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As we are all only too aware the golfing landscape has changed significantly over the past few years, and probably none more so than that of the traditional club professional.  We are now seeing golf pros specialise in certain areas rather than focussing on wearing a number of hats as many club pros do.

These specific areas of expertise include that of teaching and golf instruction. The golf instruction industry has now become much more mainstream – from the days of David Leadbetter making his name with his work with Nick Faldo, to Sean Foley and his well chronicled work with Tiger.

As a result, we now see a great many PGA members teaching full-time at driving ranges up and down the country, and for these golf pros teaching is their only source of income with no retainer being paid to them.  In the majority of cases a rent or percentage of earnings is paid back to the range owner in return for that professional to be able to have a spot to teach at that particular driving range.

Instructor or business owner?

The self-employed full time instructor needs to be part instructor and part small business owner, and a question I often ask when presenting to golf instructors is ‘Which do you need to be first, golf instructor or business owner?’

You could be the best instructor in the world, but if you do not market yourself and let people know who you are then you will not be able to create the fans you need.

I am fortunate to be able to teach at a very busy driving range, and having been teaching there now for 14 years I have built up a client list and manage to fill my lesson book well in advance.

I often used to think that because my facility is so busy then this would always be the case, but over the past number of years something has changed.  I have seen a number of good instructors come to work at my facility and then struggle to fill their lesson book, and leave to greener pastures after a period of time.

This got me thinking as to why some instructors would thrive and others would struggle.  I plan to share with you insights I have gained that you can then apply to your own business and increase your revenue.

You need a list

First things first, if you want to be a busy instructor you need clients, not customers – it is important to know the difference.  A customer is someone who has done business with you once; a client is someone who does business with you over and over again.

So you must have a list of your clients, and you need to be collecting data as much as you can – at bare minimum you need to have the email address and mobile phone number of every one of your students.  If you are reading this and you do not have these, then make it a point to start collecting this today.

This list becomes your client base, or as Ken Blanchard calls them, Raving Fans.  I have used the following methods of collecting email addresses from people.

Collecting data

1.

Add a place on your website for people to enter their email to go on to your mailing list.  In return for this it is a good idea to have a free download, this can be In the format of a pdf document, based on a golfing topics, for example, hit better bunker shots, improve your chipping, or ten extra yards from the tee, just use your imagination.

2.

Walking the range. I know this is a contentious issue among golf instructors, but this is a great way for people to see you.  I understand that some people are on the range to practice and do not want to be bothered by a golf pro, but with some practice this can be a very powerful strategy to increase your client base.

My way of doing this is to have my video camera with me, and ask a golfer practicing if he wouldn’t mind me videoing his swing as I have a new camera I wish to try out, I have never had a golfer say no.

Once videoed, ask the golfer if he would like to see his swing, show them, but do not offer any instruction at this point.  Inevitably the golfer will ask a question, and if he asks for your advice, then give it.

Before leaving ask the golfer if he has an email address as you would like to send him the video clip of his golf swing.  Easy.

3.

Have a goldfish-type bowl near where you teach on the driving range.  If a golfer puts his business card in the bowl he will be entered into a monthly draw to win a golf lesson with you.

4.

Talk to people on the range.  Show people that you are personable and approachable.  If you are asked for your business card, hand it to them.  You should always have business cards on you, and then ask the golfer for his card in return.  If he does not have one with him, ask for an email address or mobile number.

You mustn’t wait for the golfer to get back to you.  If you wait for the golfer to take the initiative it may never happen.  Personally, I wait 24 hours and then email or text the golfer with a small note saying something along the lines of ‘How nice it was to meet the other day and when are you looking to come in for that lesson’.  You must follow up.

What to do with your list

Once you start to compile a list, you now have to do something with it. For myself I send out a newsletter once a month.  If you are going to do this, you need to be consistent with how often you send it out, and at what time of the month.

