GolfPodium: On the Green

The Speaker of the Month for June 2007 is Ben Witter
Power Golf Trickshot Show

3 Time NCAA Golf All American
CCCPGA Pro of the Year 1994-95
CCCPGA Chapter Champion 1998

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Ben experienced a successful collegiate career highlighted by earning 3 time All American Status and 2 NCAA National Long Drive Championship Crowns. Playing a series of mini tours and the PGA Tour Qualifying School, Ben put his skills to the test in pursuit of his lifelong dream to play the PGA tour. That dream was cut short when Ben was diagnosed with cancer in 1988. Following surgery and extensive treatment, the focus of his career turned toward teaching the game of golf. With more than 20 local and regional PGA Tournament wins behind him, Ben has earned a string of awards as a teaching pro. Ben has since gone on to teach thousands of players his unique philosophy to utilize the power sources that make up the golf swing and the path to effortless power.

While playing the mini tours, Ben earned a reputation for being able to get out of tight spaces. Whether in the woods or on the driving range, he could be spotted hitting monstrous drives. Onlookers were amazed by his impromptu demonstrations of ball flight, trajectory control and incredible acrobatic shots where Ben would stand on his hands and hit a one handed shot! During this time, Ben discovered by using his unique ability to demonstrate while teaching, his students found the lessons more enjoyable and easily understood.

As onlookers continued to gather and watch Ben going through his acrobatic practice routine, he was approached and invited to “perform” some of his trick shots at an upcoming tournament as a means of entertainment before dinner. This event spawned others and created the opportunity for Ben to perform demonstrations all over the country, including a tour of Southeast Asia.

Renowned across the country, Ben’s show is a masterful and exciting blend of instructional content, ball flight demonstration, eye-hand coordination, and a fantastic display of balance and stability!

by Bill Storer

For this month, I would like to discuss some of the similarities between selling and golf.

Golf Selling Pre-Shot Routine Pre-Call Planning Visualize the Shot Envision the Sales Call Hazards & 0bstacles Overcome Objections 3 Foot Putt for Par Closing the Sale

Learn More About Mr. Storer

1. Let’s start with Planning: In selling it’s known as pre-call planning and it is used by successful salespeople to do several things. Primarily, it is used to focus ones attention on the clients needs and interests and the solution story that you have to meet those needs. Planning also helps to think through the objectives and the strategies necessary to accomplish the specifics requested by the customer. Unfortunately, I still find many salespeople today who continue to make “Howdy” calls on customers and wonder why they are not seeing their productivity increase. The answer is that they are unprepared for the customers questions or objections and as a result they often walk out of the customers office without an order and even worse have created the wrong perception.

In golf, we call the planning stage the Pre Shot Routine. The point is still the same. To be successful in making a particular shot you can’t make a “Howdy Call.” You must think it through and focus your mind on the task ahead.

2. Envision the sales call: Good salespeople will always envision themselves making their next sales call. Often they will think back to the last time they met with this customer and what was the result. They might also recall the layout of the office and other details about how the day went. In their minds they will try to anticipate any questions the customer may have and how to answer them. Professional salespeople will also envision the customers personality or style and be able to successfully modify their behavior to meet the customers needs.

In golf it is called visualizing your shot. On the tee a professional will look down the fairway, look for a landing spot in anticipation of the next shot. They will rehearse the shot both in their mind and with their body before the real swing is made. Only when they feel comfortable will they stand over the ball and commit themselves to the shot.

3. Overcoming Objections: Salespeople are always facing customer objections. Some salespeople, because they haven’t prepared for the customer contact, will fail to overcome those objections and will unnecessarily create the wrong perception in the customers mind. One method for overcoming questions is to anticipate them before the sales call is made. By knowing or anticipating a customers needs, the competitors weaknesses and the strengths of your company/product, a salesperson is armed with the differential advantages that can answer most customer objections.

Golf creates objections in the form of hazards and obstacles. The professional will do a risk assessment to determine their likelihood for success. Then a decision is made to move ahead based on the percentages. The professional also knows that for most of these obstacles they are confident with their choice because they have spent hours practicing. When you see a professional make the winning shot from deep in a fairway sand trap all of us should know that the professional has made that shot a thousand times in both his mind and in practice. To the professional it is just a part of his/her normal practice routine.

