CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
Using golf in your sales strategy: earn the next conversation
How to host a thoughtful client golf experience, follow up well, and measure what happened without inventing a return on investment.
Choose a relationship purpose before a course
Golf can be one setting for spending time with customers and prospective customers who enjoy it. That is a reason to consider it, not evidence that an invitation will create a sale. Begin with the relationship and the guest’s preferences rather than a revenue target attached to an afternoon.
Choose a purpose: introduce people with a shared interest, thank an existing customer, or spend time understanding a customer’s priorities. Decide what a useful next step might look like if the guest wants one. A product demonstration, a customer reference conversation, and a renewal discussion call for different invitations; none belongs in a golf invitation by stealth.
A good event cannot replace a relevant product, a qualified opportunity, or a sound sales process. Treat it as a relationship activity with a real cost, not a way around procurement or a substitute for discovery.
Invite people who would welcome the experience
Start with permission and interest. Ask whether golf appeals, what format feels comfortable, and whether another activity or a meal would be preferable. Do not infer enthusiasm from seniority or job title. A guest who declines should be able to do so without affecting the commercial relationship.
For an existing contact, a straightforward invitation might read: “We’re considering a small golf afternoon with time for a meal afterward. Would that be something you would enjoy? We can share the proposed format and what would be covered before you decide.” This is sample wording, not a claim that an event has been booked.
Once details are confirmed, explain the host, participants, timing, location, inclusions, and any guest costs. Keep a product pitch out of the invitation unless that is genuinely part of the event and plainly disclosed.
Check hospitality rules before making an offer
Ask the host company and the guest to confirm any applicable hospitality approval process before offering tickets, rounds, travel, or accommodation. Give enough information for approval, including the nature and value of what is offered. A refusal or limit is a planning constraint to respect.
Government-related and cross-border hospitality may require specialist review. The DOJ and SEC’s FCPA guide discusses gifts, travel, entertainment, intent, and legitimate promotional expenses in its specific anti-bribery context. It is not a blanket rulebook or safe harbor for every client golf event.
Use the relevant employer policies and appropriate advisers for the actual situation. Do not assume that a modest price, a business purpose, or an event invitation makes hospitality permissible.
Match the format to the least confident guest
Ask the venue professional to recommend a format based on experience, available time, course conditions, and the group’s preferences. A clinic or shorter round may be more welcoming than assuming everyone wants a competitive 18 holes. Explain equipment, attire, transport, and pace before the day.
A scramble is one possible team format: players hit, choose a shot, and play from that location, repeating the process. It is different from best ball. Let the course professional define the event rules and any handicap treatment; the invitation should describe the experience in language a first-time guest can understand.
Make alternatives part of the plan. A customer who prefers a meal or nongolf activity should still have access to the host and the relationship-building purpose of the gathering. Avoid making the longest or most difficult option the only way to participate.
Host attentively; leave room for ordinary conversation
Assign a host who can introduce people, notice discomfort, and keep the experience moving. Confirm the operational lead for equipment, transport, and venue issues so the relationship host is not also trying to run the event.
Let guests choose how much business conversation they want. If a relevant topic arises, ask an open question, listen, and offer to continue later. Avoid turning shared transport or a long round into a captive presentation. Never treat a guest’s attendance, good mood, or polite interest as purchase intent.
Brief hosts on discretion. Do not invite confidential employer information, discuss another customer’s private affairs, or add people to marketing lists simply because they attended. Keep any CRM notes factual, appropriate, and connected to a legitimate next action.
Follow up on the conversation you actually had
Thank the guest and deliver anything you offered. If they asked for a useful introduction, a document, or a separate meeting, make that the next step. If no commercial next step was discussed, a straightforward thank-you is enough.
A sample follow-up for an agreed next step: “Thank you for joining us. You mentioned wanting to compare approaches to [the topic discussed]. If useful, I can send the material we discussed and suggest a separate time to talk.” Replace the bracketed language with something true, and only offer material or availability you can provide.
Keep the event follow-up separate from a broad sales sequence. The event is a context for a human conversation, not permission for unlimited contact.
Measure participation and progression separately
Our recommended measurement approach is to record what you observed and avoid claiming what you cannot establish. Track actual event costs, invitations, attendance, guest feedback, and mutually agreed follow-ups. Keep hospitality approvals and operational issues in the appropriate internal records.
Later opportunity movement may be worth noting, but a deal progressing after an event does not prove the event caused it. An existing opportunity may have been progressing already. Do not assign the full contract value to the golf day simply because a buyer attended.
Review whether guests valued the format, whether agreed follow-ups happened, and whether the cost and effort were justified for the relationship purpose. Repeat the experience when those observations support it, with adjustments that make it more useful for the people invited.
| Record | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Invited, accepted, attended | Participation, with cancellations recorded separately. |
| Guest feedback | Whether the format and hospitality were welcome. |
| Agreed next actions | What both parties actually agreed to do. |
| Completed follow-ups | Whether the host delivered on those commitments. |
| Actual cost and host time | The resources the activity consumed. |
| Subsequent opportunity changes | Observed progression; not proof that the event caused revenue. |
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Your planning checklist
- The guest’s interest and the relationship purpose are clear.
- Hospitality approvals, inclusions, and costs are checked before commitment.
- The format fits guest experience and offers a meaningful alternative.
- A host and a delivery lead know their separate responsibilities.
- Follow-up reflects an actual conversation; reporting distinguishes observation from attribution.
Use these points in your next planning conversation.