Preparing
for the new season involves identifying the categories that are most affected by
new beginnings. Everything starts with the staff understanding the product and
the importance of the category and wanting to discuss their knowledge with the
customer.
In an effort to increase sales in
the shoe category provide your members/customers with better service and
information about one of the most important pieces of equipment in their
repertoire. The most effective way to accomplish this is to invite the sales
associate from your major shoe vendor to make a full blown line presentation
and product-knowledge seminar to your entire professional staff. They can provide
detailed information regarding the construction and fitting of shoes, offer
tried and true selling suggestion, but most importantly they explain that golf
shoes are the foundation of the golf swing and drive home the significance of
them being as properly fit as are clubs.
Create eye catching displays in the golf shop to attract attention and conversation about golf shoes. This is particularly true now that the spike-less phenomenon is still riding a crest. Install shoe displays in the locker room and enlist your locker room manager to assist in marketing golf shoe sales. Make sure that he is invited to the seminar and well versed on the benefit of having the correct fit and construction for comfortable and effective performance. Provide a catalog in the locker room as well as on the floor of the shop.
Put up a list of the entire staff in random order. Every dozen pair of shoes sold the next associate on the list gets a free pair of his choice and goes to the bottom of the list. Most vendors will participate in such an effort and are happy to give the baker’s dozen piece at no charge, let the sales rep announce the contest of sorts at his seminar and pick names out of the hat to create the random list.
Have a spring TRADE-IN offering a
significant discount to anyone bringing in an old pair and don’t hesitate to
invite your key customers to the presentation with your staff.
Having just attended a number of Christmas parties where the entire Foot Joy line was displayed on tables for the purpose of taking special orders makes this suggestion seem a bit late except that it’s a good idea any time of the year as long the proper audience can be created; member/member and member/guest tournaments for example.
The strategy I use to create the proper inventory of shoes to sell from is to determine last year's sales and think in terms of two turns. Within that number of units I try to provide one style of golf shoe in all available sizes in whatever the most appropriate style and price is for that facility, so that anyone walking in who has forgotten their shoes can be fit in a pair for today's round and then build the rest of the selection around that depending on the importance and relevance of spike-less, street casual, ladies, etc. If special orders are a big part of a club business I order a number of onesies to fill displays.
The most
important part of the strategy involves the staff understanding the product and
the importance of the category and wanting to engage the customer as they enter
the shop and discuss the knowledge that they are now so confident with.
