and places where your clients are.
- Determine if it makes more sense to sponsor the event based on the exposure. For instance if you can sponsor and sit at a hole where your client base is golfing you will get more visibility and make more connections then golfing with your coworkers.
- If you are sending a team of golfers from your company ask that they be split up on other teams where they can develop relationships outside of your own group. This maximizes your exposure to new connections.
- Be thoughtful about knowing who the attendees are, if there is anyone specific you want to meet then seek them out. You can even send an introductory email with a note that you look forward to meeting them at the event.
- Contact the people you meet after the tournament. I recommend getting connected on Linked In and sending a follow-up email.
Remember mixing business and pleasure is still a win if you have a plan. Also it should be said that sometimes a day on the course is just that – a day to enjoy time with colleagues supporting a cause.