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How to Use Golf as a Business Tool

Develop Trusting Business Relationships by Playing Golf

Golf has long been considered a great way to do business in a less formal environment. Deals may not be actually signed on the course, but relationships are developed. Suzanne Woo, author of On Course for Business: Women and Golf, shares her tips on using the game as a business tool. For more on hitting the links with your business contacts, read Business & Golf: A Survival Guide.

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Tags: Business, Tool, Productivity, Gender And Diversity, Human Resources, Golf, Suzanne Woo, On Course for Business: Women and Golf

 

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How to Use Golf as a Business Tool

Golf has long been considered a great way to do business in a less formal environment. Deals may not be actually signed on the course, but relationships are developed. Suzanne Woo, author of On Course for Business: Women and Golf, shares her tips on using the game as a business tool. For more on hitting the links with your business contacts, read Business & Golf: A Survival Guide.

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Speaker: Golf has long been considered a great way for people to meet and do business in a less formal environment. And it still holds true today. While deals may not be actually signed on the course, relationships are developed and bonds are made. It's an opportunity to be more personal than if you were sitting in a conference room. Today, BNET talks to Suzanne Woo, author of "On Course for Business: Women and Golf." She shares her tips on using the game as a business tool.

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>> Suzanne Woo: Typical golfer's scoff swing lasts only about 1.5 seconds. If you have 100 strokes, that's 150 seconds. That's only about two and a half minutes of actually hitting the golf ball. The rest of the time in your four hours of golf is getting to know each other. You're walking in between shots, or your driving your cart and your partner's right next to you. It's really time for you to get to know each other and talk about different topics. Golf is a great business tool, unlike, let's say, tennis, where you have your opponent across the net. You're trying to hit shots to make them miss and look bad. In golf, you're really playing your own game. You're trying your best. The other person is trying their best. And you're out there getting to know one another in between shots. You have four and a half hours to play golf with a prospect or a client, so you have a chance to talk about subjects a lot deeper than you ordinarily would. You have a chance to talk about your background, where you're from, even some of your beliefs and politics, etcetera. So you get a chance to make yourself memorable. After your round of golf, going into the 19th Hole is a great place to just kind of recap the day. First thing is, if you're just a twosome, you might want to sit at the bar. But if there are more than just the two of you, you definitely want to sit at a table, where it's easier to talk to one another, rather than just laterally. I would also pay off your debts. If you had any bets, you want to make sure you've paid them off and everybody is squared. And then, it's a place where you can also talk about some business that was highlighted during the round. It's still not a place to talk deeply about a business issue, but at least a place to know, for your next business meeting, the agenda and what to talk about.

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Speaker: Even with all the other networking tools available, old school golf is still a popular way to develop trusting business relationships. So grab your clubs and invite a business client to play a round. You might close a deal and have fun at the same time.

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