4. Closing the Sale: Perhaps the weakest point of most amateur salespeople is asking the customer to buy. Recently, I read a description of the word selling that appears to minimize the importance of being a good closer. “Selling is the ability to create an irresistibly compelling motivation on the part of the customer to act in the direction of the solution you are presenting.” My feeling is that if this definition is not truly understood, one could assume that if a salesperson was good story teller they would be a good salesperson and closing would be just the result of telling a good story. I believe that a salesperson needs to have the right story for the right customer and can deliver the story with confidence during a time when the pressure is on.

Golf also has a Closing stage. That’s when a professional under the tremendous pressure of winning or loosing a tournament, maintains their focus and sinks that three foot putt for par on the last hole to win by one stroke. Most amateurs in the game of golf won’t make that three foot putt, because they don’t know how to close.

In golf or selling, to increase your probabilities for success, it requires you to plan, visualize, stay focused, practice until you are confident and be able to close. This takes practice. Practice on that course which is six inches wide, the space between your ears.

Interested in having Bill Storer speak at your next business meeting? Request a quote today with GolfPodium.

Let GolfPodium Arrange the Golf Experience of a Lifetime

Have you ever dreamed of testing your game against a touring golf pro on your home course? Is there someone you know who has a golf hero or other sports hero? Are you searching for “something extra” for an upcoming event or special occasion?

You don’t have to play in a pro-am to experience these thrills for yourself. GolfPodium can arrange for virtually any professional golfer or sports celebrity to appear at your event, attend your function or simply join you for a fun day of golf you’ll never forget.

Just give GolfPodium plenty of notice, tell us who you would like us to contact plus the specifics of your request, and we’ll handle all of the arrangements on your behalf. We’ll help you turn your golf dreams into a reality.

Here’s an example of some of the celebrities you could play with:

Johnny Bench
Gary Carter
Ben Crenshaw
Steve Elkington
Jackie Gallagher-Smith
Betsy King
Nancy Lopez
Jack Nicklaus
Leslie Nielsen
Arnold Palmer
Gary Player
Chi Chi Rodriguez
Don Shula
Fuzzy Zoeller

Want to set up your golf experience of a lifetime? Contact GolfPodium today and let us make it happen!

For the month of April 2007, GolfPodium has chosen Peter Kessler as the premier speaker. Peter was “The Voice of HBO Sports” from 1991-1995 and narrated Peabody, Ace and Emmy Award winning documentaries. His other voice over work includes the voice for the Ben Hogan Golf Club Company from 1996-2001, Rolex, the NBA, the Orlando Magic and John Deere. He produced, wrote and hosted more than 1500 hours of live television for The Golf Channel from 1995 through 2001, interviewing such golf legends as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Tiger Woods.

Peter is in great demand as an after-dinner speaker, host and master of ceremonies. He produces a highly acclaimed quarterly interview series for Golf Magazine read by seven million people. Peter is also the host of Pure Golf with Peter Kessler, a live morning show which airs five days a week on The PGA TOUR Network – XM Satellite Radio channel 146. Peter is the co-founder and president of The Perfect Club Company, which manufactures and distributes a line of hybrid clubs.

In March of 2006, Golfweek Magazine launched GolfweekTV.com, golf’s first internet television network of which Peter hosted a weekly show called Preferred Lies. Peter also hosts daily shows from golf’s most prestigious events.

From 1978-1982 Peter worked for Lord Rothschild at NM Rothschild & Sons in London, England as an investment banker and also worked on Wall Street as a marketing and sales specialist. He is considered one of the world’s leading golf historians. Peter is a former club champion at La Costa Country Club in San Diego.

Peter has been a speaker for many prestigious events as master of ceremonies, host and after-dinner moderator, including with the following institutions:

Bank of America
Deloitte
PGA TOUR
Boys and Girls Club of America
Metropolitan Golf Writers Association
Brad Henry, Governor of Oklahoma
Bear Stearns
Morgan Stanley
King Albert of Monaco
United States Golf Association
PGA of America Club Corporation

> Book Peter Kessler for your next event

Hosting a golf event for your business can be a great way to advertise your company to many people who may not be aware of your products and services. But it isn’t an easy undertaking. Where do you start? GolfPodium offers corporate hospitality packages that cover all the bases and remove all the headaches.

