The PAR on the Ninth at Inglewood Golf Club

As I mentioned in my earlier articles, I always wanted to play golf but there was never time to learn this game while I was working in Asia, nor could I afford it.  Now that I have the time, and it is affordable, golf has become a part of my life, along with my family and grandchildren.   Golf is an amazing and frustrating game, but most enjoyable.   Imagine, navigating over 7,000 yards, hitting a little ball with a long stick, and trying to get this ball into a little hole in the ground around 4 inches in diameter.  That is truly an achievement.   It is also a game that teaches patience, devotion, integrity, honesty, and so much more.   It provides us with emotions and feelings that are similar in sales.

In the last few articles, we discussed “achievement” and the feelings derived from it.   Golf reflects the life of a salesperson.   Learning to swing a golf club is and will always be a challenge, so much like learning to sell.   Practicing the swing to maximize distance and alignment is so much like practicing to make a sales pitch.   Contemplating the best approach shot brings back memories of answering objections and finding the right answers for the prospect.   Of course, sinking the putt is truly the close, especially if it is for PAR or better.  What a relief, I finally put the ball into the hole (and I get to do this 18 times around the course).     What a relief, I finally closed the sale.

Think about the feeling when you finally drop the ball into the hole and within the allotted strokes (that’s a PAR). 

Recently, I played 9 holes and scored a PAR on the ninth hole at Inglewood Golf Club.   After scoring bogey and double bogeys for the first 8 holes, I want to try and describe the feeling, exhilaration, and emotion when I scored the PAR on the Ninth. 

I had a good tee shot, an even better second approach shot, and a good chip for a third shot to get about 10 feet from the hole. The readers who play golf will understand this golf jargon.  You can imagine my happiness when the putt dropped the ball into the hole for the fourth shot.  To PAR a hole for me is an event and thus when it happens, it is Breaking News.

What an amazing feeling! 

There was joy, a fist pump, an ear-to-ear grin, and inside, I cheered and congratulated myself for this feat.  This was my achievement for the day.  The feeling was wonderful, and I liked it.  I liked it a lot.   I want to have this feeling again (and again).   As I walked off the green, I thought about how this result produced a feeling that was so like many sales that I closed in my career.   Those 4 strokes were a reflection of a sales cycle that was executed to near perfection.    You can say that closing a sale is equally as exhilarating as a PAR in golf.   Imagine the feeling if I was to score below PAR!

For me, to Par one hole, any hole on the course will bring me back again.  It is tremendous motivation.   It was the same feeling as closing a sale.  After closing a sale, I was eager to get back to close another one.  The Par is all the inspiration and motivation I need to continue playing this game.  So true of sales. 

You won’t close all your deals but when you close one,  it is all you need to bring you back for more. 

To be successful in Golf means we are always looking for the next PAR, Birdie, or Eagle.  

To be successful in sales means we are always looking to close the next sale.