Putting in Golf and Making the Sale in Business Are Closely Related
It’s a beautiful day on the golf course. The sun is out, the grass is cut, and you’re playing well. As you approach the seventh hole, you look at your scorecard and see that you are even for the first six holes. You’ve never played at par this deep into a course before, so this hole is big for you.
You step up to the tee, relax your shoulders, bend your knees, and swing. You look up, but you cannot see the ball. Where did it go? It felt like a nice, hard shot, but that doesn’t tell you much. So, you get in your cart to look for the ball, only to spot it in the middle of the fairway about 250 yards from the tee. That’s crazy, what a shot!
So you pull out your iron and get to work. Your next shot is also a beauty, landing on the green just 8 feet from the hole. You start to get excited, knowing that with a good putt you can birdie the hole—and be under par for the first time!
The putt is the key. Closing the deal is what it is all about. The drive and the approach are one thing, but the putt is what puts it all together.
With all the pressure riding on you to hit the putt, you compose yourself, grab your putter and approach the hole. Of course, you do your homework. You study the wind, the hills, the green speed, and you know your shot. You make your final notes in your head and get in your stance. You pull back the club and release. You’re too nervous to look, but you hear the rattle in the hole. You know that sound. The ball went in. You did it—you are under par!
Now you get to do it all over again!
In business, while it’s all about the long game, you cannot take the putt for granted. You have to focus, put all your energy and effort into nailing the putt and making the sale. Because no matter how good your drive and approach are, they are nothing without the putt. Will you make it?