If you are not already sending out a newsletter, then I urge you to start doing so immediately, because if you aren’t, then another golf pro could be contacting your students and you are missing out.

You must keep yourself at the forefront of your students’ minds when they come to thinking about golf instruction, and by regularly making contact with them, you will become their ‘go to guy’ for golf instruction.

In terms of a newsletter, I put information in my newsletter about the golfing world in general, tournament results etc.  I also put in items such as an instruction tip (in video format), a recommended reading list of instruction books, an article from a fitness or psychology expert and student success stories.

Again, design it to suit your own needs, but remember you must be consistent with when and how often you send it out.

Also be sure to add an ‘opt-out’ button in case people do not wish to receive emails from you. If you are unsure about any of the above, you should contact a web designer.

White space in the diary is the devil. Well, not quite but close. White space in your diary means lost revenue.  This is where I find having students’ mobile numbers is very useful.  If I get a late cancellation, I will send out a group text informing people of this, many of my students find this helpful and more often than not, the space will get filled.

This also places you in a different bracket to other instructors who are not offering their students this service.  Input the students’ data into your phone; this is not a time consuming task for you to do.

I have a waiting list made up for students looking to get a lesson, especially at my peak times.  People really appreciate you contacting them to tell them of a cancellation and making an effort to get them booked in.

In conclusion

So to recap, you firstly need a list. Start compiling email addresses and mobile phone numbers of your students today, if you do not already.  Try and find clever ways of collecting them.  Make it your daily goal to try and add five addresses to your list.

Send out a newsletter – You must communicate with your students.  Be consistent on how often and when you send the newsletter out.

Text your students if you get any cancellations, or if you have space in your diary for a lesson.

Remember: They do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Ian Clark is an Advanced Fellow PGA Professional, a Trackman certified instructor, the Golfing Machine Authorised Instructor GSEM and one of GolfWorld’s Top 100 coaches in the UK. You can email Ian at ian@ianclarkgolf.co.uk.

For more details visit www.ianclarkgolf.co.uk.

One of the first things I did when I was looking at ways to make my teaching business more profitable, was to put some hours aside each week to help me ‘nurture’ my database.  I spoke to many prominent instructors as to how much time should be put aside for such an endeavour, and the most consistent answer that came back to me was that you must put aside 10% of the time you actually spend teaching to running your teaching business.

This was easy for me, across the year – on average I teach for forty hours per week, so I now put aside in two blocks of two hours, four hours a week for me to run my business.

When you first do this you will be tempted to book an additional lesson in, or find something else to do – try to fight this. Of all the things I have implemented over the past number of years, these four hours a week have been so good for my business, because, as I am going to show you, this has allowed me to follow up and reach out to my students like I have never been able to before.

Keep It Regular

In my last piece, I spoke about the importance of being in regular contact with your database. For myself I do this in a number of ways, and the best way for me has been me sending out a monthly newsletter to all emails I have collated on my database.

If you are not doing this at the moment, then please start doing so straight away, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.  We all get email newsletters from companies we follow, some call us to action, and some call us to hit the unsubscribe button. So with that in mind I have put below some points I follow when sending out newsletters to your database list.

• Be consistent, send your newsletter out on a regular basis. If you are going to send your newsletter out monthly, be sure to send it out monthly, do not miss a month, also try to send it out at the same time, for example the first Monday of every month.
• Write about things that are happening in the world of golf in general, find one or two topics or articles that your readers will find interesting and will be of benefit to themselves.
• Do include an instruction piece in the newsletter, either in written word or in video format.
• Personally I do not put any special offers or the such like in my newsletters, as I do not want people to think I am simply trying to sell them something. I want to give the impression to my students that I am giving something back to them, a no strings attached if you like!
• I cannot stress enough the importance of sending out a regular newsletter to your database, if nothing else it will keep your name and brand at the forefront of your students minds, so that when they think of golf instruction, and improving their golf game, you are the first person they think of.

