Kafka’s Tiffany Koss shares tips and tricks for influencing stakeholders

As an industry supplier dedicated to educating and creating value for our customers, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with numerous golf course superintendents. Often, I’m asked, “Tiffany, I love your product! I understand the value. But I need to convince my greens committee (or owner). Help!”

While superintendents excel in maintaining and enhancing the quality of golf courses, effectively selling their ideas internally to stakeholders is an equally important skill. Drawing from my experience, I’ve gathered insights and strategies that can help superintendents successfully influence their stakeholders and drive the positive changes they envision for their courses.

Understand your audience

Understanding your stakeholders’ priorities and concerns is the first step in influencing them effectively. Greens committees often prioritize the course’s aesthetics and playability, while owners may be more focused on the financial aspects and overall business performance.

Tailoring your approach to address these specific interests will make your proposals more compelling. Depending on what is most important to your stakeholders, you may emphasize how proposed changes will enhance the playing experience, improve turf health and boost the course’s reputation or exclusivity. In other cases, it may be best to highlight potential financial benefits, such as reduced maintenance costs or reduced downtime during course renovations.

Start small

Introducing new materials, practices or equipment can be met with resistance, especially if the benefits are not immediately apparent. Starting with small-scale trials or demos can help demonstrate the effectiveness of your ideas without requiring a large initial investment of time or money. Select a small, manageable area of the course to test your proposal.

Choosing a highly visible and well-known problem area for your trial will increase the exposure and awareness of your efforts. Encourage your maintenance staff to help you monitor and document the results and use the data collected to make a compelling case for broader implementation.

Illustrate ROI

Clearly demonstrating the return on investment (ROI) of your proposals is crucial, particularly for stakeholders focused on the financial aspects of the business. This involves not only highlighting potential revenue increases, but also illustrating how your proposals can reduce costs and minimize downtime.

Show how investing in quality materials or new equipment can streamline maintenance tasks, reduce labor hours, lower costs and keep the course open and generating revenue.

Utilize your vendors and peers

Both vendors and peers can be valuable allies when making a case to stakeholders. Many vendors offer resources, support and references to help superintendents present their proposals effectively. Leveraging vendor expertise and speaking with other superintendents who have successfully implemented change can help better prepare your case.

To leverage vendors, invite them to present to stakeholders, offering detailed insights and answering technical questions. When a vendor presentation is not appropriate, a quality vendor will help you prepare your presentation — we are here to help!

Calling vendor references and connecting your stakeholders with other satisfied customers is another great way to add credibility to your recommendations and share success stories from reputable peers.

By using these strategies to influence stakeholders, you’ll be building stronger relationships to ensure the long-term success of your course. Effective communication and a clear demonstration of benefits are the keys to gaining stakeholder buy-in.

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