Last Week’s Question Of The Week:
What are your most effective 2 or 3 strategies to maximize
the value of your networking opportunities at the PGA Show?
Answers:
Three distinct networking opportunities exist for me. Vendors, fellow pga professionals, and
prospective/current employees. I try to dedicate time each evening to touch base with each one of
these groups in a casual setting. Sometimes this process can be challenging but if you stick to a
strict schedule for arrivals/departures you can leverage the show for all of the possible network
opportunities you have.
Every year we have a reunion dinner at a local restaurant. We use Facebook to invite anyone who
has ever worked at NGC and this normally leads to a dinner with about 16-20 people. It's great to
reconnect and see progress of former employees and also show new hires what we are all about.
I also try to attend at least one golf event with a function afterwards to catch up with all the
friends and colleagues. This has been a great way to ask what other people are doing in
circumstances that are relevant to my current position.
One evening I always try to arrange a gathering of all of my fellow PGM'ers who I went to school
with and catch up with each of them on a social level and see what challenges they are facing in
their current position.
By doing all these things I have been able to recruit better candidates, stay in front of industry
trends, and maintain close relationships with friends that would be able to help me in a time of
need.
Attend merchandiser of the year conference.
Attend GBN annual meeting.
Attend PGA Magazine Advisory Board meeting.
Lake Nona Invitational and GBN booth
Lunch and meetings with GBN. Cocktail invites and dinners.