Catch Up With Past Clients

After having a conversation with Andrew Wood – he of legendary marketing fame – I decided to implement one of his many suggestions into my daily routine, and that is to make contact on a daily basis with a minimum of two students that I have not seen for over six months.

This simple act alone has contributed so much to me being able to keep students coming back to me, and returning for golf instruction. As long as your students’ records are up to date, you should be able to see which of them have not been back to see you for a while. I only use six months as a number, you can use whatever timeframe fits your needs.

I will send an email to the student saying something along the lines of finding out how they are and how their golf game has been, and how it has been a while since we last met (this one line is the killer, as it shows that you know they have not been in to see you for a lesson for a while, it shows you are taking an interest in them). I finish by asking them to let me know how they have been progressing and that I look forward to hearing from them.

I am still amazed by the number of replies I get, with the student saying that they were just about to contact me to arrange a lesson, and would I mind doing that for them. This is very personable, and as far as I know not every instructor is doing this, so this will make you stand out from the rest.  I will religiously do this five times a week, so by my poor maths that is ten of my old students per week I am reconnecting with, and the reward is well worth the effort that I am putting in.

Always Follow Up

Another way of making yourself separate from the crowd, is to make sure that when a new student comes to see you for a lesson, you follow up with them within 24 hours of them having their lesson.

Now by this I do not mean sending them a video clip of their lesson as this should be done as a matter of course, I am talking about sending the student a personal email, with you telling your student how nice it was to meet them, a brief overview covering the points from the lesson if you wish, and to thank them for coming out to see you for a lesson.

If you are fortunate as indeed I am, and you have other people taking care of your lesson bookings for you, ask the student that they managed to get their next lesson booked in with no problem, and that if they ever need to ask you a question please feel free to email you at any time. This again shows you are approachable and personable.

Follow Some Simple Social Media Rules

I am very much a rookie in the world of social media, and am still testing the water as to how I can make this work for my business. I have spoken to a number of people who are perceived experts in this field, and as such I put the following list together that will help when it comes to using social media.

• Rather like a newsletter you need to be posting stuff regularly. People love to learn and be entertained. Posting content on almost a daily basis gets people to see your website regularly.
• Content doesn’t need to always stem from you – you can repost stuff from other people’s websites, a magazine, or recommend a book or a video, and many other things that keep people coming to your site.
• Never post personal stuff, post often, but do so with the thought that you are trying to improve your personal brand, not kill it.
• Never re-post something without giving credit, try to post something fresh at least five days a week, and remember that every post either enhances your brand or hurts your brand.
• Use social media to alert people that you have a space in your diary for a lesson on that day, remember white space in your diary is the devil!

Utilise All Your Diary Space

I still find that text messages are a very good call to arms for me, and this is an avenue that coaches should be using. As soon as I get a cancellation, I will go through my list and send out a blanket text to all students who I know would be interested in a lesson at that particular time, no point sending a text to a student who can only make Monday mornings if your cancellation is for a Saturday afternoon!

Most times the slot gets filled, and it also makes contact with a student. Many times a student will reply to say that they cannot make that particular slot, but they are looking for a lesson that week and can I book them in? I will also text a student that is playing in a tournament to see how they got on – this is an easy way to keep in contact with your students.

However you decide to keep in contact with your list, keep it simple and be consistent. Put yourself in your students’ shoes at times, and think about what they would like to read about in your newsletter, your blog post or on your twitter feed.

There are so many ways for coaches to keep in touch with their client base, explore different avenues, and find out what works best for you, and get to it.

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Ian Clark is an Advanced Fellow PGA Professional, a Trackman certified instructor, the Golfing Machine Authorised Instructor GSEM and one of GolfWorld’s Top 100 coaches in the UK. You can email Ian at ian@ianclarkgolf.co.uk.

For more details visit www.ianclarkgolf.co.uk.