We have the skills and resources to create, plan, and execute outstanding golf events and hospitality packages. Whether it’s a major sporting event, a traditional one-day corporate outing, a nationwide series of customer events, or a major pro-am, our event management experts will work with you every step of the way. Let your guests relax and enjoy a wonderful experience.

Give us all the details. All group sizes can be accommodated. Our event experts will work with you on designing an itinerary, obtaining tickets, lodging, meals, transportation, celebrity appearances, and much more.

Credibility, Trust and Confidence in your Brand

Attaining these goals is difficult enough for any company in a shifting economic environment, no matter how much prosperity they have achieved in the past. Golf personalities, celebrities and heroes of the past give a company a name and a face – they give customers something to remember you by.

With an infinite number of stars in the spotlight today, and an even greater number of contrasting personalities, choosing the “right person” to meet your company’s goals and objectives is critical. Unlike agents who represent a limited number of clients, GolfPodium has access to thousands of professional golfers, celebrities and entertainers. We have a wealth of experience from organizing hundreds of speaking engagements and appearances each year, ensuring an unbiased solution and the appropriate individuals for our clients’ needs.

Additionally, GolfPodium creates highly targeted sports marketing programs and corporate events to enhance your brand. We work with companies to build incentive programs, dealer loader programs, sweepstakes promotions, client entertainment trips, and corporate gift programs.

Let us know how we can assist you.

• Event Hospitality
• Golf Clinics
• Executive Board Retreats
• Sales Conferences/Seminars
• Management Outings
• Regional Meetings
• On-site Promotional Programs
• Sports Marketing Consultant
• Sponsorship Opportunities

Please call us at 866-567-4653 for more information and examples of GolfPodium’s case studies or contact us online.

by Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

To perform to your full potential, you must change how you usually think about your golf game and how you perceive yourself. You must understand and overcome the barriers that impede your performance. In short, you must play beyond “the box.”

People in the business world coined the term “thinking beyond the box” to describe the type of thinking that is needed to tackle tough problems and to generate innovative ideas and strategies. Social conditioning and predictable thinking in the business world produces comfort zones that stifle creative thinking. By thinking outside the box, businesses seek to move employees out of comfort zones and predictable thought processes to make breakthroughs in creativity.

You also have to learn how to think beyond the box and move outside of your comfort zones to achieve greater golfing success and continue to shoot low scores. Thinking beyond the box starts with identifying the barriers to success that hold you back from shooting lower scores. It also means looking at your game from another perspective, thinking differently about how you play, and changing old habits of thinking and behavior. Let’s examine a couple ways you can play outside the box after shooting a personal low round.

The first idea is to change your scoring self-image. Often the labels we give ourselves become limiting beliefs. Examples of ways we use labels include: “I’m an average putter,” “I’m an OK player,” or “I always shoot in the 90’s.” These labels form your golfing self-image. Once you break an important scoring milestone (90, 80, 70, etc.), a new scoring self-image has to form. Just breaking 90 once will not help you form a new self-image. To continue to shoot in the 80’s you have to accept low score as the norm and not the exception. This means you have to believe on any day that you can score in the 80’s. Otherwise the label “I always shoot in the 90’s” will limit your ability to continue to break 90 repeatedly.

The second idea is to reward yourself for success. Persons that disqualify their achievements and don’t reward themselves or accept compliments are at risk for low self-confidence. You have to step back and think out side the box about your performance. Don’t make excuses and attribute a low score to luck or an easy course. You should take pride in your accomplishment. Review each round and replay the good shots you hit and putts you made to break 90, 80, or 70 for the first time. Start by recalling what you did well first. Instead of berating yourself for what you did wrong, ask yourself what you did well after each shot, putt, or chip.

Note: This article is based on Dr. Patrick Cohn’s new book Going Low: How to Break Your Individual Scoring Barrier by Thinking Like a Pro.

Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a leading golf psychologist who consults with Tour Pros and amateurs. He is the author of Peak Performance Golf, The Mental Game of Golf and The Mental Art of Putting. For more information call (888) 742-7225, visit: http://www.peaksports.com/, or e-mail Dr. Cohn at pcohn@peaksports.com.

If you would like to have Dr. Cohn speak to your group, please request a quote at GolfPodium.

Bring an exciting guest to your next corporate event

Hank Haney - Golf Instructor - Speaker of the Month, February 2007

• World renown golf instructor and coach
• “Dean of Golf Instruction”, ESPN Golf Schools
• ESPN & ABC Sports Golf Analyst
• Motivational & inspirational speaker

Hank Haney developed his desire to teach while majoring in education at Tulsa University, where he graduated in 1977. In the years since, Hank has enthusiastically set out to be a great instructor of the golf swing. He has steadily built a reputation as an instructor, not only to the club level player, but to touring pros as well.

Hank began his career studying under well-known pros such as Jim Hardy and John Jacobs. After working as either the Head Pro, Director of Instruction or Director of Golf at several large golf operations (PGA West in La Quinta, California, Stonebridge Golf and Country Club in Dallas, Texas, Sweetwater Country Club in Houston, Texas, and Pinehurst Golf Schools in North Carolina), Hank Haney opened his own golf instruction center in 1991. Hank Haney also operates 4 teaching facilities in the Dallas, Texas area.

The Hank Haney Golf Ranch, located in McKinney, Texas is a complete teaching and practice facility. Hank and Pete Dye designed and built a 9-hole golf course on land, which was once a horse ranch. In addition, the Ranch features a video teaching center, covered hitting stalls, a 175-yard grass tee, and a short game area with several approaches. As of January 1999, Hank Haney Golf has four metroplex locations.

Hank Haney works with his students to develop an accurate plan to improve the flight of their golf ball. By giving cause and effect analogies, coupled with physical hands on examples, the student and instructor can create a relationship that will produce positive results. The correct swing plane is the basis of Hank’s philosophy.

Hank has taught more than 100 touring professionals from the PGA, LPGA, and European, Japanese, and Asian tours. His most notable pupil is Tiger Woods and other include 1998 Masters and British Open Champion Mark O’Meara, two-time U.S. Open Amateur and one-time British Open Amateur Kelli Kuehne who is currently playing on the LPGA, and former NCAA Champion and two-time LPGA, winner Emilee Klein and 1998 U.S. Amateur Champion Hank Kuehne.

In addition to his skills as an instructor, Hank serves as an Dean of Instruction for ESPN & ABC Sports golf commentator during all golf telecasts.

Hank’s peers honored him in 1993 when he was recognized as the National PGA Teacher of the Year. He has received Teacher of the Year awards for the North Texas Section of the PGA each year from 1989 to 1993.

“My philosophy as a teacher is to teach my students to become their own best teacher by getting them to understand the flight of the golf ball and how it relates to the swing, with emphasis on swinging the golf club on their own correct swing plane”.

>> Got an upcoming event? Book Hank Haney today!

Additionally, GolfPodium™ offers golf event & travel packages to golf’s other Majors…

US Open 2007
British Open 2007
PGA Championship 2007
Ryder Cup 2008

If you have never been to The Masters, you can’t fully appreciate the magnificence of the Augusta National Golf Course or the event. Watching the Masters on television is enjoyable - Attending The Masters is unforgettable! The Masters, with its rare combination of mystery, prestige and exclusivity, attracts the world’s attention to Augusta, Georgia each April. GolfPodium provides an opportunity for you to be at this unique sports setting and experience the atmosphere in person. Masters tournament badges are the most coveted tickets in the world of sports. Over the years, we have been fortunate enough to develop the necessary relationships needed to package the most prestigious event in all of golf, indeed in all of sports, The Masters. Every sports enthusiast should experience The Masters, an event unlike any other. The Masters Tournament is also the ultimate destination for your next incentive trip, meeting or customer appreciation trip. Why not make this your year!

For more information on creating a custom Masters package for your group, please call 1-866-567-GOLF (4653) to speak directly to a GolfPodium representative or email us at info@golfpodium.com.