A Real Sales Job

Membership Director, the fastest-growing position in clubs, is frequently filled with people from outside the industry. Meet two of this "new breed."

by Jamie L. Scheppers (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
February 2006
 

Summing It Up To be an effective salesperson, you need to believe in your club’s vision. To more easily show prospects how your club fits their needs, know the demographics of current members. Use your staff to demonstrate the collegial atmosphere you’re trying to sell.

"Golf pros have been around as long as golf. General managers have been around for quite some time as well. And the same for tennis," says Donna Coyne of the Professional Club Marketing Association. "Because the idea of a full-time membership director is relatively new to the club industry, it's growing at a faster rate than other professions within the private club industry."

With such fast growth, it's not surprising to find that many of these new positions are being filled with hires from outside traditional club management paths. Many clubs creating these new roles, in fact, have found it's a plus to hire people who can bring fresh perspectives and approaches to the tasks of identifying prospects and marketing and selling memberships.

So who are some of this "new breed" of club membership director—and what do they bring to the job? Let's meet two who took very different routes to their current positions.

From High-Tech to Face-to-Face

For 20 years, there were two constants in Mary Harris' professional life: She was working in the technology sector, and doing so in the Chicago area. Harris did everything from user support to network administration to fiber optic installation in the Windy City, and even worked as a corporate information systems director. Her last tech job was in IT project management at Sears, Roebuck & Co. headquarters.

So what finally took Harris—now Membership Director of Bay Creek Resort & Club in Cape Charles, Va.—out of Chicago's tech circles and into club membership sales? Her husband: Stephen Harris, a former Marine who took up golf to help rehabilitate an injury, and eventually became an assistant golf pro.

When Chicago's golf season began to feel too short and Stephen was looking to advance his career, the couple decided to relocate to warmer climes. In 2003, an opportunity arose for Stephen at Bay Creek, a new development property at the tip of Virginia's Delmarva Peninsula (on the other end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Norfolk).

"I moved with [Stephen] to Bay Creek and had intended to take a year-long sabbatical," says Mary. "That only lasted two weeks, though; I couldn't sit still."

So Harris started to ask around at the resort to see if there was anything she could do in a professional capacity. From the very beginning, she expressed confidence in the resort owner's vision, and made it clear she was willing to change career paths if the property didn't have a need for her technology skills. Management soon found a way to test just how willing she might be.

"I started in the snack bar," she says with a laugh. Even though that was a drastic change for her, it turned out to be a good fit. "It was a different customer service area than I'd ever been in before; it was more face-to-face," she says. "It was extremely satisfying to make a member happy by doing just one little thing."

Eventually Harris was promoted to become the head pro's administrative assistant. As she worked in this capacity, she began building a case for why the property should create a membership director position. She knew the owner had plans to take the club private, and that handling membership duties—originally one of many responsibilities fielded by Tom Stevenson, Director of Golf— would grow into a full-time need.

And so, after demonstrating the same interest and motivation that helped her first earn a position in the snack bar, Harris was named Membership Director in September 2004. "It was going to happen anyway," she says of the new position. "But I was happy it happened to me."

Plenty to Soft-Sell

Harris describes Bay Creek as an "emerging resort." Shortly after she started in her new position, she directed the launch of a new membership plan that added two categories, Sports and Slip memberships, to an existing Golf membership category. Sports memberships are for members who won't play enough golf to warrant a full Golf membership. Slip memberships are a fancy name for slip rental. Slip members, though, must also purchase either a Golf or Sports membership. All membership categories include some rounds of golf at Bay Creek's Jack Nicklaus Signature Course and Arnold Palmer Signature Course.

Currently, 30% of the golf cap and 3% of the sports cap have been sold—but don't think Harris hasn't had success in her new capacity. Membership is limited to property owners, and only 800 of 2,500 home sites have been sold (in fact, only 50% of the facilities have been built).

With development still in its early stages, Harris has been instructed not to hard-sell Bay Creek memberships. "The owner wants members to want to be there, rather than [feel they] have to be members," she explains. Condo owners along the fairways are the only ones required to become members. With these marching orders, Harris usually waits for potential members to come to her "Welcome Center" office, but also sends reminder mailings to new owners.

Still, she is not lacking for prospects or sales opportunities. "There's a tremendous amount of interest on the East Coast right now," she says. The Bay Creek operation includes a real estate division with its own marketing department that includes club membership materials in what's provided to prospective homeowners. Additionally, all facilities are currently open to the public, but the golf courses will go private once a certain percentage of the membership cap is reached.

Currently, Bay Creek's Membership Office is in the property's Coach House, which resembles a 19th-century stable. Planned facilities include a Yacht club, a Beach club with a Fitness Center and a "kid's casino" for movie nights, dances and other activities for members' children. There will also be a Manor house to serve as the golf clubhouse. It will have a "Hall of Champions" to showcase the history of golf and celebrate the careers of Nicklaus and Palmer. A new Inn and Spa are "a few years away," Harris says. All facilities will be new construction, but designed to look like renovated older buildings.

With so many facilities still in development, Harris found herself frequently using phrases such as "imagine a beach club here" when trying to sell the resort and club to potential members, To help paint a more vivid picture, she now has large, framed artist's renderings in her office.

To make sure someone is always available to answer inquiries, either Harris or her assistant staff the Membership Office seven days a week, from 9 to 5. This accessibility helps her give potential members the best guidance. "Catching [potential members] upfront, being truthful, and making them feel we're looking out for their best interests goes a long way to building trust," Harris notes.

Loyal Subject

Philip Dodds, Membership Director at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C., laughed as he cited his British accent as his "reason for success." While he may be from the U.K., Dodds really doesn't think cultural differences affect his ability to sell club memberships. But he does notice a difference between the club business and the hotel industry, where he worked before joining the Carmel team.

"In the hospitality side, it was more cutthroat, and there was less loyalty and more short-term thinking," he says. "Loyalty was one of the things that attracted me to the club industry."

Dodds met his American wife when she was working in Great Britain, and eventually they moved back to the States. He's lived in the U.S. for a total of eight years now, and before taking his current position at Carmel CC, where he's been for about 18 months, he worked for the Hilton corporation in Charlotte.

One of Dodds' initial goals after arriving at Carmel CC was to create an updated brochure. In doing so, he and other staff members tried to put themselves in the shoes of a person who was new to Charlotte. "New members like to hear that you're an old club," he notes. "But they don't want to hear [all] the history."

A key part of his job, Dodds says, is figuring out potential members' situations. "You have to find the things that drive them," he says about his prospects. "We really market ourselves to the family market. It's not just about golf these days."

Dodds also relies on a demographic profile of current members that he's put together, to help determine where future members are most likely to come from. Carmel membership is by invitation only, but many of the club's prospective new members have recently relocated to Charlotte for business, and are therefore likely to meet coworkers who are already members.

Some prospects, though, seem to be moving to the area for reasons other than business, he adds. "It amazes me that we get people in their 60s and 70s who are looking to join a club," he says. "In fact, that's our biggest growth area; they're moving to Charlotte to retire with their families."

Aside from his marketing efforts, which are done mostly by phone, Dodds says that knowing the staff is one of the most important things he can do to help sell the club. "It demonstrates the collegial atmosphere in the club, and makes the prospective member feel more at home that much more quickly," he says. "That's why it's important that membership directors are involved with the staff during meetings, events, and other activities."

It's clear that Dodds has taken many steps to ensure that he does his job the best that he can— but maybe the true secret to his success is not his British accent, but that he truly loves his job. "No day ends up as you planned it," he says. "And you're your own boss—that is, until you go to the monthly Board meeting." C&RB